The Secret Garden (1993 film)

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The Secret Garden
Image:Secretgarden1993.jpg
Directed by	Agnieszka Holland
Produced by	Francis Ford Coppola (Exec. Prod.)
Written by	Frances Hodgson Burnett (book) Caroline Thompson (screenplay)
Starring	Kate Maberly Heydon Prowse Andrew Knott Maggie Smith
Music by	Zbigniew Preisner
Cinematography	Roger Deakins & Jerzy Zielinski
Editing by	Isabelle Lorente
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Release date(s)	August 13, 1993
Running time	102 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Secret Garden is a 1993 film adaptation of the book of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film was directed by Agnieszka Holland and released on August 13, 1993.

1 Main Cast
2 Plot
3 Differences between film and book
4 Response
- 4.1 Critical Reception
- 4.2 Awards
5 External links

[edit] Main Cast

Actor	Role
Kate Maberly	Mary Lennox
Heydon Prowse	Colin Craven
Andrew Knott	Dickon
Maggie Smith	Mrs. Medlock
Laura Crossley	Martha
John Lynch	Lord Craven

[edit] Plot

The Secret Garden is adapted from the 1909 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The recently-orphaned Mary Lennox travels from her home in India to her uncle Archibald Craven's hundred-room house, Misselthwaite Manor, in Yorkshire, England. Mary, materially spoiled but emotionally neglected by her late parents, is rather unpleasant and unhappy in her new surroundings. Martha, a Yorkshire girl working as a maid, and her brother Dickon, a boy who can talk to animals, befriend and help her to heal and grow. She discovers her deceased aunt's secret garden, which has been locked for ten years and enlists Dickon to help her bring it to life.

Hidden away in the gloomy house is Mary's cousin Colin, who has been treated all his life like a fragile, sickly invalid. This exaggeration has augmented what smaller problems he did have, turning him into a demanding, short-tempered, helpless boy. Mary, defying the orders of Mrs Medlock (who runs Misselthwaite), discovers Colin and is taken aback by his disposition, but reaches out to him anyway. Soon Colin, Mary, and Dickon all spend their time in the secret garden. They perform "magic"; barefoot, they make a large bonfire and play a flute, dance round it, and chant, while Colin asks the magic to send his father. Colin learns to walk and gets quite well, which his father Archibald discovers upon his return to Misselthwaite.

[edit] Differences between film and book

A number of minor changes were made in adapting the story for the screen, though the major plot points and character qualities remain, resulting in a considerably faithful retelling. Following is a list of some of the differences:

In the book, Mary's parents die of cholera epidemic; in the film, an earthquake and the resulting mayhem (a charging elephant and a fire at a large party) lead to their deaths.
In the book, Mary is blonde, plain and sallow; in the film, she has red hair and appears to be considerably healthier.
In the book, Archibald Craven's wife is Mary's aunt through her father. In the movie, his wife was twin sister to Mary's mother.
In the book, Mary discovers the key to the locked garden rather by accident after a robin digs it up. In the movie, she finds it in her aunt's room and initially doesn't know what it is for, but remembers it when finding the door to the garden.
In the book, Mary finds the door to the garden when the wind blows back the ivy covering it. In the movie, a robin leads her to the area where the door is before the wind blows away the ivy.
Mrs. Medlock of this film is a much more stern character than her counterpart in the book.
In the book, Martha and Dickon's mother, Susan Sowerby, writes to Archibald and requests that he should go home to the children. In the movie, the children work "magic" and Craven dreams of his wife, who tells him she is in the Garden with Colin.
A romantic attraction between Mary and Dickon, and Colin towards Mary, is hinted at in the film, but is not evident in the book.
In the movie, Mary's wardrobe is black, however in the book her new wardrobe is colorful because Mrs. Medlock despised black!