Customer Reviews
a future classic for sure - By: Mr. A. J. Frost, 13 Dec 2008 
We first encountered this filmin a holiday home we had rented, & our kids insisted on watching it every day ! We had gone to Keswick just before Christmas so we did expect a little bit of TV watching while we were away - our kids were absolutely enthralled with this, at 3 1/2 & 1 1/2 you might think them too young to know what is going on, we get lots of questions from our eldest & it is now most definitely second to Toy Story/Toy Story with our two. It's a good family film too, but to be fair after the second watching we left the kids to it (are we bad parents?)
As soon as we got home we ordered our own copy, & we fully expect it to come out every few weeks to be watched again & again
Allin all, great stuff & well worth getting for anyone with young children, though expect a few difficult conversations about why some people are nasty & others not, dying, & what owning/selling an animal means
**** LASSIE COMES HOME **** - By: Mr. N. Carnegie, 20 Mar 2007 
I bought this for my daughter & we sat & watched it together & both loved it. It is a surprisingly good family movie with a superb all star (mostly) British/Irish cast, including Peter O'Toole, Samantha Morton, John Lynch, Kelly MacDonald, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Robert Hardy, Edward Fox, Gregor Fisher & Steve Pemberton (The League of Gentlemen) who makes a fantastic bad guy.
It is a traditional heartwarming family story of a boy being seperated from his dog & overcoming exceptional odds & many hurdles to be re-united. It has highs & lows, beautiful scenery & some great performances. Certain to pull on the old heart strings this is one I highly recommend for all family viewing. A surprising little gem, everybody I have loaned this to has loved it but you'll need to buy some tissues as there wont be a dry eye leftin the house.
Loved the film, hated the swearing - By: Debbie King, 29 Jan 2007 This was on at our local cinema last Saturday, and, as parents go free I thought I'd endure it for the sake of some cheap entertainment for my 7 year old daughter.
I was amazed by how much we both enjoyed the film - I was expecting some trite American nonsense, but it was rather magical.
However, I have to agree with the reviewer above - the first line of the film has Peter O'Toole shouting "Bugger", & there were an awful lot of "Damn"s & "Bloody"s too - NOT what I want my daughter to hear. Despite what some may think, I work at my daughter's school & this is NOT the sort of language that she encounters there or at home.
The swearing was perhaps included to make the film sound more gritty & northern - it was unnecessary.
Gorgeous dogs - & the dog that played Toots deserved a best supporting Oscar - I wasin tears.
"You have to remember him in your heart!" - By: M. J Leonard, 09 Dec 2006 This absolutely gorgeous re-imagining of Lassie brings the story back to its roots, reclaiming Eric Knight's 1940 novel about the famously determined collie's obstacle-ridden trek from Scotland & Yorkshire to rejoin the bereft young master, whose down-on-their-luck parents were forced to sell his best friend to the rich to pay for food.
Visually sweeping, beautifully paced with some of the most understated acting I've seen, Lassie would have to be one of the most emotionally heartbreaking films to come outin recent years not justin its portrayal of this willful & loyal canine who is determined to come home, butin its comments about class & kindness & the uncertain dread that hangs over England on the eve of World War 2.
When the local coal mine closes, Yorkshire coal miner Sam Carraclough (John Lynch) & his stoic & kindly wife Sarah (Samantha Morton) have no option but to sell their son Joe's (Jonathan Mason) beloved dog Lassie to the dotty Duke of Rudling (Peter O'Toole). Spied on a foxhunt, the Duke decides this spirited girl will make a fine pet for his granddaughter Cilla (Hester Odgers) while also hoping to use her to breed some offspring.
Lassie however, has other ideas & keeps escaping from his new kennel & returning home to his beloved master Joe. Fed up, the Duke takes him all the way to Scotland where she has to endure the supervision of His Lordship's repellent kennel supervisor (Steve Pemberton).
But Cilla helps spring Lassie loose, which begins a long, perilous journey back to Yorkshire where she has lots of adventuresin town & country - some good & some bad - & where she hooks up with a kindly traveling player (Peter Dinklage, doing great work here) & his lovable dog.
From the outset the film makes the most of the gorgeous English vistas from Scotland, through the Midlands to Yorkshire as Lassie makes his perilous journey back home. Director Charles Sturrage really brings out the stories themes of loyalty & love & courage whilst also never shying away from the fact that while Lassie endures much, these are also hard times for England.
The acting is superlative, with O'Tool, Dinklage, & Lynch & of course the lovely Samantha Morton being standouts - their characters aware that sacrifices must be made, yet they also come to realize the healing power of love. Modest, unpretentious & magnificently told, this version of Lassie will ensure that there is nary a dry eye to be had. Mike Leonard December 06.
Magical film, but the swearing surprised me - By: David Morley, 05 Jun 2006 
This new version of Lassie is really rather magical, from the sightingin Loch Ness to the Christmas eve scene.
The only thing that spoilt it for me were the "bloodies". Is it me or should a film aimed essentially at children contain language like this?
