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Information
- Year
- 1994
- Runtime
- 115 min.
- Director
- Gillian Armstrong
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Family
- Rating *
- 7.3
- Votes *
- 31,216
- Checks
- 7,128
- Favs
- 330
- Dislikes
- 42
- Favs/checks
- 4.6% (1:22)
- Favs/dislikes
- 8:1
Top comments
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Siskoid
I don't know what I would have thought of 1994's Little Women now that I've experienced the superlative Greta Gerwig adaptation, but I've decided to go back in time and look at some of the older films. My problem with the '90s version is essentially that it's rushing to the novel's story beats and skipping over what I would call emotional context. We're told far more things than we're shown, and the film fails to define the stakes for decisions that we don't actually see the girls make. We're told, for example, that Jo was horrible to Amy after she burned her book, but we don't see it. Beth gets a piano from the neighbor, but it's almost the first time we hear she's a musician. Same with Amy's sudden artistic skills. We're told Amy is in love with Laurie, but she seems to accept him and Jo doesn't really react. It's like that all the way through. I recognize the incidents, but they're just things that happen. Only Jo's romance with creepy Gabriel Byrne is solidly backgrounded, and it puts me off. Winona Ryder, one of several actors for whom a "historical accent" sits uncomfortably, is hopelessly miscast as Jo, never showing the character's force of will. And you know what? You can't cast someone who is conventionally attractive and have her moan about being an ugly duckling. Her "one beauty", my ass. Still, it's a pretty-looking film, filled with recognizable faces, and I definitely got teary-eyed for Clare Dane's soulful Beth. 4 years 2 months ago -
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This movie ranks #66 in Pixar Directors Recommend: Films for Kids Under 13
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This movie ranks #483 in The New York Times's Book of Movies
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483