Betty and her sisters

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Betty and her sisters
Original title Little Women
Country of production United States
original language english , german
Publishing year 1994
length 115 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Gillian Armstrong
script Robin Swicord ,
Louisa May Alcott (novel)
production Denise Di Novi
music Thomas Newman
camera Geoffrey Simpson
cut Nicholas Beauman
occupation

Little Women is a film drama of the Australian director Gillian Armstrong from the year 1994 that the film studios Columbia Pictures and DiNovi Pictures have produced. The film was based on the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott .

action

Massachusetts , in the second half of the 19th century : The March family lived in Concord in modest circumstances. In the ongoing American Civil War , Father March fights on the side of the Northern States against the Confederate troops. The liberal mother March, affectionately known as Marmee by her children , takes care of the household, which also includes four daughters. The second oldest daughter Josephine, called Jo , writes adventure novels in her free time and dreams of a career as a writer in New York . The eldest daughter Margaret, called Meg , is well behaved and is preparing for her debutante ball, which is to officially introduce her to Concord society. The third eldest daughter Elizabeth, called Betty , is good-natured but a little shy and loves to play the piano. The youngest of the group, the vain baby boy Amy, is enthusiastic about drawing and painting and dreams of one day marrying a rich husband. Despite the modest financial situation into which the war plunged the March family, they lived an idyllic life in New England, which was dominated by costumed performances of their own plays and the writing of a fictional newspaper, the Pickwick Courier .

At an evening party in Concord and Meg and Jo's first social appearance, the second eldest March daughter makes the acquaintance of the young Theodore Laurence, who, like Jo, has fled from the company in an adjoining room. Laurie, as he is called, is very interested in music. He is the nephew of rich Mr. Laurence, a neighbor of the March family. The young man, who grew up in Europe, is soon accepted into the circle of four girls, and all five enjoy the snowy winter, which is sometimes clouded by disputes among the March daughters.

Jo hires out as a companion to her wealthy great-aunt and takes over the lessons of her sister Amy, who is taken from school after being beaten . Meg soon starts to be affectionate with John Brooke, Laurie's tutor.

When the Marchs receive a telegram that their father has been admitted to the Washington hospital, Jo sells her long black hair to pay for her mother's train ticket. In the absence of her mother, Betty becomes infected with scarlet fever when she brings food to an impoverished and sick German family. The idyll in which Jo lived came to an abrupt end when Betty struggled with death and Amy was sent to her great-aunt because the youngest daughter had not yet had a scarlet fever. Amy is accompanied by Laurie to her great-aunt March, to whom she tells of her fears and the desire to be kissed by a boy once in a lifetime. Laurie then gives her the promise to kiss Amy once before she dies.

With the arrival of her mother and the self-sacrificing care, Betty's health improves; however, she was in a weak constitution throughout her life. Shortly after their recovery, the March family and all their friends celebrate Christmas together , and Mr Laurence gives Betty the piano to his deceased daughter.

Over the years, the sisters begin to grow apart. Meg and John Brooke get married and have twins. Amy has developed into a hopeful artist and a beautiful marriageable woman and travels to Europe with her great-aunt , much to the grief of Jo, who dreams of a trip to the old world herself. At the same time, Jo rejects a marriage proposal from Laurie, who a short time later also sets out for Europe to take over his grandfather's business. Jo will soon be moving out into the world to try her luck as a writer, leaving behind her childhood as well.

In New York she only sells her cloak and rapier novels sporadically under the pseudonym Joseph March . By chance she met and fell in love with the German tutor Friedrich Bhaer, an emigrated philosophy professor from Berlin . Bhaer introduces her to the cultural life of New York and appeals to Jo to refrain from her second-rate stories and to write “from the soul”. The two of them fall out, and Jo returns to Concord to live with her dying sister Betty. After Betty's death, the young writer begins to write down her family history. She sends the finished book to Friedrich Bhaer.

