The World of Henry Orient
by George Roy Hill
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Angela Lansbury, Paula Prentiss, Peter Sellers, Phyllis Thaxter, Tom BosleyDirector: George Roy Hill
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-10-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of The World of Henry Orient
DVD Review: Nearly-forgotten teen holiday movie
Summary: 4 Stars
A good third of THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT occurs at Christmas time. Because it's set in NYC, we see the tree in Rockefeller Center and other festive Manhattan decorations. There's a holiday party at the home of a well-to-do couple (they have a lush white tree with green ornaments) while at a single mom's flat the family's humble tree sits off in a corner of the living room.
The film stars Peter Sellers, but his is a peripheral character. Also in the cast are Paula Prentiss (small role in first half-hour), Tom Bosley, Angela Lansbury and Phyllis Thaxter. The leads in this story are really two unknown 14-year-olds: Tippy Walker as 'Val' and Merrie Spaeth as 'Gil.'
Val looks like the youngest Brady girl with her blonde pigtails while Gil is more sophisticated. She has a genius IQ and plays beautiful piano. Gil becomes infatuated with a mediocre concert pianist (Sellers) and the two girls follow him all over Manhattan. The story's more complex than that, for it's really about these kids' friendship and Gil's troubled family life.
Henry Orient is an odd character-- he doesn't like to practice and it shows in his performances. After a Christmas night concert at Carnegie Hall, several members of the audience hang by the stage door so they can jeer and boo him, like they would a ballplayer who muffed a catch. Henry's a playboy and a paranoid coward-- and those are a couple of his better traits!
This quirky George Roy Hill picture is a thoughtful family story that deals with holiday depression, divorce and especially the concerns of adolescent girls.
Related item:
The very next project Peter Sellers worked on was Blake Edwards' A SHOT IN THE DARK (1964), the first "Pink Panther" movie.
Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll rating.
(6.9) The World of Henry Orient (1964) - Peter Sellers/Paula Prentiss/Angela Lansbury/Tom Bosley/Phyllis Thaxter/Bibi Osterwald/Merrie Spaeth/Tippy Walker/John Fiedler/Al Lewis/Peter Duchin
DVD Review: See this, or see it again...
Summary: 5 Stars
Funny and poignant at the same time, not to mention future tv stars Angela Lansbury and Tom Bosley, as well as a standout performance by Peter Sellers...DVD Review: "Valarie Boyd's just about the most linquent girl I've ever met in my whole life!"
Summary: 4 Stars
This most charming coming-of-age comedy, based on the novel of the same name by Nora Johnson, is an overlooked gem which I sincerely hope starts to become more widely-known. Although Peter Sellers is top-billed in the cast (and plays the title role) by no means however is the star of the show.
THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT is the story of two misfit teen girls: Marian (Merrie Spaeth) and Valarie (Elizabeth "Tippy" Walker). Marian lives with her divorced mother and a close family friend in a cosy apartment; Valarie's globe-trotting parents rarely bother her, and she lives with a housekeeper. Their friendship is sealed when Valarie develops a crush on a handsome, avant-garde pianist named Henry Orient (Peter Sellers) and the two girls resolve to follow--ie: stalk--him all over New York. This hero worship, which mainly involves the girls standing outside his apartment block wearing Chinese coolie hats, soon scares off Henry's latest 'married' girlfriend (Paula Prentiss) and wreaks havoc on his performance schedule!
A charming, bittersweet comedy, THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT is no "Pink Panther"--nor does it pretend to be--but offers it's own special brand of low-key magic. Angela Lansbury plays Valarie's icy, calculating mother, who contrasts dramatically with the down-to-earth members of Marian's loving household (Phyllis Thaxter and Bibi Osterwald). Elmer Bernstein contributes a whimsical musical score and George Roy Hill's sensitive direction delivers some lovely performances from Spaeth and Walker. Recommended.
DVD Review: A Gem of a Movie - A Treasure
Summary: 5 Stars
From its beginning as a first book by the young Nora Johnson, daughter of the great screenwriter, Nunnally Johnson, "The World of Henry Orient" was a labor of love for all who worked on it. Nora's father adapted the book into a screenplay, and then the excellent director, George Roy Hill, transformed it into one of the better movies ever made.
I'm so glad this movie was made at the right time (1964), when cinema still relied on a good story, well told. I firmly believe this film couldn't, or wouldn't, be made today. Hollywood, with a few outstanding exceptions, now seems content to churn out major productions built on wow-me special effects, formulaic plots, infantile characters, and sophomoric dialogue. But that wasn't the case in 1964, and it certainly wasn't the case in "The World of Henry Orient."
Every aspect of this film is exceptional: The cinematography, with its innovative camera angles, beautifully depicts the special world of the two girls, and also presents a lovely panorama of New York City before its decay. You can watch "The World of Henry Orient" for its scenic selections and camera work alone, and learn more than in most modern movies.
The scenes depicting the changes of the seasons are, for example, carefully correlated with what is happening emotionally in the script and are also used to depict the passage of time.
Listen to the movie's score: There is a lovely melody representing the youthful spirit of the two girls. When the movie becomes darker, more solemn orchestration overlays the primary score, but it is never abandoned. It lurks beneath the surface, ready to break out. The director uses music in the film to tell us something about the inherent optimism and resilience of youth.
