Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Starring:Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid, Judith Furse, Lyn Harding, Milton Rosmer, Frederick Leister, Louise Hampton, Austin Trevor, David Tree, Edmund Breon, Jill Furse, Scott Sunderland, Cyril Raymond, Nigel Stock, Michael Shepley, John Longden, Leonard Boucher
Director: Sam Wood
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

One more terrific film from a terrific year for movies--1939, the year of Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Stagecoach, among others--Sam Wood's Goodbye Mr. Chips is a deeply stirring work starring Robert Donat as the old schoolmaster who looks back upon his life. Told mostly in flashbacks, the film wraps itself around a history of an older England as seen through the generations of boys who pass through Mr. Chips's classroom. Greer Garson is her usual classy, sexy-intelligent self as Donat's wife, their earlier courtship one of the film's highlights. Get out the Kleenex for this one. --Tom Keogh

Description

An elder teacher and former boarding school headmaster looks back upon his career and personal life over the decades.

Customer Reviews:

Goodbye Mr. Chips, the original.......2007-06-20

A nostalgic paean to Old England and a deeply affecting story of honorable service, "Chips" succeeds admirably, mainly due to British actor Donat's touching performance. Donat broke "Gone with the Wind"'s Academy Award sweep in 1939, stealing the Best Actor statuette from under Clark Gable's nose. In addition, beautiful English ingénue Garson became an overnight star in the small but pivotal role of Chips's enchanting wife. Though sentimental by today's standards, this is a grand and moving classic for the ages.

A great classic.......2007-04-29

Almost two hours that go unnoticed.

A film on education as it used to be in the good old times, at least in good old England. "Robert Donat portrays a stiff, unpopular schoolmaster converted by love into an inspirational molder of lives." Mr. Chipps, an old-fashioned man, represents tradition; he wins the respect of his students but misses their affection, just as in his private life. This failure will be solved by the appearance of Greer Garson, just the right woman for him. She will be the inspiration that he needed. Greer Garson does here a magnificent part. She fits Mr. Chips' personality so well that her absence from the film so many minutes really makes one miss her. It would seem pretty difficult to find an actress who could match Chips' shy role without overshadowing his.

A film that'll hit your heart and will lie in your memory for ever.

Very Moving Old Movie.......2007-01-28

An emotional movie... some really sad parts and some really joyful parts. While as far as purity and innocence, it compares to Disney's Bambi, I'm really glad to have this movie in my personal library. Black and white.

He Made a Difference.......2006-11-18

He made a difference, didn't he that Mister Chips? A man makes himself what he has to be but he sometimes that realization comes long after the sun has set on one's life. Robert Donat is that man. He is a better man than he knows. What else could possibly be added to what has been said? I love this film. Enough said.

Timeless Classic.......2006-10-03

"Goodbye, Mr Chips" is a moving and compelling classic movie version of James Hilton's novel of the same title. The film, made in 1939, is a tribute to the English public school system. This is the story of the life of a school teacher, Mr Chipping (exceptionally well played by Robert Donat).

Chipping starts off as a well meaning, shy and nervous teacher. Along the way, he meets the lovely Kathy (Green Garson) whom he falls in love with at first sight. They marry and his assertive wife resurrects his love and great appreciation of teaching and his students. After the marriage, Chipping (affectionately named Chips by his wife) is viewed in a new light by students and colleagues. Mr Chips is trusted and admired by pupils due to his empathy and dry sense of humour. He eventually wins the appointment of Housemaster.

Tragically, Chips loses his wife during childbirth. However, he spends the remainder of his life as a well respected and devoted teacher who is a champion of learning. When the end of his life came, it is very clear that he lived a very meaningful life of imparting knowledge and wisdom to his pupils over a period of over 60 years.

This is an excellent, heart-warming classic movie that is worth watching.

Average customer rating:

goodbye Mr. Chips
A dumbed down version
Martin Clunes as James Hilton's beloved Mr. Chipping
A classic in its own right
Simply Beautiful

Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Starring: Martin Clunes , Victoria Hamilton , Conleth Hill , John Wood , and Patrick Malahide
Director: Stuart Orme
Manufacturer: Wgbh Boston
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Goodbye, Mr. Chips
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The Emperor's Club (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B00009MEKA
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Amazon.com

James Hilton's beloved novel is tenderly remade here with a British cast for ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre. British television actor Martin Clunes plays the schoolteacher over a 50-year period, from his first day as a novice Latin instructor until his death at 83 as retired Headmaster. The world and Mr. Chipping change dramatically over the decades. He marries a proto-feminist (British stage actress Victoria Hamilton) who nicknames him "Chips" and gives him courage to test his humanitarian impulses. World War I hits home in many ways, as a long roster of the school's graduates die or are maimed, and Chips struggles with the discriminatory exile of his best friend, the German teacher. Despite obvious breaks for commercials, this film has a graceful honesty that transcends the sometimes sentimental storyline. The casual cruelty at the all-boys school may make parents flinch more than their children, rendering this a safe choice for family viewing.--Kimberly Heinrichs

Description

He went from teacher to legend in one lifetime.

Arthur Chipping, the Latin master at an English boys' boarding school, is as awkward as he is stubborn. The eccentric schoolmaster lives a full, rich life within the cloistered school, defined by his role as the intellectual shepherd of generations of young students. Then, everything changes.

When Mr. Chipping travels through the countryside on summer holiday, he unexpectedly falls in love with the unconventional Kathie (Victoria Hamilton, Mansfield Park). The love and devotion of his new wife ignites his passion and brings him out of his shell, revealing the sensitivity lying beneath his gruff exterior. But after tragedy strikes, Chips' true character is put to the test in the most difficult examination of his life. Ultimately, it is a lesson that will last a lifetime.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a tender, heartwarming story that spans over 50 years in one passionate life. Portraying the storied Arthur Chipping in James Hilton's classic tale of love and transformation, Martin Clunes (Shakespeare in Love) turns in a bravura performance in a film filled with countless noteworthy turns.

Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; selected cast filmographies; selected cast list; biography of host Russell Baker: a link to the Masterpiece Theatre Web site; closed captions; and v and described video for the visually impaired.

On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Letterboxed.

Customer Reviews:

goodbye Mr. Chips.......2007-03-15

I ordered 2 CD's this one came cracked and did not play

A dumbed down version.......2006-10-05

Immediately after watching this movie I watched the 1939 version with Robert Donat. I was struck by how much better the earlier version is than the modern version.

The 1939 version assumes that the viewers have some intelligence. This 2003 version is dumbed down by comparison. The earlier version has more depth, and far more historical accuracy. The characters not as flat and one-dimensional as in the modern movie, and the story is more complex. It's also more moving, despite (or perhaps because of) not having the excessive and sickly sentimentality of the modern version. The political correctness and didactic undertones of the modern version are stifling by comparison.

Chips has a strong character and a sense of humor in the old version, while in the latest version he comes across as dull and weak. Robert Donat is a better actor and far more believable in the role than Martin Clunes. Donat deservedly won an Oscar for his performance.

Another important point is that the boys in the 1939 movie are far more real, far more lively, and far more appealing than the over-aged actors of the latest version.

I strongly recommend the 1939 version rather than this version. It's both better and more enjoyable.

Martin Clunes as James Hilton's beloved Mr. Chipping.......2004-10-31

Watching the 2002 BBC version of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" has convinced me that I have to track down and read James Hilton's sentimental novella to see what is really there. Having a strong affection for the original 1939 film for which Robert Donat won the Best Actor Oscar, especially for the moment when Greer Garson notices that Danube really is blue, and having ignored the songs in the 1969 musical to focus on Peter O'Toole's performance, it was interesting to see what the screenplay by Frank Delaney and Brian Finch that was new and/or different.

