Spellbound

Spellbound
by Jeffrey Blitz

Spellbound
List Price: $14.94
Category: DVD
See more DVD details

Buy Spellbound at Amazon.com
(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD details

Actor: Angela Arenivar, Jorge Arenivar, Mr. Scott McGarraugh, Mrs. Lindy McGarraugh, Ubaldo Arenivar
Director: Jeffrey Blitz
Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
Producer: Jeffrey Blitz
Editor: Yana Gorskaya
Producer: Ronnie Eisen
Producer: Sean Welch
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French (Subtitled)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-01-20
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Sony Pictures

DVD Reviews of Spellbound

DVD Review: Spellbound is an eye opening movie
Summary: 4 Stars

This movie follows eight national spelling bee contestants through the preparation in their home towns to the actual contest. It shows just how much kids can achieve with determination and hard work. I highly recommend this for everyone, but especially for parents to show to their hard to motivate children.

DVD Review: compelling and uplifting
Summary: 4 Stars

This is one of the most fun, uplifting documentaries I've seen in a long time. I really thought that the filmmakers struck a great balance between letting us get to know the subjects and keeping the "storyline" moving. It's always a challenge to follow multiple subjects but in "Spellbound" this is done masterfully. Each one of the children drew me in and their struggles and dreams became my own for the duration of the film. Although I wouldn't say "Spellbound" was deep or profound it did elevate the idea of hard work and goal setting in a way that I found admirable. This film deserves all the success it has had.

DVD Review: You will be spellbound
Summary: 5 Stars

I am a big fan of documentaries and I just love this one. I show it every year to my high school freshmen just before the Scripps National Bee. They moan and groan at first. (It is, after all, a documentary.) But by the end they have particular favorites--and we are all on the edge of our seats watching the final competition. Good stuff!!

DVD Review: fun, engaging, and inspiring
Summary: 5 Stars

I love good documentaries, so I thought this might be a fun one to see, and it was even better than I expected. At times the kids it followed were the source of a lot of humor, at other times I found myself becoming really drawn into the drama of this great competition, and I was never bored throughout the whole movie. I especially liked how it followed several kids from different backgrounds. You really get a feel for the great diversity because of that approach.

DVD Review: Kids with awesome work ethic
Summary: 4 Stars

I really enjoyed this movie primarily due to seeing how hard the kids worked to achieve their goals. Yes, the parents were highly involved, one in particular a bit too much, but the kids were highly self motivated and it showed in their work ethic and dedication.

There was a comment earlier about how a poor student could never win the Bee. And I will admit, it was eye opening to see what some of the more affluent parents put into training their kids (language tutors, spelling tutors). I still thought the fact that Ashley White and Angela from TX made this as far as they did showed poor kids could have a chance of winning. I thought they did great. I was really, really upset learning what happened to Ashley White as she moved to high school. Another teen parent, it made me more incensed at her mother. I really disliked her throughout the movie. She had no clue the opportunity this Bee was for her daughter, a great networking opportunity to help match her daughter up with mentor to get her out of the typical SE DC mentality. All she seemed to care about was the $10,000. Just a sorry excuse for a mother.

As you can see the movie really draws you into the kids lives. Definitely a great movie to own!!

Description of Spellbound

Spellbound is the extraordinary documentary that follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the National Spelling Bee competition.
Who would have thought that a documentary about spelling-bee contestants could be as suspenseful as a Hitchcock thriller? Spellbound, which follows eight kids from their early victories in regional spelling bees to the national competition in Washington, D.C., is an out-and-out nail-biter. Each of the kids--who range from a quietly driven African American girl from a run-down D.C. neighborhood, to a genial Connecticut girl who talks about bringing her au pair to a previous competition, to an almost zombie-like boy whose immigrant father has paid 1,000 people back in India to pray for the boy's success--gets captured so vividly that you can't help but get emotionally immersed in their brave, nerve-wracking struggle to spell slippery, treacherous words. Along the way, Spellbound contrasts the crazily different populations that make up the U.S. and shows how this facet of intelligence truly makes everyone equal on the podium. A riveting, wrenching, must-see movie. --Bret Fetzer

