Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn

There have been countless screen versions of the famous Mark Twain novel on which this movie is based. I have even seen musicals, television series and a Russian version, to name a few. They have been of variable quality. I suspect, if you are not a Mark Twain fan and have never seen one of the classic movies based on this book, then you may find this movie acceptable. To be honest though, this has to be one of the worst versions of the book ever made.

That's hardly surprising, because it is obvious that this was chiefly made, not to bring the famous book to a new generation, but to cash in on the popularity of the two young stars. As a consequence, many liberties are taken with the plot - the most nauseating being the attempt to depict a romance between Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher, something that didn't exist in the book and which would have been unthinkable for the 'real' Tom. The makers are none-too-careful about keeping the dialogue correct for the time. Tom and Huck constantly refer to each other as 'buddies' and Tom constantly calls his friend 'Hucky'.

And then there is the acting. Joel Courtney is appealing as Tom and Jake T Austin is a bit wooden but acceptable as Huck. Both are miscast though. It is in the adults, however, that the most egregiously bad acting is seen. In fact, I will go so far as to say that there is not one good actor in the bunch. The only one you will have heard of is Val Kilmer who, under many layers of make-up, plays Mark Twain. The chap who plays Injun Joe sounds like a New York Gangster. The man who plays Tom's teacher is just awful!

One red flag I didn't see till the credits rolled was that this movie was written, directed and produced by the one person. That's often a danger sign, only exceeded by having the family members of this person in the case. It was certainly a danger sign in this case.

Like I said, if you've never read Tom Sawyer, if you have never seen any of the many, many better movies then you may find this acceptable. If you're not in that group, give this a miss.

While Tom Sawyer was a hymn to Boyhood per Mark Twaim Himself, this film extrapolates and lays bare the themes buried in both novels,Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn from the point if the protagonists were older teens and thereby appreciated more fully the folly and darkness of what they are going through.

Wish they hadn't so quickly glossed over Hucks story though. Gritty with the most honest portrayal of what life back then would have looked abd felt like. Strong character portrayal be all performers..particularly like Injun Joe..fleshed out into a 3 dimensional person fir first time. As a Twain scholar, I feel confident Sam Clemens would approve of this version. BIg goof though was that the body that was being robbed was that of Hoss Williams, not Ross Williams as now mistakenly in movie and even written on plank tombstone. Choice of European location to better reflect rural nature of town and more importantly, wide open Mississippi River of back than.was smart. Jim Hagerty.

I love the Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn stories, and have collected as many filmed versions as possible, including updated ones. When this DVD appeared, I had high hopes of its content because of the presence of Jake T. Austin & Joel Courtney, both likable and very capable young actors. Oh dear, what a mess it turned out to be, adapted and directed by Jo Kastner from Germany, and filmed in Bulgaria. It was clear from the start that Kastner had little cultural grasp on Mark Twain's small town, mid-West American world in the middle of the 19th Century, nor any grasp whatsoever of pace and depth in presenting the characters and story. It is an express train journey through "Tom Sawyer", with a bit of "Huckleberry Finn" pointlessly stuck on the end, with no time to explore or indulge in the unfolding scenes. The inclusion of Val Kilmer (doubtless for "star" appeal) portraying the author Mark Twain wasted valuable time which should have gone into the main plot.

Whilst Joel Courtney did his smiling best in the role of Tom Sawyer, Jake T. Austin played Huckleberry Finn at best with detachment if not actually in a continuous sulk, perhaps aware of the poor material he was made to perform and unhappy being in Bulgaria, a backward Eastern European country far away from the Mississippi. Katherine McNamara was a poor choice as Becky Thatcher, and the rest of the casting was a mess, not least an insipid Injun Joe. The 2011 German language "Tom Sawyer" film is infinitely more enjoyable, even with the language barrier, and if you want a highly watchable and authentic telling of "Tom Sawyer", the 1938 film starring Tommy Kelly holds up very well, as does the semi-musical version from 1973 starring Johnny Whitaker. In short, avoid this German/Bulgarian disaster movie like you would food poisoning.

maybe, it is not the most inspired adaptation. but it is nice, seductive, cool and funny. and after so many adaptation, front to high expectations, it has the great virtue to be good occasion to remind the atmosphere of a classic. only sin - Val Kilmer as Mark Twain. too much make-up and a too strange performance. but that is only a small detail. an easy film who has the flavor of classic novel. and that is enough for good entertainment. inspired option for the lead characters for the image level, decent performances, beautiful images. and a film not for high expectations but for fun. version for a new generation, it preserves the spirit of original work. and that fact is real important. the others - only few details.

Oh gosh, it can't get worse than that. I wanted to show this movie to my son after reading with him the book, it was supposed to be a treat for us. How disappointing, I can't express enough. Why are the boys played by grown up lads, whose eyes can't merely express a joy of 12/13 years olds? The Heg couldn't smile through the whole movie, was it painful for him to play in it? Such poor production, I am actually shocked. I went to google to see if anyone thinks the same or there's something wrong with me? How frustrating to pay money for watching that. Such primitive depiction of a wonderful world of Mark Twain.