Amy returns to Concord late. She married Laurie in Europe. Jo is surprised by the news, but doesn't hold it against her sister. After the death of her wealthy great-aunt, she inherited the huge Plumfield estate and plans to build a school. Friedrich Bhaer also comes to Concord to personally bring Jo's published novel Little Women , which he forwarded to his publisher. When he learns from the housekeeper that a March daughter has married, Friedrich assumes that Jo married her old sweetheart Laurie, whom she had told him about. He returns to the train station, but Jo overtakes him halfway through. Jo clears up the misunderstanding, wins Friedrich as a teacher for the planned school and promises to live with him from now on.

History of origin

The film is based on the 1868 published novel Little Women by the American writer Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888). The semi-autobiographical work, which accompanies the growing sisters Jo, Beth (Betty), Meg and Amy in idyllic New England, advanced to one of the most successful youth novels in English-language literature and has been translated into over thirty languages. At the same time, Little Women served as the first recommended literature for adolescent girls. The family saga ended with Jo's Boys in 1886 after Little Men (1871), in which Alcott describes living with her nephews at Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts .

Little Women was adapted for TV and the big screen eleven times before the American screenwriter Robin Swicord , a daughter-in-law of Elia Kazan , took up Alcott's novel. Well-known productions include George Cukor's Four Sisters (1933) with Katharine Hepburn in the role of Jo March , and Mervyn LeRoy's Little Brave Jo (1949) with Elizabeth Taylor as Amy March and Janet Leigh as Meg . Swicord, who was very enthusiastic about the novel, started thinking about a new screen version in the early 1980s and wrote the script. The direction went to the Australian Gillian Armstrong, who had already delivered a successful portrait of an individualist with her feature film debut My brilliant career (1978).

The main role of Jo March was cast with the then 22-year-old Winona Ryder . Ryder had celebrated her breakthrough in Martin Scorsese's drama Time of Innocence a year earlier . The part of the oldest sister Meg was given to the 27-year-old New York theater actress Trini Alvarado , while the 24-year-old Samantha Mathis and the 12-year-old Kirsten Dunst shared the role of the adolescent Amy , as had already happened in previous productions. The 20-year-old young actor Christian Bale , who made his screen debut in Steven Spielberg's Das Reich der Sonne in 1987, acted as the neighbor boy Laurie , while 15-year-old Claire Danes was hired for the part of Betty . Susan Sarandon as mother of the March siblings and Gabriel Byrne as German literature professor Friedrich Bhaer were hired for other supporting roles .

The shooting took place in the North Shore Studios in Canadian Vancouver ( British Columbia instead). Other locations were Craigdarroch Castle and Cobble Hill in Canada, and Deerfield and Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, the home of the writer Louisa May Alcott, which served as a model for the novel and where she also wrote Little Women . The interior of the Orchard House served as a template for the set designers for the film set by Betty and her sisters .

The film is dedicated to Polly Hannah Klaas and Judy Scott-Fox, who are featured in the credits. While Scott-Fox a deceased in 1994, Hollywood - Agent , it is at Polly Klaas is a 12-year-old girl. Klaas was kidnapped from her home in Petaluma , California , by 39-year-old criminal Richard Allen Davis in October 1993 , and found murdered two months later after one of the largest searches in US history. Winona Ryder, who spent most of her childhood in Petaluma, took part in the search for the girl and at the time appealed to the kidnapper on television to release the child. Among other things, she offered a reward of US $ 200,000. Later on, the Polly Klaas Foundation was created, dedicated to preventing crime against children. Polly Klaas's killer was sentenced to death in 1996 and faces the death penalty in San Quentin State Prison.

reception

Betty and Her Sisters premiered in North American cinemas on December 21, 1994. The fourth cinema adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic book for young people was praised by critics and rated as a highly detailed directorial work with feminist undertones. Dubbed Best Family Film of the Year, the drama grossed $ 50 million and was considered very successful at the US box office from a financial perspective. The acting performances of Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarandon were also praised. Dunst, who was featured in Neil Jordan's horror film Interview with a Vampire in the same year , celebrated her breakthrough in the film business with the roles of young Amy and Claudia, respectively , and Ryder was able to build on the acting success of the Scorsese film The Time of Innocence . In Germany, the film started on May 18, 1995 and was able to enjoy both good and not very positive reviews, which Armstrong's film rated as kitschy and clichéd.