The script, based on Nora Johnson's excellent book, wonderfully communicates a lovely picture of the emotions and innocent fantasies of the two girls adolescent world, and then shows what happens when that world is intruded upon by the petty and sordid behavior of some of the adults in the movie. The masterful blending of these opposing elements creates a light, airy comedy that is also a poignant drama. It is very rare for one movie to combine so many of the aspects a great film should have, but "The World of Henry Orient" does.
You won't find better acting than in "The World of Henry Orient." Mr. Hill allows Tippy Walker and Merrie Spaeth the freedom to create their charming characters, and they do so magnificently. These two young actors almost steal the show from some of the finest performers of our time. It is a credit to Mr. Hill that each character in the movie is perfectly drawn and marvelously performed.
Thank you, Angela Lansbury, for beautifully playing what must have been a hideous role to perform. Bravo, Tom Bosley, for perfectly portraying a father who has aquired everything but the wisdom to receive his daughter's love.
I will forever smile when I think of the wonderfully phony Peter Sellers, and I will always treasure the most lovely Paula Prentiss' halarious depiction of a neurotic on steroids. Thank you Phyllis Thaxter, Bibi Osterwald, John Fielder, Al Lewis, Peter Duchan, and many others for your fine acting. Oh, when you watch the film, look for the cameo appearance by Jack Benny; he is one of the members of the ochestra.
"The World of Henry Orient" will always hold a most special place in my heart. The girls will always be young. Peter Sellers will never cease pursuing the beguiling Paula Prentiss, and Tom Bosley will forever just have learned how to be a father to his child.
What I really want to say in this review is thanks to all of you who gave us this treasure. You did an outstanding job, and you can be very proud of what you created. And you did it in 1964.
DVD Review: The World of Henry Orient
Summary: 5 Stars
It was fantastic..It played very well..Was very funny and reminded me of my youth and my friend Eva and the same places we used to hang around at back then..We did look to find famous people and wait around and such..Not to the same extreme. I watched it at least 10 times and will watch it again..The CD was in great shape and fast delivery...
Description of The World of Henry Orient
Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury and Tom Bosley are hilarious in The World of Henry Orient, a funny, charming (Los Angeles Times), lively and imaginative (Newsweek) place you'll want to visit again and again! Two starry-eyed schoolgirls spy, stalk and scheme their way into the life of a concert pianist (Sellers) in this wacky piece of inspired lunacy (The Hollywood Reporter). With half of New Yorkincluding a bevy of befuddled cops and one man-hungry momin tow, these precocious teens do all they can to keep tabs on their harried hero, inadvertently turning The World of Henry Orient entirely upside down!The World of Henry Orient would be a classic, if only more people knew about it. Here are the adventures of two prep-school Manhattan girls, memorably played by Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker, who decide to dedicate a brief but crucial moment in their lives to the adoration of one Henry Orient (Peter Sellers). Orient is a concert pianist--with curiously uncertain accent--more renowned for his mistresses than his playing. (Although Sellers is onscreen for less than half the picture, he sketches one of his comic gems.) The movie has a wonderful J.D. Salinger flavor of early-'60s New York privilege, with a keen sense of the secret lives adolescents can construct for themselves. Director George Roy Hill brings an occasional burst of New Wave style but otherwise steers the movie into the tone described by one of the girls: "I feel awfully happy in a sort of sad way." --Robert Horton
General DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in General DVDs
The Office - Season FiveUNI DIST CORP. (MCA); Release date: 2009-09-08; DVD
Best price: $22.39
Price in other shops:
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Special Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-09-30; DVD
Best price: $9.48
Price in other shops:
SpaceballsMGM HOME VIDEO (UNDER FOX); Release date: 2000-04-25; DVD
Best price: $3.42
Price in other shops:
The Ugly Truth (Widescreen Edition)SONY PICTURES HOME ENT; Release date: 2009-11-10; DVD
Best price: $13.49
Price in other shops:
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Its A Very Sunny ChristmasTCFHE; Release date: 2009-11-17; DVD
Best price: $13.65
Price in other shops:
Blazing Saddles (30th Anniversary Special Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2004-06-29; DVD
Best price: $4.29
Price in other shops:
The Proposal (Single Disc Widescreen)BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2009-10-13; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
![Cars [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Cars-Blu-ray-B000V1Y43W-X.jpg)
Cars [Blu-ray]Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2007-11-06; DVD
Best price: $12.45
Price in other shops:
Four ChristmasesNEW LINE HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2009-11-24; DVD
Best price: $12.66
Price in other shops:
Julie & JuliaRelease date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The Loved OneMORSE,ROBERT; Release date: 2006-06-20; DVD
Best price: $10.25
Price in other shops:
The World of Henry Orient: A Novelby Nora Johnson
Green Mansion Press; Published: 2002-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.11
Price in other shops:
A Shot in the DarkSELLERS,PETER; Release date: 2009-01-27; DVD
Best price: $7.03
Price in other shops:
The MillionairessRelease date: 1999-06-15; DVD
Best price: $24.21
Play It Again, SamRelease date: 2001-10-23; DVD
Best price: $14.99
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-06-20; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
What's New PussycatSELLERS,PETER; Release date: 2005-06-07; DVD
Best price: $8.28
Price in other shops:
The Naked TruthTERRY-THOMAS; Release date: 2005-06-07; DVD
Best price: $2.90
Price in other shops:
After the FoxRelease date: 2002-02-05; DVD
Best price: $22.95
The Mouse That RoaredSELLERS,PETER; Release date: 2003-07-08; DVD
Best price: $10.52
Price in other shops: