The Secret Garden (1993)

Director:

Agnieszka Holland

Writers (WGA):

Frances Hodgson Burnett (book)
Caroline Thompson (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Tagline:

The timeless tale of a special place where magic, hope and love grow.

Plot:

A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle...

Plot Keywords:

Shut In | Grief | 19th Century | Consolation | Friend

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Aug. 3

12:00 PM

FAM

Cast

Kate Maberly	...	Mary Lennox
Heydon Prowse	...	Colin Craven
Andrew Knott	...	Dickon
Maggie Smith	...	Mrs. Medlock
Laura Crossley	...	Martha
John Lynch	...	Lord Archibald Craven
Walter Sparrow	...	Ben Weatherstaff
Irène Jacob	...	Mary's Mother / Lilias Craven (as Irene Jacob)
Frank Baker	...	Government Official
Valerie Hill	...	Cook
Andrea Pickering	...	Betty Butterworth
Peter Moreton	...	Will
Arthur Spreckley	...	John
Colin Bruce	...	Major Lennox
Parsan Singh	...	Ayah

Also Known As:

Jardín secreto, El (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Carobni vrt (Slovenia) [sl]
Geheime Garten, Der (Germany) [de]
Giardino segreto, Il (Italy) [it]
Gizli bahçe (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Jardim Secreto (Portugal) [pt]
Jardim Secreto, O (Brazil) [pt]
Jardin secret, Le (France) [fr]
Salainen puutarha (Finland) [fi]
Tajemniczy ogród (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Canada:PG (Ontario) | France:U | Netherlands:MG6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Allerton Park, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

John Lynch was cast at the 11th hour after the actor first cast as Lord Craven pulled out.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Mrs Medlock picks up Mary at the train station, she is sitting on her large trunk and surrounded by other large pieces of luggage. They leave the station, and Mary just picks up a couple smaller pieces and leaves the rest.

Quotes:

Mary: [pointing to a swing] Look, there's a picture of my mother and my aunt sitting here.
Dickon: They say that's how she died.
Mary: My aunt? How?
Dickon: Falling off it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Soundtrack:

Greensleeves

An utter delight

This movie is an utter delight to watch. I have probably seen it a dozen times, and I never get tired of it. Everything about it is perfect: it's well-directed, well-acted, beautifully filmed, has great music, and the script and story are wonderful.

Agneiszka Holland does an outstanding job directing this film. Each character is separate and unique; each one has little personality quirks that makes it seem real. Just about every scene in the movie includes children, animals, or both -- which must have been a nightmare to coordinate. Ms. Holland pulls it off without a hitch. Everything melds perfectly, and we are transported to a distant place and time, and fall in love with real, human characters.

The primary three characters in this story -- Mary Lennox, Colin Craven, and Dickon -- are all children, played by actors who are around 10 years old. Ordinarily having one child in a movie is difficult enough, but again, somehow they pull it off. All three kids -- especially Kate Maberly -- do a fine job of acting, and they are quite credible. Kate is simply divine as Mary Lennox, and Heydon Prowse was a good counter-point to her as Colin.

The story is touching and charming, and I think you'd have to be almost inhuman not to have a tear in your eye by the end of it. I absolutely fell in love with these children, and came to care very much about their characters. The "secret garden" really does seem to be a magical place (and I will say no more about it, since otherwise that would spoil things), and at the end I found myself wishing I could go and visit it first-hand. The accompanying music is wonderful -- I find myself humming it for days and days after watching it.

In short, everything comes together to make this film a masterpiece. It is easily one of the 10 or 12 best movies ever made, perhaps *the* best movie ever made. I love it so much that I went out and bought the DVD of it, even though I'd seen it 8 or 10 times already. If you have not seen it I give it my highest possible recommendation. My score: 10/10.