CIDERHOUSE RULES, THE: DVD
SYNOPSIS:
Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire) grows up an orphan in the care of St Clouds, which is run by
the wise and caring Dr Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), who also performs illegal abortions
on young women - like the pert and perky Candy (Charlize Theron) who comes with her
fiancee, the volunteer soldier Wally (Paul Rudd). Dr Larch teaches Homer in many ways,
including the notions of being useful - and of the occasional need to break the rules for
a greater good. When Candy and Wally leave, Homer, now a young man, hitches a ride into
the big wide world, to Dr Lurch's dismay. Wally takes Homer to his family's apple orchard
to work as a picker, before heading off to the war. But it's not all apples, as Homer's
heart is picked by Candy's charms. This is one thing Dr Larch hadn't quite prepared Homer
for - falling in love, especially with another man's fiancée. Meanwhile, Dr Larch wants
Homer back to run the orphanage. . .
"Poignant and involving, Cider House Rules is a gorgeous
film, full of nuances and engaging characters. Its journey is a
satisfying one, and Rachel Portman's distinctive music adds
greatly to John Irving's Oscar winning adaptation. Irving's
contribution is canvassed in the 'Making of an American Classic'
featurette when he describes how he condensed the 500-600 pages
of the novel into the screenplay. He explains the importance of
not trivialising either the characters or the storylines. He was
pretty callous when it came to cutting things out, he admits. He
had to be. Authors including Stephen King and a couple of critics
talk about Irving's work – something a little different and
a welcome surprise.
It's an entertaining featurette: we meet director Lasse
Hallström, stars Michael Caine, Tobey Maguire, Delroy Lindo and
Charlize Theron, who all talk about the experience. Lindo
articulates the crux of the film – how far apart life in
theory lies from life in reality. Caine tells how he wanted to
work with Hallström, a director who is very quiet on the set.
But when he speaks, says Caine, you'd better listen, because he
knows exactly what he wants. Hallström admits that he is proud
of this film that seems like a sibling of his earlier work My
Life as a Dog; the bizarre, comedic and dramatic elements in the
tone were very familiar. Life isn't a genre, he says – it
mixes everything, and that's what he sets out to achieve in his
films. He talks about working with children and how he thrives on
the natural undisciplined chaos that he tries to achieve with
adult actors.
The Cider House Rules is a cinematic film that looks and
sounds superb in the DVD's widescreen format. There's a trailer
to watch plus five deleted scenes, which are interesting, but
could have had more impact with an introduction to give context.
The piece de resistance is the full- length commentary in
which director Lasse Hallström, writer John Irving and producer
Richard Gladstein discuss the issues which make the film so
memorable. They describe the intricacies of handling the abortion
issues, Dickens' influence and what began as a mistake ended up
as the film's opening sequence. There's plenty of detail here and
this is both entertaining and enlightening. It's features like
this that not only entertain, but add to our real appreciation of
such a classic work."
Louise Keller
Review published: 31/8/00
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You can buy it HERE - next day delivery within Australia
REVIEWS
CIDER HOUSE RULES (MA15+)
(US)
CAST: Michael Caine, Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Delroy
Lindo, Paul Rudd
DIRECTOR: Lasse Hallström
RUNNING TIME: 121 minutes
DVD Distributor: Roadshow Entertainment
DVD Release: August 22, 2000
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We gratefully acknowledge the complimentary use of a DVD player from Philips.
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