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Title
Rating : 4.5
 
 
Description
Source : Amazon.com essential video
Having proven itself as a favorite film of children around the world, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is every bit as entertaining now as it was when originally released in 1971. There's a timeless appeal to Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, which was playfully preserved in this charming musical, from the colorful carnival-like splendor of its production design to the infectious melody of the "Oompah-Loompah" songs that punctuate the story. Who can forget those diminutive Oompah-Loompah workers who recite rhyming parental warnings ("Oompah-Loompah, doopity do...") whenever some mischievous child has disobeyed Willy Wonka's orders to remain orderly? Oh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves ... it's really the story of the impoverished Charlie Bucket, who, along with four other kids and their parental guests, wins a coveted golden ticket to enter the fantastic realm of Wonka's mysterious confectionery. After the other kids have proven themselves to be irresponsible brats, it's Charlie who impresses Wonka and wins a reward beyond his wildest dreams. But before that, the tour of Wonka's factory provides a dazzling parade of delights, and with Gene Wilder giving a brilliant performance as the eccentric candyman, Wonka gains an edge of menace and madness that nicely counterbalances the movie's sentimental sweetness. It's that willingness to risk a darker tone--to show that even a wonderland like Wonka's can be a weird and dangerous place if you're a bad kid--that makes this an enduring family classic. --Jeff Shannon
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Product Information
Released on : June 30, 1971
Theatrical Release on : June 30, 1971
Running Time : 100 minutes
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Rated : G (General Audience)
Director(s) : J.M. Kenny, Mel Stuart
Total Discs : 1
Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Wi
Languages : English, French, Portuguese, English, French, Spanish
Aspect Ratio : 1.77:1
Studio : Warner Home Video
Actors
Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear, Julie Dawn Cole
 
Price
List Price: $19.98 USD
Price: $17.49 USD
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Customer Review Results
RatingDateSummaryContent
5 2010-05-27 Kids are not stupid They are among the sharpest, cleverest, most eagle-eyed creatures on God's Earth, and very little escapes their notice. You may not have observed that your neighbor is still using his snow tires in mid-July, but every four-year-old on the block has, and kids pay the same attention to detail when they go to the movies. They don't miss a thing, and they have an instinctive contempt for shoddy and shabby work. I make this observation because nine out of ten children's movies are stupid, witless, and display contempt for their audiences, and that's why kids hate them. Is that all parents want from kids' movies? That they not have anything bad in them? Shouldn't they have something good in them -- some life, imagination, fantasy, inventiveness, something to tickle the imagination? If a movie isn't going to do your kids any good, why let them watch it? Just to kill a Saturday afternoon? That shows a subtle kind of contempt for a child's mind, I think.

All of this is preface to a simple statement: "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is probably the best film of its sort since "The Wizard of Oz." It is everything that family movies usually claim to be, but aren't: Delightful, funny, scary, exciting, and, most of all, a genuine work of imagination. "Willy Wonka" is such a surely and wonderfully spun fantasy that it works on all kinds of minds, and it is fascinating because, like all classic fantasy, it is fascinated with itself.

It's based on the well-known Roald Dahl children's book, and it was financed by the Quaker Oats Company as an experiment in providing high-quality family entertainment. It succeeds. It doesn't cut corners and go for cheap shortcuts like Disney. It provides a first-rate cast (Gene Wilder as the compulsively distrustful chocolate manufacturer, Jack Albertson as the game old grandfather), a first-rate production, and -- I keep coming back to this -- genuine imagination.

The story, like all good fantasies, is about a picaresque journey. Willy Wonka is the world's greatest chocolate manufacturer, and he distributes five golden passes good for a trip through his factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate. Each pass goes to a kid, who may bring an adult along, and our hero Charlie (a poor but honest newsboy who supports four grandparents and his mother) wins the last one.

The other four kids are hateful in one way or another, and come to dreadful ends. One falls into the chocolate lake and is whisked into the bowels of the factory. He shouldn't have been a pig. Another is vain enough to try Wonka's new teleportation invention, and winds up six inches tall -- but the taffy-pulling machine will soon have him back to size, right? If these fates seem a little gruesome to you, reflect that all great children's tales are a little gruesome, from the Brothers Grimm to Alice in Wonderland to Snow White, and certainly not excluding Mother Goose. Kids are not sugar and spice, not very often, and they appreciate the poetic justice when a bad kid gets what's coming to him.
5 2010-05-23 Excellent Reproduction This movie is one of my all-time favorites, and the production staff did an excellent job reproducing the film for high definition delivery. Some Blu-Ray transfers I have seen (Top Gun) looked no better than widescreen DVD; however Willy Wonka's picture is clear, crisp and beautiful to watch. I also enjoyed the additional content, such as the making-of segment and recent interviews with the cast. This movie is definitely a "must have" and Blu-Ray really adds to the enjoyable experience.
4 2010-05-20 Wonderful Musical for Adults About Children But what is the Blu-Ray movie like?

All the reviews are for the DVD. Amazon lumps them all together, and sometimes the Blu-Rays are far from being acceptable.

Anyone have the Blu-Ray?

5 2010-05-14 Another Childhood Classic This is the one and only Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in my view. Gene Wilder is at his best and the story is fun.
5 2010-05-10 still the good 1 still funny and cute likes the interviews of the kids after all those years ago