SYNOPSICS
Little Men (1998) is a English movie. Rodney Gibbons has directed this movie. Kathleen Fee,Michael Caloz,Mariel Hemingway,Ben Cook are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1998. Little Men (1998) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
1871 New England. Two-week orphaned preteen Nat Blake, in his new circumstance, has been living on the streets of Boston with his more streetwise friend, fourteen year old Dan, who looks after Nat and who survives by his cunning and by stealing. Due to an event of living on the streets, Nat gets a benefactor in the form of John Brooke who pays for his schooling at Plumfield, a boys' boarding school in the country owned and operated by John's sister-in-law and her husband, Jo and Fritz Bhaer. Although each being different in the way they exact their discipline, both the Bhaers believe that treating the boys with compassion and treating them as boys will result in them being better people than if they were strict disciplinarians. Nat goes through some adjustment of needing to lie to survive on the street to life at Plumfield, but ultimately finds that that different life is one to which he truly wants and that the changes he has to make do make him a better person. Nat's stay at ...
Little Men (1998) Reviews
Sharp Movie
When I say that Little Men is a 'sharp' movie, I mean that it has a witty sense to it. Though it will never match the success of Little Women, I feel that it comes pretty dang close. I don't know why people dislike it so much. I thought the actors did a fine job, especially newcomer Ben Cook who played Dan. You could feel with and for the characters as you could in Little Women, but the atmosphere is different at least, and it is refreshing. 8 out of 10.
The Best Film Ever!
When I first saw this wonderful film, I was in love! I was in love with the characters! This film portrays such emotion and love! The best character was Dan played by the gorgeous Ben Cook! He made me cry! I think that role prooves what a brilliant actor he is and playing a street urchin was the best bet for him! I would strongly recommend that people watch this film as it is a sensitive and wonderful family film. People will fall in love with this film the minute they watch it.
Much improved over the 1940 RKO film, though a long way from perfect
As said in my review for the 1940 RKO film, 'Little Men' is a charming, entertaining and heart-warming book. If you like the more popular 'Little Women' and 'Good Wives', 'Little Men' won't disappoint as it does have much of the ingredients that make those two books so good. The main reason why there is a personal preference towards the other two is to do with that 'Little Women' and 'Good Wives' are stories I've known and loved since childhood whereas 'Little Men' was introduced to me quite some years later. So far this reviewer has only seen two adaptations, this and the 1940 film, and while this does have flaws it is the far superior adaptation and film. Sure there are omissions, changes and merging of characters, the characters' personalities are not quite as interesting and it doesn't really convey the essence of the book, but there is much more of the original story and spirit here whereas the earlier adaptation, which was terrible as an adaptation and mediocre at best on its own merits, was almost unrecognisable. 'Little Men' looks very nice, simply but cleanly and beautifully photographed with elegant and evocative costumes, sets and scenery. The music score is understated, lilting and soothing, never overbearing, too low-key or inappropriately jaunty. There is much more of the gentle tone, subtle social commentary, charm, poignancy without being too maudlin and gentle humour without being corny or too slapstick-oriented than in the 1940 film, though there are parts that are a little stilted and don't flow as well as they could have done. Much of the story is wholesome and charming, with a very heart-warming ending. There are a couple of crucial scenes, like the death of John Brooke, that don't have the impact and are clumsily done, and there is a choppiness and skippy nature to the storytelling giving a sense of incompleteness. The film tries to solve this by getting narration to fill in the gaps, but the narration is rather unnecessary and distractingly over-explains at times. With the acting, some are better than others. The children fare far better than the adults, with the standouts being Michael Colaz and particularly Ben Cook, who is superb and the best thing about the film. The adult actors are disadvantaged by the adult characters being too much in the background and underwritten. Chris Sarandon is a bit too rough and stern as Bhaer, though admittedly it is preferable to having Bhaer played stiffly like he has been. More problematic is a far too bland and subdued Mariel Hemingway as Jo, who has lost her spirit, tomboy-ish charm and spunk and reduced to a paper-thin cut-out. All in all, a long way from perfect but watchable. As an adaptation, it's still less than ideal but it's much better than the 1940 film. 6/10 Bethany Cox
This movie was amazing and touching too.
Though some say the actors didn't do very well, I thought they did great. I'm always one to laugh, and this one had me laughing the whole time. Of course, there were emotional scenes, and the end, which was what I would call "heart-warming", I cried. Call me a sissy, but it was a great movie. All of the boys, I thought, did great. And Teddy was an adorable little actor too. The best acting would have been done by Ben Cook, who convinced me the whole time I watched the movie. My twin and I both love this movie. It was just so astounding. A cute little tale that concludes Little Women and makes you want to read the books. I would recommend this to all families. It just happens to be one of the stories that touches everyone. Each character was unique, well-played. You have to love it!
Brilliant movie
Although I can't say I've read any of the books, Little Women or Little Men, I CAN say that this movie is fantastic. For an independent film, I'm absolutely impressed. You wouldn't have thought it to be independent at all- the scenery is marvelous, the acting is wonderful, the plot tantalizing, and best of all, the characters are attracting in the most interesting way and never did I lose interest in the movie. Also, I might add, the camera work and lighting is excellent. You could tell that this movie was obviously made by professionals, but never once did the earlier centriuth feeling leave at all. You feel like you're a part of their lives, it's great! I love this movie much better than I liked Little Women- I think Little Women was too slow in the beginning and too fast at the end so it left you both exhausted and feeling like the movie was long, but still didn't get to the point in time. Anyway, I tell anyone who wants to see a story about adventure, discipline, and finding home, rent this movie about two street urchins who struggle to adapt to the 'be good and obedient' manners of Joe's house.