General DVDs

DVD Video
Bestsellers in General DVDs
Valentino: The Last Emperor ImageValentino: The Last Emperor
PEACE ARCH HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2009-09-08; DVD
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops: $14.99
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns ImageThe Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
BURNS,KEN; Release date: 2004-09-28; DVD
Best price: $35.95
Price in other shops: $99.99
On the Road with Charles Kuralt, Set 1 ImageOn the Road with Charles Kuralt, Set 1
Acorn; Release date: 2009-10-27; DVD
Best price: $27.10
Price in other shops: $39.99
The National Parks: America's Best Idea [Blu-ray] ImageThe National Parks: America's Best Idea [Blu-ray]
Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $68.53
Price in other shops: $129.99
Monty Python: Almost The Truth ImageMonty Python: Almost The Truth
Uni; Release date: 2009-10-27; DVD
Best price: $18.97
Price in other shops: $29.99
The Secret (Extended Edition) ImageThe Secret (Extended Edition)
The Secret; Release date: 2006-10-01; Published: 2006; DVD
Best price: $7.78
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Carter ImageThe Carter
HART SHARP VIDEO; Release date: 2009-11-17; DVD
Best price: $13.85
Price in other shops: $19.99
Ken Burns: National Parks - America's Best Idea ImageKen Burns: National Parks - America's Best Idea
Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $60.95
Price in other shops: $99.99
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series ImagePlanet Earth - The Complete BBC Series
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $26.67
Price in other shops: $79.98
Food, Inc. ImageFood, Inc.
MAGNOLIA PICT HM ENT; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops: $26.98
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Peripheral Visions: Learning along the Way ImagePeripheral Visions: Learning along the Way
by Mary C. Bateson
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 1995-05-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.83
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Girl with the Brown Crayon ImageThe Girl with the Brown Crayon
by Vivian Gussin Paley
Harvard University Press; Published: 1998-09-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops: $16.50
The Disciplined Mind: Beyond Facts and Standardized Tests, the K-12 Education that Every Child Deserves ImageThe Disciplined Mind: Beyond Facts and Standardized Tests, the K-12 Education that Every Child Deserves
by Howard Gardner
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2000-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.86
Price in other shops: $16.00
A Passion For Learning: The Education Of Seven Eminent Americans ImageA Passion For Learning: The Education Of Seven Eminent Americans
by Philip A. Cusick
Teacher College Press; Published: 2004-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.94
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Best of the National Spelling Bee ImageThe Best of the National Spelling Bee
Espn; Release date: 2006-11-07; DVD
Best price: $55.00
Spelling Bee Brainiac: 600 Spelling Challenges for Word Amateurs and Experts Ages 10 and Up (Kaplan Brainiac) ImageSpelling Bee Brainiac: 600 Spelling Challenges for Word Amateurs and Experts Ages 10 and Up (Kaplan Brainiac)
by Randy Howe
Kaplan Publishing; Published: 2008-10-07; Cards; Book
Best price: $9.80
Price in other shops: $16.95
Wordplay ImageWordplay
WELLSPRING/GENIUS; Release date: 2006-11-07; DVD
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops: $19.95
Mad Hot Ballroom ImageMad Hot Ballroom
PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2005-10-18; DVD
Best price: $5.84
Price in other shops: $12.98
How to Spell Like a Champ ImageHow to Spell Like a Champ
by Barrie Trinkle, Carolyn Andrews, Paige Kimble
Workman Publishing Company; Published: 2006-10-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.88
Price in other shops: $10.95
Akeelah and the Bee (Widescreen Edition) ImageAkeelah and the Bee (Widescreen Edition)
FISHBURNE,LAURENCE; Release date: 2006-08-29; DVD
Best price: $4.81
Price in other shops: $14.98
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners