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The orphanage is much more believable than the silly sex scenes, which would have been really condemned by the owner of the apple farm. Also, before the 1960's, Blacks led better moral lives than the Whites did.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This is a complicated tale with 2 focal points, an orphanage and a "cider house", residence for migrant apple pickers. Michael Caine is an amoral doctor at the orphanage. He does abortions (1940's), buries dead children on the grounds and trains his successor Toby McGuire, an older orphan, by apprenticeship. This character leaves for awhile and apprentices again as an apple picker. The title refers to the rules of the residence, which the residents cannot read, and are not following. McGuire has an affair with Charlize Theron, who had obtained an abortion from Caine. He disapproves of Caine's abortions, but finds himself doing the same at the cider house. I suppose he discovers that the rules are too difficult to be followed in the real world. McGuire returns to the orphanage and succeeds Caine, who has died, as doctor (no medical degree). I found the movie cynical and the characters unappealing. Still, it has some appeal. Caine won an Oscar for his role. I suppose the film is subtly pro-abortion as well. It may be worth it to puzzle out this complicated tale, but I found it depressing, nevertheless. Conclusion - rules are impractical and may be broken as necessary. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I recieved the movie in the mail before I was quite finished reading The Cider House Rules. I didn't watch the DVD until I had finished the book, and I wondered, as I read, how in the world John Irving could possibly adapt his novel to the screen, which he not only did, but recieved an Academy Award for doing. Not all characters or incidents in the book made it through his adaptation, however. Without those characters and incidents, the movie version of The Cider House Rules is very different from the book. I felt it was lacking in depth, yet the adaptation resulted in a separate entity which, when considered aside from the book, is a powerful, evocative view of a young man's (Tobey Maguire as Homer Wells) search for his place in the world, despite the assumptions of his mentor (Michael Caine as Dr. Wilbur Larch, for which Mr. Caine recieved an Academy Award.) Homer Wells never leaves the state of Maine, but sees enough of the world from the orchard where he works to know where he belongs. There is an abundance of love in this movie, soft moments and parental-like prideful ones, and the affection among friends. The Cider House Rules is a movie best viewed more than once, and best viewed with a good friend, because it it one you will talk about later. This particular edition of the DVD, the Miramax Collector's Series edition, contains great bonus materials, including deleted scenes and cast and crew bios and a commentary track with Author/Screenwriter John Irving, Director Lasse Halstrom, and Producer Richard N. Gladstein.Read full review
One of my favorites, had to have it for the DVD library. Both Tobey Maguire and Michael Caine are superb. Heck, all of the main players gave wonderful performances. The beautiful Charlize Theron, Kathy Baker, Delroy Lindo and newcomer Erykah Badu, all of them--just fantastic. Set in a beautiful area, and is just a very good story with awesome characters that you truly end up caring about. It definitely has it's tear-jerker scenes, but then some of the best movies do. I never tire of watching this one. Must read the book eventually. Do check this one out. If you like a beautifully crafted drama, you won't be disappointed. :)
We meet a young orphan from the time of his birth at a home for unwed mothers and their offspring. Irving can take a simple story and make it multi-faceted, as in the tradition of 19th Century writers like Dickens and Trollope. But the setting is 1940s lobster country, in Maine, isolated and rugged as the characters themselves. The black work crew that harvests apple crops figures heavily into the work, treated sensitively and respectfully by the author. That the young man ascends way past his expectations makes the ending fulfilling. Michael Caine's portrayal of the orphanage director is superb.
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