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Movies / On DVD / The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank

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The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

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Reviews Counted: 16

Fresh: 12

Rotten:4

Average Rating: 6.7/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 59 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: George Stevens' life-altering experience of witnessing the death camps after WWII was doubtless responsible for his desire to adapt the famed diary of the teenaged Jewish girl, played by Millie... George Stevens' life-altering experience of witnessing the death camps after WWII was doubtless responsible for his desire to adapt the famed diary of the teenaged Jewish girl, played by Millie Perkins. With the feared 'Green Police' or Dutch Gestapo combing Amsterdam in search of Jews, Anne, her parents, Otto (Joseph Schildkraut) and Edith (Anna Huber) another Jewish family, the Van Daans, and a dentist Albert Dussell (Ed Wynn) take refuge for two years in a small attic provided by Gentile shop owners Kraler (Douglas Spencer) and Miep (Dody Heath). Despite their precarious situation, and the sense of claustrophobia created by having to live together in such crowded conditions, covering the windows during the day, and keeping as quiet as possible at all times, the families carry on as best they can. For Anne, her platonic romance with Peter Van Daan (Richard Beymer), the attractive son of often voluble parents, makes the experience more bearable than it is for the adults, whose sense of foreboding is palpable. By surrounding the inexperienced Perkins with a talented cast of veteran performers, which also includes Shelley Winters and Lou Jacobi, Stevens achieves a moving portrait of Frank's innocent precocity, with her ultimate fate the tragic subtext of this intensely compelling film. [More]

Starring: Millie Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, Shelley Winters, Richard Beymer

Starring: Millie Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, Shelley Winters, Richard Beymer, Gusti Huber, Lou Jacobi, Diane Baker, Douglas Spencer, Dody Heath, Ed Wynn

Director: George Stevens

Director: George Stevens
Screenwriter: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett
Producer: George Stevens
Composer: Alfred Newman

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 16, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • With compelling performances from an all-star cast, including Shelley Winters, Ed Wynn, Richard Beymer and Lou Jacobi, The Diary of Anne Frank is as gripping and heart-wrenching now as it was during its initial release! In honor of the film’s 50th Anniversary, this Special Edition DVD offers an unprecedented look at the making of the film with an audio commentary, seven exclusive featurettes, photo galleries and more! Following the Nazi invasion of Amsterdam, 13-year-old Anne and her family go into hiding in the confines of an attic. Anne’s remarkable account of their lives, their growing fear of discovery, their deplorable living conditions and even the blooming of her first love are intimately portrayed in this extraordinary portrait of humanity. Nominated for eight 1959 Oscars® and winning three, The Diary of Anne Frank remains one of cinema’s most astounding and enduring treasures.
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    Reviews for The Diary of Anne Frank

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    1 - 17 (sorted by date)
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    Remains a potent statement about the horrors of war and a valid testament to the girl who could answer them by writing, 'I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart.' [Blu-ray]

    Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
    06/28/09
    Peter Canavese
    Groucho Reviews
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    04/01/09
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A vivid and carefully produced work of poignancy and loss.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    11/13/07
    TV Guide's Movie Guide
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    More valuable as historical than artistic work, this reverential Broadway-to-Hollywood transfer is marred by the weak lead performance from the inexperienced Millie Perkins, who lacks expressiveness and doesn't establish contact with the audience.

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    05/01/07
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    One of those extremely long and well-meaning adaptations of plays, this doesn't really amount to very much, despite its intrinsically moving subject matter.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    01/26/06
    Time Out
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    06/26/05
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    Its ideals are concerned less with the horrors of 1940s Germany and more with the optimistic, hopeful attitude of 1950s America.

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    01/20/05
    Derek Smith
    Apollo Guide

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    02/06/04
    Robin Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    10/09/03
    Michael Szymanski
    Zap2it.com

    Stevens took some stick for casting an unknown as Anne, but his decision paid off as Perkins is refreshingly unmannered in the role.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    05/24/03
    Channel 4 Film
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Mr. Stevens has done a superb job of putting upon the screen the basic drama and shivering authenticity of the Frances Goodrich-Albert Hackett play, which in turn caught the magnitude of drama in the real-life diary of a Jewish girl.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    05/20/03
    Bosley Crowther
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Anne Frank saga remains moving, personal, and relavant, no matter how distant we become in time.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    03/13/03
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Austin Chronicle

    A poignant, moving film of hope and tragedy.

    comment Comment
    03/04/03
    Alex Sandell
    Juicy Cerebellum

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/08/02
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

    Faithful and affecting (if long).

    Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
    04/13/02
    Nell Minow
    Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

    The first film to deal with the Holocaust on such an affecting and personal level, this is a powerful and painfully tragic film.

    Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
    09/25/01
    Dan Jardine
    All Movie Guide

    Represents Stevens at the height of his pretentiousness and the depths of his accomplishment.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Dave Kehr
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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