Reviews

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
  • "The fourth film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic youth book from 1868 even surpasses the so far definitive adaptation by George Cukor from 1933. With a fantastic Winona Ryder in the lead role, this subtle and ultra-modern drama inspires with its intelligence and incredible attention to detail." Focus: film)
  • “Film adaptation of a popular family novel from the previous century; an homage to the family's sense of togetherness and an all too timidly worded plea for the independence of women. The cliché-laden script, the indecisive direction and the unconvincing acting achievements soon lead to well-tended boredom. "(Lexicon of international film)
  • "The best family film of the year" (Newsday)
  • "Meticulous craftsmanship and wonderfully played" (San Francicsco Chronicle)
  • "A shining, moving example of first-class family entertainment". (Sneak previews)
  • "Director Gillian Armstrong and screenwriter Robin Swicord have created an enchanting film based on the noticeably timeless classic" (Time Magazine)
  • “After directors like George Cukor ('Four Sisters', 1933) tried Louisa May Alcott's classic youth book from 1868, Gillian Armstrong has now turned the timeless subject into an intelligent, subtle drama. The story of growing up, which is faithfully reproduced in detail, lives from the excellent acting skills, which are mainly shaped by Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder. "(VideoWoche)

Trivia

  • For the American actress Mary Wickes , who plays Aunt March in a supporting role , it was the last appearance in a cinema production. She died a year later at the age of 85 years to cancer .
  • Christina Ricci had originally auditioned for the part of young Amy , but the role was then cast with Kirsten Dunst, who was two years her junior. Ricci suffered the same fate that same year while auditioning for Neil Jordan's horror film Interview with a Vampire , in which she had to admit again.
  • Natalie Portman originally auditioned for a role in Betty and Her Sisters .
  • An incident occurred during filming. As Claire Danes went up the stairs with a candle, her hair came too close to the flame and caught fire.
  • The lines Amy reads from the Bible to her aunt come from the Book of 3 Moses ( Leviticus ), chapter 21, verse 23 to chapter 22, verse 1.
  • In order to create the costumes as authentically as possible, antique fabrics were used that were bought in France and England. But many fabrics also came from America to represent the more modest American fashion of the time.
  • One of the pieces of classical music used in the film is the piece “Leïla! Leïla! Dieu puissant ” from the second act of Georges Bizet's opera Die Perlenfischer ( 1863 ). The piece was interpreted by the American soprano Barbara Hendricks .
  • Screenwriter Robin Swicord and producer Denise Di Novi also worked in 2019 on the production team for the Little Women film adaptation by Greta Gerwig .

Awards

Betty and her sisters were nominated for three Academy Awards at the Academy Awards in 1995, including leading actress Winona Ryder, who had to admit defeat to Jessica Lange ( Operation Blue Sky ). Supporting actress Kirsten Dunst won the Boston Film Critics Association award and was also honored with a Young Artist Award for best young co-star in a film. So Dunst prevailed against her colleague Claire Danes, who was nominated in the same category.

Oscar 1995

Nominated in the categories

  • Best Actress (Winona Ryder)
  • Best film score
  • Best costumes

British Academy Film Awards 1995

  • nominated in the Best Costumes category

Further

BMI Film & TV Awards 1995

  • Best film score

Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 1994

  • Best Supporting Actress (Kirsten Dunst)

Chlotrudis Awards 1995

Nominated in the categories

  • Best movie
  • Best Actress (Winona Ryder)
  • Best Supporting Actress (Kirsten Dunst)

Writers Guild of America Awards 1995

  • nominated in the "Best Adapted Screenplay" category

Young Artist Awards 1995

  • Best Adolescent Co-Star in a Movie (Kirsten Dunst)

Nominated in the categories

  • Best Family Film - Drama
  • Best Teen Co-Star in a Movie (Claire Danes)

The German Film and Media Evaluation FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the title valuable.

DVD release

  • Betty and her sisters . Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2002

literature

Web links