jsmith-348

In the late 1980s, I had just seen Anthony Hopkins in "The Bounty," which together with the earlier "Magic" convinced me he was an actor to watch for; and I had read Graham Greene's recently unearthed little novel "The Tenth Man," when I heard about this TV adaptation. My excited anticipation was not disappointed, and since then I have probably seen this little gem 25 times, often screening it for high school students, who watch in rapt fascination. The plot is amazing -- as only GG could concoct -- and I am still convinced this is Hopkins's best performance. Also superb are Kristin Scott Thomas, Derek Jacobi, Cyril Cusack and Brenda Bruce. Production values are strong if not stellar (after all, it's made for TV). Too bad this film is all but unavailable -- you'll have to buy a used VHS online if you want to see it; but you won't be sorry.

Still wondering about the reviews above that insult this film's animation. I thought it looked terrific. (For the record, nearly every professional critic I could find singled out the film's strong visuals.) The character differentiation is very strong in the mice & rats -- and all that tender-loving detail in Ratworld and Mouseworld! You'd have to watch the movie 6 times to pick out all the tiny man-made objects the rodents have used for furniture, clothing, etc.

I see also several reviewers' concerns about the film's "darkness." Ummm . . . don't we find Hans Christian Andersen a bit dark too? Isn't there something about kids being baked in an oven? And doesn't someone's father die in "Lion King"? And a certain famous mother in that deer movie . . . ? For the matter of that, fans of DiCamillo's Newbery-winning book can tell that her version is a lot darker -- heart-breaking at times. At least one critic has scolded the film version for toning down the darkness, which concomitantly weakens DiCamillo's message of forgiveness and redemption.

AND: I don't think I've ever heard vocal work this good in an animated film. They're not big box-office names that will draw tons of kids to the picture, but real pros -- Hoffman, Ullman, Hinds, Watson, and that narration by Sigourney!! -- who bring an amazing richness and authenticity to the characterizations.

Plus, any movie that so convincingly counsels little kids to say "I'm sorry" -- well, even if it had no other merits, it's hard to argue with a message like that!

I've just finished watching this and am still wondering how it wound up with 19% at RottenTomatoes.com. Were they all asleep? =/

I found it smartly paced and well acted, with a fascinating subtext that is scarcely visible in the three earlier versions: The only way to establish world-wide peace is if everyone were to suddenly go systematically brain-dead -- emotionless -- not human. There seems to be an implication -- hard to believe in a mainstream Hollywood film -- that the zombies have all gone left-wing radical: "We're more like the trees! We can all get along now!" Only problem is that in order to do so they've lost their humanity. It does make ya think.

I've long been a fan of Seigel's original, but to tell you the truth, I think I liked this one better. Don't count it out.

BTW, it's nice to see Daniel Craig and Jeffrey Wright together again; and watch for Veronica Cartwright (who was in the '78 version) as Kidman's distraught patient.

Give us a break, will ya? No one expects a movie like this to equal "WALL-E" or "The Iron Giant"! Granted, it rips off "Nightmare Before Christmas" unabashedly (was anyone else as bugged as I by the shameless similarity between Malaria's King Malbert and "Nightmare's" Mayor?); and it has some pretty flat writing in spots. But there are good jokes ("Jaclyn/Heidi"; a "Yes Master's Degree") -- and you gotta love Eva, with the way she riffs on the Frankenstein tradition. Instead of misfit who can't figure out how to act right in a normal world, she's a maladjusted do-gooder in a kingdom of darkness. And that Louis Prima soundtrack -- some songs sounding like they were written just for this movie!

I sat through it with a handful of families, and the kids sure liked it a lot. My guess is, it'll become one of those mid-level films like "PageMaster" or "Surf's Up" that some kids watch again and again.

Not great; but by no means the disaster it's made out to be in other reviews here. . . .