Annie (Special Anniversary Edition)

Annie (Special Anniversary Edition)
by John Huston

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DVD details

Actor: Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Ann Reinking, Carol Burnett, Tim Curry
Director: John Huston
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Richard Moore
Producer: Carol Sobieski
Writer: Carol Sobieski
Producer: Joe Layton
Producer: Ray Stark
Writer: Harold Gray
Writer: Thomas Meehan
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 127 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-01-13
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Sony Pictures

DVD Reviews of Annie (Special Anniversary Edition)

DVD Review: Great DVD for a Grand daughter
Summary: 5 Stars

My grand daugher is very fond of this movie. She has watched it many times and plans to take it on her trip to the Cape in the summer.

DVD Review: Annie
Summary: 5 Stars

I thought I already did this once, but.... Got the movie about a week after I ordered it - phenomenal!! It was in very good condition - great service!!!

DVD Review: Tons of Fun!
Summary: 4 Stars

Annie has been a family favorite for years. The songs are catchy, and there's plenty of glitz and glamor to spare. It's definitely a wish-fulfillment movie -- so much fun to watch and wonder, "Oh, what if!" And what a positive movie, too. Even though Annie is obviously in a miserable place, her can-do attitude and her optimism are as good for a bad day as a bowl of chicken-noodle soup is for a sick friend.

Every single song is downright catchy. I often find myself humming them. And as for the choreography, it's usually wonderful and unique.

Although I've heard that some have issues with the casting, I've always found it completely believable. Carol Burnett definitely does the best job among her fellow actors, so much so that it's difficult to see anybody else in the role of Ms. Hannigan at all. Bernadette Peters is quite excellent, and Albert Finney makes a grand blustering Daddy Warbucks. "Annie" herself is just perfect: what a great little actress!

The story itself is very basic, but very enjoyable. The idea is that a ragamuffin of an orphan is "adopted for a week" by the richest man in America, and they end up becoming the best of friends. It has the air of a fairytale; many elements of the story, like the characters of the Asp and Punjab, are colorful and fantastic indeed. Now, if you'll excuse the fact that Annie's good luck is a little too good (the whole universe seems ready to bend over backwards for her), you'll find her character and story quite enjoyable. Perhaps this is because she's so kind to everyone around her; she never seems to become too saccharine. In any case, when I was a kid, I liked to imagine that I was Annie... street-smart, optimistic, opportunistic, and talented, too.

There are negatives, unfortunately. If you're looking for tight choreography, well, Annie doesn't quite deliver. "Hard Knock Life" is full of acrobatics that never quite mesh, and girls whose moves should, and do not, match up. As an old marching-band member myself, I know too well that one person out of sync can ruin the whole routine, and that's quite true here. However, this incongruity usually seems limited to the dancing of the kiddos; the adult routines are downright lovely. It's like they weren't as picky with the children's accuracy, which is a bit sad.

Also, the political overtones really needed to be omitted. When I was a kid, I loved seeing FDR because it brought history to life for me. Now that I'm older, it just drives me nuts. Well, not seeing FDR (it's always a treat, as the actor does such a nice job), but seeing this New Deal garbage mindlessly touted (which, as my grandfather liked to say, extended the Great Depression by ten years). It should be an "aww how cute" moment. Instead, it comes across as preachy, thoughtless, and cheap, taking advantage of the ignorance of a child to further political motives, which never fails to anger me. Thankfully, "Tomorrow" salvages the scene with aplomb (and I just love the ending "pose," with Washington framed next to Warbucks!).

There are also some parts of the film that just makes one feel a bit queasy. Burnett plays her scenes to perfection. Perhaps she plays them a little too perfectly! Ms. Hannigan is a low-life drunk, to be sure, but wow! Burnett gave the character a bizarre likability and attractive personality; nonetheless, I always found myself eager for her scenes to be over, even when I was a kid. She's the epitome of depression, and her scenes -- as well as those of the post-Annie orphanage -- are always big let-downs. They are stark reminders that Annie's fantasy is just that: a fantasy. The ending doesn't really make up for it, either. What could (and should) be a happy joyride all the way through is tainted with this sick reminder that this is just a movie. Now, I don't expect all of my entertainment to be happy, but in a movie like this, the effect is jarring, and the only word I can use to describe it is "bipolar." "I'm a happy wish-fulfilling movie where everyone's dreams come true and every single person in the universe can jump into song and dance at any moment! OH NO, WAIT! I'M REALITY NOW! GOSH, THAT SUCKS, HUH!"

Also, this really should be a kid's movie. So why, dear heavens why, are there so many creepy sexual overtones? Why, why, why must we have panty shots? Look, in the musical Chicago, such things made SENSE because that was an adult musical. In this, it just comes across as crass and seems done in very poor taste indeed.

Really, as much as I have gone on about them, the negatives are slight in comparison to the overwhelming positive air surrounding Annie. There's something so magnetic about this film, and in the final act, one is positively glued to the screen. Overall, this is a fabulous movie. I watched it religiously as a child and the wonder still hasn't worn off on me today. I pop it in regularly when I need a pick-me-up.

DVD Review: Great Entertainment
Summary: 5 Stars

This is a great movie. Carol Burnett is still a great actress! (she plays Mrs. Hanagan, the orphanage mother) Watching this movie again brought back lots of childhood memories! It's still a movie that gets you to sing a long. Great for kids too.

DVD Review: Bedtime Favorite
Summary: 5 Stars

The movie is great! My 2-year-old granddaughter loves to hear the girls in the orphanage sing "It's a Hard Knock Life" before she goes to bed. Not your typical lullaby, is it?

Description of Annie (Special Anniversary Edition)

Broadway musical based on the little orphan annie comic strip. A young orphan girls adventures in finding a family that will take her. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 08/23/2005 Starring: Albert Finney Tim Curry Run time: 127 minutes Rating: Pg Director: John Huston

Charmless and dull, this adaptation of the Broadway hit stars Aileen Quinn as the depression-era moppet, Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks, Carol Burnett as the cruel headmistress at an orphanage, and Tim Curry as a villain. The film never gets its legs, and there is no sense of setting; it's almost as if the whole thing is happening in a void. John Huston nominally directed--no doubt to make money between his smaller, cheaper masterpieces--but one would have thought he would invest something of himself in here. --Tom Keogh

General DVDs

Genres > Kids & Family
By Theme > Orphans
Comedy
Musicals & Performing Arts > Musicals > Comedy

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