Mr. Chipping is played by Martin Clunes, most familiar as Richard Burbage in "Shakespeare in Love," and while he has a certain timidity to him at first he is not as befuddled or as bewildered as his predecessors in the role. Saddled with the burden of teaching Latin in addition to being a new master at Brookfield School, Chipping is immediately tormented by his students. His reputation, not to mention his job, are on the line when he makes an example of a young boy named Colley, taking advantage of the boy's name to reduce the offender to a subject of ridicule in front of his peers. The scene is informative because it establishes the Chipping would prefer not to use corporal punishment.

There is clearly a theme to this version of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," in that his abhorrence of the systemic bullying of younger boys at Brookfield is as strong as his love for the school, its traditions, and, of course, its boys. Time and time again, Chipping tries to stop the practice, but without success. Then he meet Kathie (Victoria Hamilton), marries her, and brings her back to the school (the moment when his colleagues are stunned to discover that Chipping's new wife is both beautiful and personable is also fun). Confronted with another despicable example, it is Kathie who insists in confronting an increasingly uncomfortable Headmaster Wetherby (John Wood) at a dinner while her husband beams at both her principles and her persistence. She makes her point, first through a nice little story about the wind and the sun and then through a series of concerted efforts to teach the boys better ways of acting like gentlemen. Kathie's presence is regrettable brief in the film, but her impact on her husband is not.

It is after the death of Kathie that Chips, as we now must think of him, has his finest moment when he confronts the new Headmaster, Ralston (Patrick Malahide) over the modernization of Brookfield and the sacrifice of Max Staefel (Conleth Hill) to the building prejudice against Germans on the eve of the First World War. When the boys and their parents rally to Chipping's support, we totally believe it is justifiable because of the way that he stood up to the Headmaster as well as the philosophical points that he raised. This time there is a clear idea that Mr. Chips embodies the very best of the school that he has served for so long and so well.

Overall, I liked the "new" moments in this version of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," while those that were familiar just struck me as being different without really being better. This could simply be because they are so familiar: I liked what the boys in Chipping's class did when they learned that Kathie was dead, but it did not have the emotional impact that I have felt in the past. Yet other viewers will no doubt appreciate that this version does not veer into such sentimentality and the strength of this production is that it mines the other strong vein of value in Hilton's story. The one point of agreement is that the performance by Clunes is at least the equal of those memorable ones that have come before it, which is a great accomplishment all on its own. This production might not be the definitive "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" for me, but Clunes' performance in the role certainly made it to that level of accomplishment.

A classic in its own right.......2004-09-07

This was released on TV in the UK during Christmas 2002. I was reluctant to watch at first being a big fan of the 1939 version starring Greer Garson and the wonderful Robert Donat; I was glad I did though.

It features areas of James Hiltons novel not covered in previous films. However, this makes them no less credible!

It will remain high on my list of favourite films!!

Simply Beautiful.......2003-10-20

Though I may not have seen this DVD, I just saw the same exact movie on PBS only minutes ago. After it ended, I knew I had to get it, so I look it up on trusty Amazon.com, and to my amazement I find it here! Sadly, I'll have to wait to get it, but I must say that this was the most beautiful and moving cinema I've ever seen! The movie was absolutely genious and Martin Clunes, a favorite British comedy actor of mine from Men Behaving Badly, suited the character absolutely flawlessly. I cannot stress how highly I think of this movie, though I only saw little more than an hour of it. I can't wait to see the rest once this DVD comes out. I reccommend it to anyone who can comprehend something a bit deeper than an action flick of today, something rare I find. Still, this movie is great and you will love it if you have any sense of film appreciation at all!

