Matilda | | Cast : | Danny DeVito, Mara Wilson, Rhea Perlman | | Director : | Danny DeVito | | Studio : | Columbia Tristar Hom | | Format : | Color | | Released Date : | August 02, 1996 | | DVD Released Date : | June 07, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 22, 2005 | | Summary | An OK adaptation of a great book | Content
 | Our family loves the book, and most of our family liked this DVD pretty well too. I personally thought it was OK, but a bit lacking in the characterization of Matilda. In the book, Matilda is an introverted, sensitive kid who eventually develops the ability to move small objects, but it takes a lot of her energy to use it and she's usually exhausted afterwards. In the movie, Matilda is more of a typical "cute Hollywood kid" (not shy at all) who can move very large objects (and/or large numbers of objects) pretty much anytime without any difficulty or fatigue -- much like Samantha in "Bewitched". Oh well, that's Hollywood for you.
Still, the movie is mostly enjoyable. I agree with a previous reviewer that it's probably too "dark" for kids under 7 -- the amount of meanness exhibited by some adults might upset them.
The DVD extras are well-done, and my kids enjoyed the games. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 09, 2005 | | Summary | Well...it was almost a faithful adaption. | Content
| I'm giving this film three stars for the acting and the cuteness in the film. However, hollywood had done it again decided to add super powers to little Matilda. Why couldn't they keep it the way it was in the book? When I was little, the book encouraged me to read because Matilda was such an avid reader. Adding the telekinsis element to the film detracts from the purpose of the film. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 02, 2005 | | Summary | Nothing special about a 1.33:1 DVD when the film was WIDESCREEN | Content
| Other reviewers are correct. MATILDA, one of Danny DeVito's underrated masterpieces of humor, was released in 2.35:1. Once again, a DVD release crops it to fit "conventional" televisions. The term "conventional" is fast become outdated, since 16:9 widescreen digital TVs are getting increasingly affordable. My humble suggestion: make clear to studios that charging us full price for only half the frame of the director's movie are charging TOO MUCH. Wait for a "real" special edition that presents the film as DeVito intended it to be seen. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 24, 2005 | | Summary | Great Movie but I wanted WIDESCREEN | Content
| Nothing special about this edition except extras. We want widescreen! |
| Rating | | | Date | June 13, 2005 | | Summary | FANTASTIC FUN MOVIE.! NEEDS TO BE WIDESCREEN! | Content
| Mathilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is an extremely curious and intelligent young girl who is very different from her low-brow, mainstream parents (Danny DeVito and real-life wife Rhea Perlman), who quite cruelly ignore her. As she grows older, she begins to discover that she has telekinetic powers. Not until a teacher shows her kindness for the first time does she realize that she can use those powers to do something about her sufferings and help her friends as well. Villains from the awful Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), headmistress of her miserable school Crunchem Hall, to her parents and older brother begin to feel her ire. Look for Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) in a small part as an FBI agent investigating Mathilda's shady father.
The mordant vision of author Roald Dahl's world probably appealed to the director of War of the Roses and Hoffa, for it permeates this witty, eccentric, dark-toned children's film for adults. Matilda (Mara Wilson), an unusually bright 8-year-old whose reading fare runs to Moby Dick and For Whom the Bell Tolls, is saddled with a pair of comically selfish and obtuse parents (Danny De Vito and Rhea Perlman) whom she has to persuade to allow her to go to school. But her principil, the child-hating Miss Trunchbull Pam Ferris, proves no more enlightened than her parents. This hilariously exaggerated, Lewis Carroll-like version of the world is probably not too far from what many children may feel on a bad day. De Vito and Perlman camp it up outrageously and Ferris gives a terrific performance as a cartoonish villain. Cinematographer Stefan Czapsky shoots from a number of strange angles, making this perhaps the first expressionist film for children.
This DVD of course has just the awful fullscreen version and, there is so much picture information missing from the sides. This was shot in the ratio of 2:35 so, we are not seeing all that we should be.
Thankfully I have the laserdisc widescreen version which I just recently put to DVD-R and so now I can enjoy MATILDA'S beautiful picture quality and in its widescreen beautiful glory!!
By the way, the extras on this special edition DVD is great, especially the piece that Mara shot on the set of the movie. She uses a vidcam and,its just so adorable. This is the best part of all the extras in my opinion.
So, even tho the DVD is in fullscreen, which really stinks, the extras are a treat and, oh yes, on some of the extras they show the widescreen version and, this is nuts because if they used the widescreen to show samples of how they did the special effects and other things, then WHY did they not use the widescreen version for the DVD??
|
|
