music-on-th...
Price: £4.46
In stock
57 used & new from £0.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
The Borrowers [VHS] [1997]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

The Borrowers [VHS] [1997]

VHS ~ John Goodman
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


4 new from £4.45 52 used from £0.01 1 collectible from £0.67

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

MouseHunt [1998] [DVD]

MouseHunt [1998] [DVD]

DVD ~ Nathan Lane
4.5 out of 5 stars (6)  £4.97
The Borrowers (Puffin Modern Classics)

The Borrowers (Puffin Modern Classics)

by Judith Elkin
4.6 out of 5 stars (9)  £4.73
Matilda - Special Edition [DVD] [1996]

Matilda - Special Edition [DVD] [1996]

DVD ~ Danny DeVito
4.7 out of 5 stars (22)  £3.97
The Borrowers - Series 1 [DVD] [1993]

The Borrowers - Series 1 [DVD] [1993]

DVD ~ Ian Holm
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £4.98
Honey, I Shrunk The Kids [DVD] [1989]

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids [DVD] [1989]

DVD ~ Rick Moranis
4.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £3.98
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Actors: John Goodman, Jim Broadbent, Mark Williams, Celia Imrie, Flora Newbigin
  • Directors: Peter Hewitt
  • Writers: Gavin Scott, John Kamps, Mary Norton
  • Producers: Debra Hayward, Eric Fellner, Liza Chasin, Mary Richards
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Dolby, PAL, Surround Sound
  • Language English
  • Classification: U
  • Studio: 4 Front Video
  • VHS Release Date: 9 Oct 2000
  • Run Time: 87 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004R72O
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 7,779 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The popular children's books by Mary Norton have been filmed before, but never with as much imagination and ingenuity as you'll find on display in this delightful fantasy film released to critical praise in 1998. The eponymous Borrowers are a family of tiny people who live in the walls and under the floorboards in the homes of "normal-sized" humans; they earn their by "borrowing" the household items (string, food crumbs, buttons, and so on) needed to furnish their tiny hiding places and provide their meals. The little Clock family lives happily undisturbed in the home of an aged aunt, but when the aunt dies and her will is stolen by an unscrupulous lawyer (John Goodman), the Clocks face eviction and the frightening hazards of the outside world. Under the ingenious direction of Peter Hewitt, this simple, straightforward movie mixes comedy, adventure, and suspense with some of the cleverest special effects you've ever seen, taking full advantage of effects technologies to immerse you in the world of the tiny people. A climactic chase scene in a milk-bottling plant is a visual tour de force, and the movie's smart and dazzling enough to entertain parents and children alike. After its modest success in cinemas, The Borrowers stands a good chance of becoming a home-video favourite. --Jeff Shannon


Synopsis

A family of four inch high people live under the stairs of a family house occupied by, to them at least, giant sized people. Based on the books by Mary Norton.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Trans-Atlantic take on The Borrowers - not totally succesful but still very good, 3 Jan 2006
By Keith Joseph (West Berkshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: The Borrowers [DVD] [1997] (DVD)
Unlike the superb BBC serialisation that was faithfully based on Mary Norton's book from the 50's, this film has been updated and an American TV star brought in. Unfortunately the script and plot isn't really quite as good as the original book and the out of place slapstick does reduce the tension somewhat. My son (9) and daughter (11) really liked this film, but I preferred the two BBC 'borrowers' series, first screened in 1993 and 1994 (make sure you get the two DVD set, series one and two - 6 hours of quality children's TV). The BBC series is far darker, being played straight with no slapstick and despite the Borrower's amusing antics and the witty script, it's got many quite tense moments and is all the better for it. The special effects in the film (and much of the BBC series) are actually very good - although a lot of the atmosphere in both is derived from the superb 'miniature' sets.

The BBC series scores though by being set in the original isolated 1920'ish shires countryside, about the time of Norton's childhood, in a period when children were more strictly brought up and would think nothing of keeping big secrets from the adults. This film is set in a UK town around 1956 and so seems quite modern in comparison. However, in any era the Borrower's worst fear, above even cats and rats, is to be 'seen' by a human, after which they know the human will spend all his time trying to find them again (so they will have leave and find a new home). The cast in the film are very good, although Jim Broadbent's character doesn't capture the sensitive and secretive nature of Borrower Pod as brilliantly as Ian Holm (BBC version). Also Penelope Wilson (BBC) just 'is' the timid house proud Homily. Likewise John Goodman doesn't hold a candle to the BBC's strict and rather sinister Sian Philips 'Mrs Driver', scourge of the human boy George unfortunate enough to be left in her care. It's not that the film's bad, far from it, its script and reliance on special effects just limits the actor's a little. In the films favour, it's so different it can easily be viewed as a sequel to the BBC series, and the film is certainly great fun (there's also a British A-list support cast and I particularly enjoyed Ruby Wax's cameo). The films break neck action sequences also make repeat viewing enjoyable.

If you can't decide whether to buy this film even at the knockdown price, try renting first, as the film is well worth a family view or two on a quiet winter's Sunday. Do also have a look at the BBC DVD set. Plus the original 'Borrowers' books are a good fairly easy read as for later preteens. Just a shame the BBC and the film industry didn't continue with a few more of the Borrower's books.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Family Film!, 27 May 2004
By no1filmaddict (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Borrowers [DVD] [1997] (DVD)
When i saw that this film was on in the holidays i decided that i would watch it, knowing how much attention 'The borrowers' had attracted back in 1998 when it was released. Although i don't usually like this type of film, with this it was different, and i quite enjoyed it.

Unfortunately i have never read the book so i don't know how accurate this film is, but it didn't really matter, becuase the supurb mixture of comedy, action/adventure and suspense, made it a really fun fil to watch.
The Clock family live in the walls and under the floor boards of an old aunt, however when she dies, and her will is stolen by a fat mean lawyer who wants to demolish the house for building land, the borrowers must escape before they are all squished. But saftey is a long way away and they need the help of a young boy when they venture into the outside world of cars, and 'big' people.

Overall a very fun and entertaining film, which kids are sure to love watching, as are the parents who watch it with them. I highly recommended movieif you want a few hours of good 'clean' family viewing.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny,captures your imagination and makes you want to be lit, 28 Nov 2001
This film is hysterically funny and makes you look at everything from a differrent perspective!
It basically makes you want to be a borrower! Definately worth watching.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject







i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.