Average customer rating:

Goodbye Mr. Chips, the original
A great classic
Very Moving Old Movie
He Made a Difference
Timeless Classic

Goodbye, Mr. Chips [Region 2]
Starring: Robert Donat , Greer Garson , Terry Kilburn , John Mills , and Paul Henreid
Director: Sam Wood
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Mrs. Miniver
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ASIN: B00012SZ4A

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Goodbye Mr. Chips, the original.......2007-06-20

A great classic.......2007-04-29

Very Moving Old Movie.......2007-01-28

He Made a Difference.......2006-11-18

Timeless Classic.......2006-10-03

Goodbye Mr. Chips / Mrs. Miniver (Two-Pack)

Average customer rating:

Well paired

Goodbye Mr. Chips / Mrs. Miniver (Two-Pack)
Starring: Robert Donat , Greer Garson , Terry Kilburn , John Mills , and Paul Henreid
Director: Sam Wood , and William Wyler
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0002Q9WGU
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Customer Reviews:

Well paired.......2004-09-28

Good Bye Mr. Chips

This is the story of the 60 plus year life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping (Robert Donat), from neophyte teacher to hopefully Head Master. On his way he will make several mistakes and learn from them. The movie has the feel of several stories running in series that all tie in to Chipping's life. He is also destined to meet the love of his life Katherine (Greer Garson) and see that the Danube is blue.

I do not want to go into a detail as that is the fun in watching eh stories unfold however I think it is significant when Chipping and Katherine are alone on the top of the world and time stops finding them selves in eternity. He also gets an insight or different slant of his carrier.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs. Miniver

It is hard to tell of the importance of this movie and skip the details. Yes the technical stuff may not be that interesting in a review like, after first choice Norma Shearer rejected the title role (as she refused to play a mother), Greer Garson was cast. The meat of the story is the action and interaction of family members. Add this to plausible plot twists and you come up with a movie that had a unique view of the sacrifices they endured during WWII. This is not some cardboard war propaganda film. So you do not think this review came off of some box cover, I would say to me the most moving sections were, the outcome of the Miniver Rose, unexpected war casualty, and of course as results the final church scene.

Average customer rating:

goodbye Mr. Chips
A dumbed down version
Martin Clunes as James Hilton's beloved Mr. Chipping
A classic in its own right
Simply Beautiful

Goodbye, Mr. Chips [Region 2]
Starring: Martin Clunes , Victoria Hamilton , Conleth Hill , John Wood , and Patrick Malahide
Director: Stuart Orme
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Tom Brown's School Days
Tom Brown's Schooldays
To Serve Them All My Days (Miniseries)
The Emperor's Club (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000089ARA

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

goodbye Mr. Chips.......2007-03-15

I ordered 2 CD's this one came cracked and did not play

A dumbed down version.......2006-10-05

Martin Clunes as James Hilton's beloved Mr. Chipping.......2004-10-31

A classic in its own right.......2004-09-07

Simply Beautiful.......2003-10-20

Average customer rating:

Absolutely good for the soul
We Want a DVD of this Film
Where's the DVD?
great present for Mum
Only worth it for O'Toole

Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Starring: Peter O'Toole , Petula Clark , Michael Redgrave , Alison Leggatt , and Siân Phillips
Director: Herbert Ross
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
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ASIN: B00005JO3W

Amazon.com

Robert Donat won an Oscar for his portrayal of the humble British don in the 1939 film Goodbye, Mr. Chips--and Peter O'Toole was nominated for his version of the role in this lackluster musical (he, along with Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight of Midnight Cowboy, lost to John Wayne in True Grit). O'Toole is affecting as the shy English schoolteacher at a private boys' school who is brought out of his shell by the love of a good woman, then goes on to become a teaching legend after her tragic death. But the idea of turning this touching tale into a musical (with totally forgettable songs by John Williams and Leslie Bricusse) was almost as wrong-headed as having O'Toole do his own singing--or as casting singer Petula Clark as his wife. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely good for the soul.......2007-06-20

The best line in the movie is spoken by Petula Clark, "On his knees, is he? And so he should be, to my husband." A gentler time on the edge of changing events, this movie captures honor and dignity, love and fidelity like no other. The youthfulness of school boy pranks, awed by the real example of genuine love played out between Clark and O'Toole against the backdrop as Englands struggles with war and Hitler. Bring tissues and someone to share them with.

