FINDING NEVERLAND on DVD
by Andre Soares
Finding Neverland is a highly fictionalized account (by David Magee, from Alan Knee’s play The Man Who Was Peter Pan) of the friendship between James M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, and the family that inspired him to write the play that never seems to grow old.
But fictionalized or not, Finding Neverland has many fans, and has won/been nominated for numerous awards, including a best picture win from the National Board of Review.
In the film, Johnny Depp is a quirky (and considerably less strange-looking) James M. Barrie, but the talented actor only scratches the surface of Barrie’s complex character. Not helping matters is the Disneyesque screenplay, while director Marc Forster — of Monster’s Ball fame — does surprisingly little to make Peter Pan’s Neverland seem truly magical.
On the positive side, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, and Radha Mitchell do wonders with their roles, bringing to the film a much needed sense of honesty and pathos. Additionally, as to be expected from a prestige Hollywood production, Finding Neverland is great to look at.
Finding Neverland Region 1 DVD (U.S. / Canada) release date: March 22, 2005
- Picture: Choice of full screen (1.33:1, pan and scan) or widescreen (2.35:1) edition
- Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
- Commentary by director Marc Forster, producer Richard Gladstein, and writer David Magee
- Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Marc Forster, producer Richard N. Gladstein, and writer David Magee
- Outtakes
- Three featurettes:
- "Journey to Finding Neverland," about the film in relation to James M. Barrie’s life
- "Creating Neverland," about the making of the film
- "On the Red Carpet," about the film’s premiere
List price: US$29.99.
A Miramax Home Entertainment release.
FINDING NEVERLAND - Notes/Trivia
The Joan Crawford Collection DVD Set
The Bette Davis Collection DVD Set
The Greta Garbo Signature Collection DVD Set
CHARIOTS OF FIRE, THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA, THE BROADWAY MELODY on DVD
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