[.ca] Tom Brown's School Days

A LOST CLASSIC:
Tom Brown's School Days is one of my favorite movies. I first saw it on local TV many years ago and was captivated by this classic coming of age tale. Tom Brown is sent to a private school in order to save it from closing. The Dean of the school (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) sees Tom's success as the success of the school. Tom becomes a man but finds that the road to manhood is beset with terrible choices. The ending is inspiring and will put a lump in your throat. If Harry Potter is a modern day Oliver Twist then Tom Brown is the link between them. In fact, there are many parallels between this film and "Potter." Both feature British boys becoming men at private schools, fighting off bullies and bad guys and bonding with lovabale characters. Tom can't perform magic but he has tremendous courage and lots of heart. I found this gem on VHS and watched it so many times that the tape broke and I had to buy another one. Now on DVD it'll be mine forever.

Birtish Bores:
I take reviewing on Amazon seriously, I regularly read the reviews of products before deciding on buying. This is one purchase that I truly regret. We love British television and buy up a lot of box sets like this one and sit around drinking tea, eating shortbread and watching. Tom Brown's School Days was the very first box set that we never made it through. The acting was appauling, which is shocking for a British production, and the story uninteresting. I'd be careful in purchasing this one ... we alternated between yawning with boredom and grimacing at the acting before we simply gave up.