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Turtle Diary (1985)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
14 February 1986 (USA)
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Plot:
Two separate people, a man and a woman, find something very stirring about the sea turtles in their tank at the London Zoo...
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Plot Keywords:
Turtle
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Zoo
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Sea
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London Zoo
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Sea Turtle
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User Comments:
Low-key but beautifully acted story of everyday people fulfilling their little dream
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Glenda Jackson | ... | Neaera Duncan | |
| Ben Kingsley | ... | William Snow | |
| Richard Johnson | ... | Mr. Johnson (Neaera's neighbor) | |
| Michael Gambon | ... | George Fairbairn (turtle keeper) | |
| Rosemary Leach | ... | Mrs. Charlie Inchcliff (landlady) | |
| Eleanor Bron | ... | Miss Neap (Flora) | |
| Harriet Walter | ... | Harriet Sims (bookstore clerk) | |
| Jeroen Krabbé | ... | Mr. Sandor (the slob) | |
| Nigel Hawthorne | ... | The Publisher | |
| Michael Aldridge | ... | Mr. Meager, Bookstore Owner | |
| Rom Anderson | ... | Girl at Zoo | |
| Tony Melody | ... | Garage Attendant with Bucket | |
| Gary Olsen | ... | Lorry Driver at Rest Park | |
| Peter Capaldi | ... | Assistant Keeper | |
| Harold Pinter | ... | Man in Bookshop |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
USA:97 min | Sweden:96 min
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Color:
Color (Technicolor)
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Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Cameo: [Harold Pinter]bookstore customer
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This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (6 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Turtle Diary (1985)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Please Get This on DVD | tluke25 |
| Hard to believe... | neil57 |
Recommendations
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| IMDb Comedy section | IMDb UK section | Add this title to MyMovies |

"Turtle Diary" is a movie easily underestimated: the viewer is not 'pushed' through a nerve-wrecking plot and scenes. However, this movie rewards the viewer with an intimate and at times moving picture of common people in unusual circumstances. Ben Kingsley plays a totally credible single male living an undisturbed life as a book-selling clerk. During his daily visits to the giant sea turtles - rare animals on the brink of extinction - in the Zoo Aquarium he develops the moral conviction that the animals should be set free. He discovers that a female writer of nature books, who sometimes visits the bookstore where Kingley works, shares his vision and together with the zoo assistant they make a plan and prepare the illegal 'abduction' of the turtles. The movie succeeds in engaging the viewer in the plans and the suspense of the preparation while at the same time presenting a realistic and sometimes moving picture of daily life in the English lodging house where Kingley lives. There is even a little surprising romantic touch at the end of the movie. The movie invites the viewer to identify himself (and herself) with the main characters. There are reminders of classic Italian neo-realistic cinema in the combination of realism with the feeling of personal involvement it can evoke from the viewer.