Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28777 in DVD
• Released on: 1997-10-14
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Running time: 97 minutes

From Amazon.com
Wilson Rawls's novel about an Oklahoma boy's devotion to two hunting dogs during the Great Depression was the basis for this appealing 1974 film made by a former Disney director, Norman Tokar. Stewart Peterson is very effective as a 12-year-old, hurtling down the path toward manhood with hounds at his side. (Though how he raised $50 to get the pooches in that economic climate is still a mystery....) --Tom Keogh

Synopsis
Based on the novel by Wilson Rawls, this film follows the events that befall a young Oklahoma farm boy as he, with the help of his two beloved hounds, struggles to help his family get by in the hard times of the 1930s. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

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  • Menu Group #1 with 10 chapter(s) covering 01:37:07
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Customer Reviews

Simple, sentimental, and inmmensly likeable
This is simple, well intentioned and instantly likeable film. Made in 1974, there are evident signs of the age of the film, but this works to its advantage. This is one of the classics. Perhaps not as famous as Old Yeller, it's "older brother", which also hailed from the Disney studio's, it is equally as likeable.
Stewart Petersen does a terrific job as young Billy Coleman, and makes the character immensely likeable.

The film follows Billy's life, as he desperately saves money to buy a pair of hunting dogs. It is evident that he leads a fairly poor, but honest life, and struggles with his decision to buy the dogs, as opposed to giving the money to his Father. On going to collect the dogs, he is stared at by the local folk, almost looked down upon, each one in turn glancing at this scruffy, barefoot young character as he enters "their world". Picked on by local children, he befriends the local sheriff, who we meet again later in the film.

There are some wonderful scenes, from his first encounter with his new found friends, as they lick his toes, and he gently picks them up for the first time, to the comical scene where he is training them, and they run, followed by three children, through the house, sliding every which way on their Mothers freshly cleaned kitchen floor, in a scene which borders farcical, but knows where to draw the line, in keeping the humour gentle.

Billy is an idealistic young man, willing to take a beating and defy his mother, rather than break a promise to his dogs. All this makes him a very likeable, and identifiable character. This is further showed toward the end of the film, when his true courage and sportsmanship show themselves in a hunting competition.

This is by no means a jolly film - it's a positive tearjerker, unashamedly so. There is a death, which in itself is only mildly instrumental to the plot, but serves Billy a valuable life lesson, and the viewer is left feeling his pain and sorrow.

The end is equally sad, which I won't give away, but there is a beautiful closing shot as the camera pans away from the family, focusing on a single red fern....

There are times when deep, clever plots, and intense dialogue serve no purpose, and this film is a shining example of this. It has no pretences about what it is. It is a lesson that true beauty is found in the simplicity and innocence of a child's world.

It is quite simply, a nice film. I am not fond of the word "nice", but in this instance it serves well to describe the film. A great example that some of the older films, can still give modern Hollywood movies a run for their money. This does just that, and wins hands down all the way.

Particular mention must also be made to the soundtrack, which is perfect for the film, and simply beautiful, from the gentle incidental music, to the lyrics in every song. I watched this anticipating it to be a little "ropey", and perhaps rough around the edges, given it is 30 years old. That anticipation was the only thing the film wasn't. It really is a polished gem of a movie, and one that I can recommend very highly. Sure it's a sappy, sentimental tearjerker - it doesn't pretend to be anything else, and for that, I loved it. A very well earned 10/10!

The Worst Movie Ever
Wow! They can turn one of the best books ever into the worst movie I think I've ever seen. I read the book in my Language class. I thought that the book was alright for something that we had to read. But then when we watched the movie, it changed my whole perspective on Where The Red Fern Grows. The actors were horrible, the same with the special effects. And if you get this movie to watch what you read, you need to find something else. It leaves out some of the best parts of the book. I was disgusted with this movie. It may be the worst movie I've ever seen.

So good I wish I could give it 10 stars ! - by Damaris
Now after all the movies I saw I have to say that Where the Red Fern Grows was the BEST one.I have never seen anything like it before.I thought the movie was very strong.The movie had a lot of emotional parts in it.I thought the boy who played Billy was the kind of boy who always agreed with his dogs and who never gave up on them. Now I've been reading other people's review of the movie, and most of them wrote that the movie was bad because it was not the same as the book.Well, I thought they were wrong. There might be someone who didn't like the book, so they'd want to see the movie and if it was exactly the same as the book, they want to see the movie! I am Happy the way the movie is.The people who made the movie did a great job.