Lassie (1994 film)
Lassie | |
---|---|
Directed by | Daniel Petrie |
Written by | Eric Knight Matthew Jacobs Gary Ross Elizabeth Anderson |
Produced by | Lorne Michaels |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Kenneth MacMillan |
Edited by | Steve Mirkovich |
Music by | Basil Poledouris |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $9,979,683[2] |
Lassie, or Lassie: Best Friends are Forever,
Plot
The Turner family moves from
However, as his father’s planned job falls through, Matt, with help from his grandfather, Len Collins, helps convince the family to start a sheep farm, which had been his mother's dream. While the Turners get to work, a ruthless neighbor and wealthy sheep farmer, Sam Garland, will stop at nothing to prevent them from succeeding, because it means that they will be occupying some grazing land that he's used in the past. In addition, Sam has two sons, Josh and Jim who attend school with Matt. Both boys dislike Matt, but Josh's hatred mainly stems from jealousy because a fellow student, April Porter, whom Josh likes, is more interested in Matt.
Eventually Sam, with the help of his sons and henchmen, steals the Turners’ new herd of sheep, and kidnaps Lassie. However, she manages to escape, and she and Matt get their sheep back. However Josh and Jim catch up to them, and in the ensuing scuffle Josh finds himself struggling in a raging river, heading for massive rapids and a waterfall. Matt manages to rescue him, but is unable to save himself. Lassie then rescues Matt, but ends up going over the waterfall herself, to Matt's horror. Sam, after learning that Matt had saved Josh's life, apologizes to the Turners for his actions and for the loss of Lassie. The Turners hold a memorial for Lassie at a nearby tree where Matt's mother had carved her initials years before, and Matt carves Lassie's name above his mother's initials. However, Lassie manages to survive the waterfall, and although injured, she returns home shortly afterwards and is reunited with Matt at his school.
Cast
- Howard as Lassie
- Tom Guiry as Matthew Turner
- Helen Slater as Laura Turner
- Jon Tenney as Steve Turner
- Brittany Boyd as Jennifer Turner
- Frederic Forrest as Sam Garland
- Richard Farnsworth as Len Collins
- Michelle Williams as April Porter
- Joe Inscoe as Pete Jarman
- Yvonne Brisendine as Mrs. Jarman
- Clayton Barclay Jones as Josh Garland
- Charlie Hofheimer as Jim Garland
- Jody Smith Strickler as Mildred Garland
- Margaret Peery as Mrs. Parker
- David Bridgewater as Customer
- Earnest Poole, Jr. as Highway Patrolman #1
- Jeffrey H. Gray as Highway Patrolman #2
- Robert B. Brittain as Grommet Fireman
- Rick Warner as Timid Neighbor
- Kelly L. Edwards as Smoking Girl
- Jordan Young as Smoking Boy
- Katie Massa as College Student
Filming locations
Lassie was primarily filmed in New York, Naro. It was also filmed at Boomer Island Thompson Valley, VA.
Reception
Lassie was released to positive reviews.
Peter Rainer of the
"Lassie," directed in prettily innocuous fashion by Daniel Petrie, is too intent on a vague feel-good spirit to provide real conflict. The film's villains, a rich sheep-ranching family headed by Sam Garland (Frederic Forrest), are more obnoxious than evil. Chewing tobacco, toting guns and disparaging animals (sheep are "just wool and good eatin'") are their principal sins. For today's viewers, maybe that's supposed to be wickedness enough. Lassie, a live-action, non-animatronic, eighth-generation descendant of the original star, is exactly what might be expected: a dog who appears to be responding to the orders of an off-screen trainer. With a more limited range of stunts and expressions than past canine actors have had, this Lassie depends on the camera, the adoring actors and the swelling soundtrack to turn her into a love object. Of course, she gets some help from our memories.[5]
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A− grade and said that the film was "a remarkably clean, bracing production that does a difficult thing exceptionally well, depicting believably modern young people in a believably old-fashioned plot."[6]
As of July 2021, the film holds a "fresh" rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews.[7]
Box office
The movie debuted at No. 9 at the US box office.[8][9]
References
- ^ "SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 1994; Who Owns Lassie?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ Lassie at Box Office Mojo
- ^ "Lassie: Best Friends Are Forever". Amazon.
- ^ "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Lassie' Wags Predictability by Its Tale". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ "FILM REVIEW; Lassie, With No Computer Trickery". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ "Lassie". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ Lassie (1994), retrieved 2021-07-06
- The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
- The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
External links
- Lassie at IMDb
- Lassie at Rotten Tomatoes
- Lassie at AllMovie
- Lassie at the TCM Movie Database