Fans of good old-fashioned family entertainment will happily embrace this remarkably faithful adaptation of Eric Knight's 1938 book Lassie Come Home (Home (also filmed in the 1943 classic starring Roddy McDowall). The familiar story finds Lassie—beloved pet collie of young Joe—being sold to a local nobleman after the boy's father loses his job in the Yorkshire mines. Lassie keeps escaping and running home, even after she's taken to northernmost Scotland, from which she embarks on a dangerous journey trying to return to her young master. Writer-director Charles Sturridge tells the tale (which, of course, features a happy but tear-filled ending) in a leisurely fashion, exulting in the lovely locations (presented in gorgeous widescreen cinematography), the antics of the well-trained animals, and the contributions from an impressive slew of human performers, including Peter O'Toole as Lassie's new owner. Lassie will no doubt strike many modern young viewers as very tame (they've been trained to expect fare that's hyperkinetic and coarse; but there's not a flatulence gag or vomit scene to be found here and the live-action canine heroics are served up minus any CGI trickery), but others will find this new Lassie (which is not a replacement for the classic MGM rendition, but a very capable update) a welcome change of pace from much of what passes for contemporary family fare. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include the 24-minute featurette “Animal Planet at the Movies: On the Set of Lassie,” 17 minutes of cast and crew interviews, 14 minutes of deleted scenes, a seven-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, seven minutes of outtakes (7 min.), “Thumper and the Fox” on animal training (3 min.), “Lassie & Friends” (2 min.), “Animal Auditions” (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid family film.] (F. Swietek)
Lassie
Weinstein, 99 min., PG, DVD: $28.99, Nov. 14 Volume 21, Issue 6
Lassie
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