We Want a DVD of this Film.......2007-06-16

Definitely one of the under rated films of all time. This film is heart warming, the musical numbers are truly wonderful, the acting is wonderul. I, like many of the other reviewers here truly would love to see this film in its entirety (including the number "When I was Younger" that Chips sings on stage after finding out that he has been passed up as headmaster). Only once have I seen this film in its entirety. There is one other clip that is missing from the VHS tape. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have on the DVD not only the full film, but: (1) a commentary done by Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark. (2) Clips of scenes that were cut. (3) From the complete CD that was released (THANK YOU!) we know there are clips of interviews with Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark while on the set. One example is back on Oct 19,1968 Ed Sullivan interviewed Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark while on the set of GMC. (4) Stories about what happened on the set. (4) Interviews with some of the boys that stayed at the school during their break. (5) A photo montage. (6) Interviews with the cast that is still alive. Anyone that loves the music from this film should buy Petula Clark's DVD of Petula Clark: At the Turn of the Century (you can buy it here on Amazon). It is a concert she did five years after making "Goodbye Mr. Chips" and includes "Fill the World with Love" and "You and I". The arrangement is just as it was in the film. I highly recommend it. Lastly, my mom and I saw Petula Clark perform at Epcot in Florida on May 4, 2007 and she sang "Tomorrow with Me" which was pulled from the film and replaced with "You and I". I did not know it was from the film until after my trip and I finally finished the CD of "Goodbye Mr. Chips". Please whoever owns the rights to this film please, please, please put it on DVD.

Where's the DVD?.......2007-01-30

The Herb Ross GOODBYE,MR.CHIPS is one of my all time favorite films. I saw it first as the Christmas show at the Empire Theater, London in 1969, and have seen it over and over again, first in a barely watchable pan and scan VHS version, and then on a somewhat better widescreen laserdisc. But where is the long promised DVD release? With all the garbage that does make it to DVD, I am at a loss to know why a film as well made and touching as this has not yet been released. Maybe Peter O'Toole's Academy Award nomination for VENUS will make someone at Warner Home Video, (who I believe release older MGM films), sit up and take notice and get the CHIPS DVD into the works.With terrific performances by O'Toole, Petula Clark, Michael Redgrave and the amazing Sian Phillips along with fine songs by Leslie Bricusse and seamless direction by Herb Ross, one can only hope.

great present for Mum.......2007-01-22

Arrived on time - excellent condition - thanks

Only worth it for O'Toole.......2007-01-22

Yes, I'm going to be another naysayer. I love Peter O'Toole and found his work in this to be strong and brilliant. However, the entire rest of the movie falls down around this. Petula Clark is a rather bland leading lady, the songs are sappy and quite forgettable (in fact by the latter half of the movie I was muting the songs), and the story didn't flow properly. I don't know the book or the Donat version of the film, though.

What characteristics did Katherine's character have, that caused Chips to fall in love with her? Katherine wasn't a BAD character, just a boring one. Perhaps since she was the only young single woman he'd met, he convinced himself he loved her?

I also did not see what exactly it was that made Chips so likeable at the end. There are no scenes shown of the boys growing to like him, or of anything he's doing that changes his dull image to them, yet suddenly when he becomes headmaster every boy likes him, laughs at his jokes. There are a few minor bits where Katherine interacts with the boys but these are fleetingly minor and wouldn't really redeem Chips in the boys' eyes.

I'd give this movie a 1 or 2 if it didn't have such a great O'Toole performance in it. Yeah, his singing is weak, very Rex-Harrison-ish, but the rest of his performance is very moving, especially from the point where he becomes headmaster. Watch it on TV, but give the DVD a miss.

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