Lassie Come Home
by Fred M. Wilcox, Gunther von Fritsch
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Actor: Dame May Whitty, Donald Crisp, Edmund Gwenn, Nigel Bruce, Roddy McDowallDirector: Fred M. Wilcox, Gunther von Fritsch
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: Alice Dalgliesh
Writer: Buddy Adler
Writer: Eric Knight
Writer: Herbert Morgan
Writer: Hugo Butler
Writer: Joe Ansen
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
Published: 2004-08-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-24
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of Lassie Come Home
DVD Review: COMING HOME WITH THIS COLLIE IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR!
Summary: 3 Stars
Who would have thought that a collie could inspire such loyalty and devotion from movie goers? When Loewes Inc. President Nicholas Schenk first screened "Lassie Come Home" he reportedly told director, Fred Wilcox that it was so bad he was going to recommend to MGM's mogul, L.B. Mayer, that the film not be released. Thankfully, Mayer thought otherwise and the film, with all its maudlin charm and abundantly potent sentimentality, became one of the biggest grossing films of 1943. What makes "Lassie Come Home" such an engaging and enduring cinematic experience is the tender and wistful relationship between Joe Carraclough (Roddy McDowell) and his loyal four-legged companion. When Joe's father, Sam (Donald Crisp) is forced to sell Lassie to the wealthy, Duke of Rudling (Nigel Bruce), Joe's heart is shattered. But the collie refuses to stay with his new master, crossing hill and dale, stream and mountain in a picturesque trek that is in the best tradition of travelogue meets melodrama. At the age of ten, Elizabeth Taylor completely captivates as Pricilla, the Duke's granddaughter who eventually realizes that the bond between Joe and Lassie can never and should never be broken. Truthfully, I found myself getting a lump in the throat when at last Joe - who can't believe his eyes when, after some time Lassie suddenly appears patiently waiting for him outside in the school yard - utters the now much clichéd and overplayed "Oh, there's my Lassie, come home!" This film is the sort of MGM glamorous treatment that all of the studio's best movies had in spades. It's lushly photographed and vibrantly told with poignant performances that have long withstood the test of time.
Warner's DVD is somewhat of a disappointment. Not having considered the overall magnitude and enduring impact of the film on audiences Warner has not done a thing to restore "Lassie Come Home" to its original brilliance. The worn film negative exhibits a very dated picture with inconsistently rendered colors that, at times, are vibrant - if garish - and other times, quite pale and uninspiring. Age related artifacts abound throughout and there is a considerable amount of edge enhancement and pixelization. Overall, fine details are very nicely realized. However, contrast and black levels are not very solid. The audio is mono but respectably cleaned up and presented with a fidelity that outweighs the visual characteristics. There are NO extras.
Description of Lassie Come Home
LASSIE COME HOME - DVD MovieLassie Come Home is a classic for all the usual reasons: its timeless, universal appeal, its first-of-its-kind status, and its exceptional cinematography, direction, and performances. What makes this 1943 charmer especially fun for grownups who haven't screened it since their own preteen, pet-obsessed days, though, is a couple of cute-as-a-button cast members. An adorably over-earnest Roddy McDowall stars as Joe, the mostly hapless lad whom Lassie refuses to part with despite his down-and-out family's decision to sell her, for a paltry 15 guineas, to a wealthy duke; and Elizabeth Taylor, already stunning at around age 10, surrenders a sweet if mawkish performance as Priscilla, the Duke's tenderhearted granddaughter, who lends a hand in Lassie's escape from her family's unkind kennel master and winks her way into winning the fearless pup a permanent place at her true master's side. Beyond that, it's no mystery why generations of dog-loving audiences have marveled at the precocious collie's career--Lassie is a great actor. She so convincingly digs impossible trenches, leaps towering fences, swims raging rivers, knocks out bad guys, and betrays the essence of brokenheartedness with her bedraggled coat and woebegone expressions that it's sometimes hard to shake the suspicion that she's really an incredibly limber person in a cute dog suit. All told, Lassie Come Home delivers a lot to love, not the least of which is the deeply dramatic score--quirky sounding to the modern ear--which returns audiences to simpler, irony-free times, as does the movie's message of loyalty at all costs. --Tammy La Gorce
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