The Secret Garden (1993 film)

Infobox_Film
name = The Secret Garden


producer = Francis Ford Coppola (Exec. Prod.)
director = Agnieszka Holland
writer = Frances Hodgson Burnett (book)
Caroline Thompson (screenplay)
starring = Kate Maberly
Heydon Prowse
Andrew Knott
Maggie Smith
John Lynch
music = Zbigniew Preisner
cinematography = Roger Deakins & Jerzy Zielinski
editing = Isabelle Lorente
distributor = Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
released = August 13, 1993
runtime = 102 min.
language = English
imdb_id = 0108071

"The Secret Garden" is a 1993 film adaptation of the book of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film was directed by Agnieszka Holland and released on August 13, 1993.

Main Cast

Plot

"The Secret Garden" is adapted from the 1909 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The recently-orphaned Mary Lennox travels from her home in India to her uncle Archibald Craven's hundred-room house, Misselthwaite Manor, in Yorkshire, England. Mary, materially spoiled but emotionally neglected by her late parents, is rather unpleasant and unhappy in her new surroundings. Martha, a Yorkshire girl working as a maid, and her brother Dickon Sowerby, a boy who can talk to animals, befriend and help her to heal and grow. She discovers her deceased aunt's secret garden, which has been locked for ten years and enlists Dickon to help her bring it to life.

Hidden away in the gloomy house is Mary's cousin Colin, who has been treated all his life like a fragile, sickly invalid. This exaggeration has augmented what smaller problems he did have, turning him into a demanding, short-tempered, helpless boy. Mary, defying the orders of Mrs Medlock (who runs Misselthwaite), discovers Colin and is taken aback by his disposition, but reaches out to him anyway. Soon Colin, Mary, and Dickon all spend their time in the secret garden. They perform "magic"; barefoot, they make a large bonfire and play a flute, dance round it, and chant, while Colin asks the magic to send his father. Colin learns to walk and gets quite well, which his father Archibald discovers upon his return to Misselthwaite.

Differences between film and book

A number of minor changes were made in adapting the story for the screen, though the major plot points and character qualities remain, resulting in a considerably faithful retelling. Following is a list of some of the differences:

*In the book, Mary's parents die of cholera epidemic; in the film, an earthquake and the resulting mayhem (a charging elephant and a fire at a large party) lead to their deaths.
*In the book, Mary is blonde, plain and sallow; in the film, she has brown hair and appears to be considerably healthier.
*In the book, Archibald Craven's wife is Mary's aunt through her father. In the movie, his wife was twin sister to Mary's mother.
*In the book, Mary discovers the key to the locked garden rather by accident after a robin digs it up. In the movie, she finds it in her aunt's room and initially doesn't know what it is for, but remembers it when finding the door to the garden.
*In the book, Mary finds the door to the garden when the wind blows back the ivy covering it. In the movie, a robin leads her to the area where the door is before the wind blows away the ivy.
*Mrs. Medlock of this film is a much more stern character than her counterpart in the book.
*In the book, Martha and Dickon's mother, Susan Sowerby, writes to Archibald and requests that he should go home to the children. This is after he has had the dream which is partly interpreted in the film, of his wife saying she is in the garden. However, in the film, he has the dream because of the influence of Colin's magic in wanting him home, and Susan Sowerby has nothing to do with it.
*A romantic attraction between Mary and Dickon, and Colin towards Mary, is hinted at in the film, but is not evident in the book.
*In the movie, Mary's wardrobe is black, whereas in the book her new wardrobe is colorful because Mr. Craven despises black.
*In the book Dickon has red hair, but in the film, he has dark brown hair.
*In the book, Archibald Craven's wife Lilias fell out of a tree when the branch snapped, and died from the fall, and the tiring incident of Colin's birth. In the film, she fell off the swing, and the pre-mentioned events then followed.
*In the book, Colin Craven has his mother's grey eyes, and Mary resembles her by her hair, and other features. However, in the film, Lord Craven suggests that it is Mary who has her aunt's eyes, and Colin says he looks nothing like his mother.
*The pictures of Lord Craven and his pregnant wife on the swing never existed in the book.
*In the film, Mary's aunt and mother, being twin sisters, which is not true in the book, have similar things. Mary mentions a similar dressing table. And also, the ivory elephant of her mother's which Mary breaks in her anger before the earthquake (also not true in the book) has a twin which sits on that very dressing table in her aunt's room. However, in the book, Mary never visits her aunts room, and sees the ivory elephants in what she calls an Indian room, while wandering about when she first comes to Misselthwaite.

Response

Critical Reception

Since its 1993 release, the film has garnered exceptionally positive reviews and currently garners a rare 100% "fresh" approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

Awards

Award wins
*Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music – (Zbigniew Preisner)Award nominations
*BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role - (Maggie Smith)

External links

*imdb title|id=0108071|title=The Secret Garden
*rotten-tomatoes|id=1045518-secret_garden|title=The Secret Garden