Little Women (1994)

The March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.

Director:

Gillian Armstrong

Writers:

Louisa May Alcott (novel), Robin Swicord (screenplay)

Stars:

Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Winona Ryder	...	Jo March
Gabriel Byrne	...	Friedrich Bhaer
Trini Alvarado	...	Meg March
Samantha Mathis	...	Older Amy March
Kirsten Dunst	...	Younger Amy March
Claire Danes	...	Beth March
Christian Bale	...	Laurie
Eric Stoltz	...	John Brooke
John Neville	...	Mr. Laurence
Mary Wickes	...	Aunt March
Susan Sarandon	...	Mrs. March
Florence Paterson	...	Hannah
Robin Collins	...	Carriage Boy
Corrie Clark	...	Belle Gardiner
Rebecca Toolan	...	Mrs. Gardiner

Storyline

With their father away fighting in the Civil War, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy grow up with their mother in somewhat reduced circumstances. They are a close family who inevitably have their squabbles and tragedies. But the bond holds even when, later, men friends start to become a part of the household.

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Plot Keywords:

writing | singing | horse and carriage | neighbor | piano | 

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Taglines:

Save a place in your heart for the unforgettable story of these... LITTLE WOMEN

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for two uses of mild language

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

21 December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mujercitas

Filming Locations:

Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£3,129,439 (UK) (19 May 1995)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, DiNovi Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the holiday party where the camera pans down through several floors, the space of the staircase where the camera flows down through is only a matter of inches, roughly 8" - 12" by 24", and is filmed in a castle in the suburbs of Victoria, B.C. in Canada

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Goofs

The soldiers' uniforms in the various party scenes have both stripes on the sleeves and shoulder boards. In reality, stripes on the sleeves denote an enlisted man, and shoulder boards denote an officer. They are thus mutually exclusive and both would not have been worn by the same individual.

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Quotes

Friedrich Bhaer: You must write from life, from the depths of your soul!

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Connections

Version of Little Women (1958)

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Soundtracks

"LaFayette's Welcome"
Traditional
Composed by Francis Johnson

User Reviews

a triumph

I hear it's really hard to turn a book into a movie, and even as a viewer, I notice this. You can keep the book and lose a movie, or you make a movie and lose a book. But this balances and keeps the essence of the book and creates a miraculous movie that works on every single level.

It's depth, it's warmth, it's beauty (from aesthetics to costumes to storyline), it all works. I saw this movie before I read the book, and my mom, a big fan of the book loved it, so did my dad who had never read it.

Unlike a lot of period classics that are turned into films, this one has no rigidity or boring spots, and it doesn't feel like the dime a dozen period films out there that re-use the same costumes and replay the same stories. It flows and invites you into the world of these girls, making the 1860s and the March family intensely real.

Fabulous acting by an ensemble cast completes this film. Winona Ryder was inspired casting, and in my opinion makes the best screen Jo ever. She's feisty, strong, tomboyish, but has a warmth and grace about her that I feel Katharine Hepburn and June Allyson (the most famous Jo's) didn't have and suits the character wonderfully. the best thing about these characters is that they endear themselves to you, something many movies lack. Great ensemble as well: Susan Sarandon, Christian Bale, Claire Danes (at 14, believe it or not), Eric Stoltz, Kirsten Dunst, Trini Alvarado, Susan Wickes, Gabriel Byrne all of them are incredible, and fit perfectly.

And if you can get through Beth's death scene without crying, you're pretty tough. It's a scene that doesn't pull sentimental melodrama, but plays honestly and goes to that heartbreaking sadness of losing someone. And the geranium petals and dolls and Thomas Newman's brilliant score finish off the scene, and I think makes it one of the greatest scenes in any film of the last 10 years (and they didn't even include it in the 75th Oscars montage, tsk tsk). The ending is incredibly lovely, and as James Lipton of the Actors Studio says, only needs those "three words" to coney everything that needs to be said.

This is a beautiful film. It's inviting, but not overly sweet, and though nothing too exciting happens, still very fulfilling and entertaining; it can be very bittersweet, but it is a joyful film, and says a lot about people and our emotions and our lives and yet is not confrontational in the least. It pulled out themes and messages which are often looked over out of one of the world's most famous books and made a lasting work of art that touches your heart.