Little Fugitive (Special Edition)
by Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin
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DVD details
Actor: Richie Andrusco, Ricky BrewsterDirector: Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin
Brand: Kino International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 80 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-11-08
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: 6382
Studio: KINO VIDEO
Product features:
- LITTLE FUGITIVE, THE SPECIAL EDITION (DVD MOVIE)
DVD Reviews of Little Fugitive (Special Edition)
DVD Review: great performances and scenes of a Coney Island long gone
Summary: 4 Stars
Little Fugitive is an independent movie that has a creative storyline and the acting, all done by people new to movie making, is excellent. The plot moves along well at the beginning but it does slow down a bit too much for the main portion of the film. However, the cinematography is great, Morris Engel's camera technique works wonders for this film--he had a 35mm camera strapped to his chest to film most of this picture! In addition, the choreography works well in the scuffle scene between two of the older boys as well as the scenes inside the apartment where the Nortons live.
When the action starts, we meet some young boys who want to play even though they're a bit cranky and tired of playing the same old games day in and day out in their Brooklyn, New York City neighborhood. Lennie Norton (Richard Brewster) likes to tease his younger brother Joey (Richie Andrusco); and Lennie's friends Harry (Charlie Moss) and Charley (Tommy DeCanio) don't like Joey too much, either.
One day, Lennie and Joey discover that their mother (Winifred Cushing) has to spend the weekend away visiting their sick grandmother. Their mother tells Lennie to take care of Joey; when Lennie protests that he wants to go to Coney Island for his birthday their mother says he's have to go another time. This really gets the tension up between Joey and Lennie.
However, Lennie has a plan--with the help of his friends Harry and Charley. They trick Joey into thinking that he accidentally killed Lennie with a "real" bullet in a "real" gun; and Harry tells Joey to "beat it" before the cops come for him! Joey falls for this because he is a rather young and impressionable child; and he flees with a few things of his and goes for a subway ride. Where does Joey end up? Coney Island!
The scenes filmed at Coney Island are very well done and it does indeed give this film a documentary flavor. I do wish, however, that the plot moved a bit quicker at this point; and the plot could have been improved even more by the introduction of another young child. Yes, Joey meets another kid who teaches him how to collect bottles to get the nickel deposits back; but it still doesn't give me enough material to truly satisfy me.
And of course, the plot could go anywhere from here. Does Lennie ever find out where his brother his? How will the pony-ride man Jay (Jay Williams) figure into all this? Will Lennie go to a cop to help him find Joey? How will Joey manage on his own at Coney Island? Watch and find out!
The DVD comes with two documentary short features; and I really liked the footage in this film of Coney Island and Brooklyn from back in the day. As a native New Yorker, that was great to watch.
Overall, Little Fugitive is a good motion picture despite the fact that it suffers a bit from a plot that moves too slowly for the main portion of the picture. Nevertheless, I recommend this film for people who like independent film; and people who enjoy footage of what New York's Brooklyn and Coney Island looked like way back when will also enjoy this film.
Description of Little Fugitive (Special Edition)
- WINNER: Silver Lion 1953 Venice Film Festival- Academy AwardTM Nominee Best Motion Picture Story
- Inducted in 1997 to the NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY (Library of Congress & National Film Preservation Board)
Widely regarded as one of the most influential and enjoyable films of the American independent cinema, Little Fugitive is an utterly charming fable that poetically captures the joys and wonders of childhood. When a seven-year-old boy (Richie Andrusco) is tricked into believing he killed his older brother, he gathers his meager possessions and flees to New York s nether wonderland: Coney Island. Upon and beneath the crowded boardwalk, Joey experiences a day and night filled with adventures and mysteries, resulting in a film that is refreshingly spontaneous and thoroughly delightful. Hailed by critics as a groundbreaking cinematic feat, Little Fugitive won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, played in nearly 5,000 theatres in the U.S. and is now recognized as a classic of American independent film.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Feature-length Audio Commentary by Morris Engel
- Two Documentary Films by Mary Engel: Morris Engel: The Independent (2007, 28 min) & Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life (1995, 18 min.)
- Theatrical Trailer
- Image Gallery
- Remastered from a New High-Definition Transfer
French director François Truffaut once said, "Our New Wave would never have come into being if it hadn't been for the young Morris Engel, with his fine Little Fugitive." High praise indeed, and as Truffaut observed, this early milestone of American independent filmmaking had a powerful influence on such later French classics as The Red Balloon and Truffaut's own Les Mistons and The 400 Blows.
Codirected by Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, and Ruth Orkin, and photographed by Engel in New York during the summer of 1952, the film tells the simple story of a 7-year-old Brooklyn boy named Joey (charmingly played by nonactor Richie Andrusco), who flees to Coney Island after a mischievous prank leads Joey to believe he's accidentally killed his older brother Lennie. With six dollars in his pocket, Joey indulges himself with amusement rides and junk food, and as the weekend progresses, Lennie begins an equally adventurous search for his missing kid brother.
Winner of the Silver Lion award at the 1953 Venice Film Festival and Oscar nominee for Best Story, Little Fugitive was inducted into the prestigious National Film Registry in 1997. Making innovative use of a hand-held camera (which impressed Engel's friend Stanley Kubrick, who used the same equipment for his debut feature Fear and Desire), the film favors image over dialogue, and unfolds with timeless and universal appeal. A pleasure from start to finish, Little Fugitive is a little masterpiece that you'll never forget. --Jeff Shannon
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