Posted on 09/23/2004 2:14:20 PM PDT by Monterrosa-24
Many of us have complained about potty humor and other earthy humor becoming very common in films and shows made for children. To counter this, one can select to use the DVD or VHS player more than television and put better quality material in front of our children.
I feel it is something of a sin for a sixth-grader to see a movie like GREAT EXPECTATIONS before reading the book so the following list is intended only to offer some suggestions for when electronic entertainment can follow or supplement reading. Many of these films provide good starters for discussions on topics of historical and social importance.
Many Freeper parents have their own list of such films and this list will perhaps provide teacher mamas and daddys with a few more ideas.
THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, 1982 noblesse oblige, adventure, romance and history. THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, 1975 Give this '75 version a chance.
BEN HUR, 1959 BARABBAS, 1962 THE ROBE, 1953 Such biblical epics can also supplement the teaching of Roman history.
300 SPARTANS, 1962 Great for boys, especially 2nd graders through fifth graders.
ATTACK, 1955 The fruits of cowardice are explored. THE LAST COMMAND, 1956 Great depiction of Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett THE LONGEST DAY, 1962 IS PARIS BURNING?, 1966 LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 1992 too violent for younger children. ZULU, 1964 TORA, TORA, TORA, 1970 THE BLUE MAX, 1966 Boys are bound to love this adventure in biplanes and triplanes.
BOYS TOWN, 1938 Mickey Rooney at his youngest and finest. THE WIZARD OF OZ, 1939 Many of today's children have not seen this classic. Girls love it the most.
CROMWELL, 1972 Protestant vs. Protestant and Royalist vs. Parliamentarian themes provide for much discussion. NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA, 1971 The Russian Revolution from the perspective of the royal family.
HAWAII, 1966 A overly severe missionary manages to produce some good works in the rapidly changing islands.
THE SEARCHERS, 1956 TRUE GRIT, 1969 Girls will love the young, determined, and headstrong heroine playing opposite John Wayne.
GONE WITH THE WIND, 1939 Old times there are not forgotten.
TARZAN AND HIS MATE, 1934 Romance between a man and a woman "and that's the way it should be." High adventure and still a popular film.
THE SEVEN SAMURAI, 1954 In Japanese so the children still have to read the subtitles.
UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE, 1967 This film illustrates the difficulties in approaching people of different cultural expectations.
THE NUTCRACKER, 1993 There are many versions but try this Russian State Theatre Academy performance available through Kultur.
THE KID 1921. An Elian Gonzalez threatened by earlier Janet Renos. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, 1926
I just saw a copy of 300 Spartans in my local Blockbuster.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a house favorite.
Wizard of Oz, Snow White, Sound of Music.
Thanks, that would be it. All of these years I thought i was crazy...
Second hand lions is a good one. It's a guy movie for 12 year olds.
The Stone Boy.
That is one of my favorite movies. Along with Raging Bull, but that is not appropriate for all ages.
"Failure is not an option!"
I just went to Best Buy today, and I could swear I saw it on DVD.
A movie glorifying one of history's great murderers and heretics is a good film for American girls and boys????
For the fifth time, DVD yes, tape no. I have a standing order at Amazon and they haven't contacted me. I checked at Blockbuster and they didn't have it. This was less than three months ago.
I love it too. My daughter and i watch it every time it comes on TV. Finally, we just bought the DVD so we can watch anytime we want!
Those are all great kids' movies.
If that's the case, then most of em would put mine to sleep. Put me to sleep, even. On that note, I'm extremely surprised the LOTR trilogy hasn't been mentioned.
Speaking of Margaret O'Brien - Meet Me in St. Louis is pretty wonderful. And for slightly older girls: she played Beth in Little Women
Also for little girls - and little girls at heart - Hayley Mills has made some wonderful movies, too: The Parent Trap; Pollyanna; Summer Magic; The Moon Spinners; and the original That Darn Cat!
I would also add Toy Story 1 & 2, Monsters Inc, and Finding Nemo. Absolutely great stuff.
re: Jane Eyre - thank goodness for movies - although the stories are good the writing style of the Bronte sisters always put me into a stupor - (with apologies to their fans)
re: PnP - on the other hand I do enjoy reading Austin (and George Eliot)
re: Forsythe Saga - actually it's Forsyte (no 'h')- but it's a common mistake.
For years, I had been asking my Greek history students to be sure to record 300 Spartans for me if it was ever broadcast. No luck, but much to my suprise, my kids got 300 Spartans for me for my last birthday. It came out on DVD last May. You can get it at Amazon and elsewhere.
I'll have to get that, thanks.
And two cents from the Freeper office next door:
Galaxy Quest!
Also, though hard to find, The Admirable Crichton--wonderful story about the power of ability vs. wealth. Originally this was a play written by the same person who wrote Peter Pan.
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