The Lost Prince

Starring:Daniel Williams (IV), Matthew Thomas, Brock Everitt-Elwick, Rollo Weeks, Gina McKee, Tom Hollander, Miranda Richardson, Bill Nighy, Bibi Andersson, Ron Cook, Frank Finlay, David Westhead, John Sessions, Michael Gambon, David Barrass, Henrietta Voigts, Paul Brennen, Kostya Severov, Robert Swann, Martin Wimbush
Director: Stephen Poliakoff
Studio: BBC Warner
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

A collective coming of age story set in the small town of Shelbyville in the late 1970's, Our Very Own is a story about five teenagers bored with small town life who are struggling to find direction and purpose in their lives. The family lives of each of the five teens are very different, with the teens forced to deal with everything from an unemployed alcoholic father, to taunts of being gay and parents who constantly demean them. When local girl Sondra Locke, who's made it big in Hollywood, is rumored to be returning for a movie premiere that coincides with the town horse show, the five teens are inspired collaborate on a tribute to Sondra for the town variety show. Their original work aptly showcases their individual and collective talents and the five teens begin to really believe in themselves. In the end, the teens must hold fast to their dreams while continuing to struggle to find their individual paths toward maturity and adulthood. Featuring a cast of up-and-coming young actors including Jason Ritter, Hilarie Burton, and Autumn Reeser and favorites like Emmy Award winner Allison Janney, Keith Carradine, and Cheryl Hines, the acting is powerful and the story believable. Winner of the 2005 grand prize at the Bluegrass Independent Film Festival and the special jury prize at the Rome International Film Festival.--Tami Horiuchi

Description

Hot, up-and-coming teen stars Jason Ritter, Hilarie Burton and Autumn Reeser and four-time Emmy® Award winner Allison Janney head the cast of Our Very Own, the engaging coming-of-age story about believing in your dreams. Itching to leave small-town life in Shelbyville, Tennessee, five friends are sent into a frenzy when they learn hometown-girl-turned-Hollywood-star Sondra Locke may be returning. Believing she's their ticket out, they do everything they can to make it happen. 2005 winner of the Bluegrass Independent Film Festival Grand Prize for Best Feature Film and the Rome International Film Festival's Special Jury Prize, Our Very Own is a heartwarming, hope-filled story about the power of friendship, family and believing in yourself.

Customer Reviews:

"Our Very Own' is the new "American Graffiti".......2007-04-09

REVIEW: "Our Very Own' is the new "American Graffiti"
Monday, August 15, 2005
By Brian Mosely

Cameron Watson's film, "Our Very Own," is a wonderful, heartfelt and true-to-life tribute to the town and the people of Shelbyville; the place that gave him the inspiration to reach for the top and get there by coming back home to tell his unique story.

As someone who grew up in neighboring Tullahoma during the same time period, this reviewer was overcome with memories when the trailer for the film was posted on the Internet back in February.

But after viewing the movie twice this weekend, it only can be said that the time and place depicted in "Our Very Own" is perfection, pulled from the writer and director's experiences, loving recollections magically brought to life, ones that many in this town share.

The year is 1978; a time in which there was still some type of innocence left in the world. Five teens -- played by Jason Ritter, Autumn Reeser, Hilarie Burton, Derek Carter and Michael McKee -- are spending the summer with nothing to do but borrow Mom's car to go cruising. It's long before the Internet, cell phones and sky-high gas prices -- and no video games are in existence except for "Pong."

So when the rumors start flying that the hometown girl who made it big, "our very own" Sondra Locke, is to return for the 39th annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, the teens are sent into a frenzy. Resser's character, Melora Kendal, becomes obsessed with the thought of being discovered and following in Locke's footsteps.

At the same time, her best friend, Clancy Whitfield (Ritter), is falling for Melora but is dealing with a deepening crisis at home. His father Billy, played by Academy Award-winner Keith Carradine, is spiraling down a dark path of destruction brought about by grief and guilt, while his mother (Allison Janney) tries to keep the family and her dignity together.

Life in Shelbyville is wistfully portrayed as the rural South once was. Every performance is dead on target, from Carradine's too brief, but effective, work as a man whose life has fallen out from under him to Resser's bright-eyed youth who yearns for more than her life seems to offer.

Janney's work as Joan, a woman trying to keep her world from falling apart, is something that hasn't been seen in film in recent memory. She feels as trapped in her life as the kids do, effectively brought to life when she realizes in one scene at a ladies' town meeting that no one has ever left Shelbyville. Her rapid shift in emotions reflects the chaos her life is becoming.

Ritter has the difficult job of playing a character who's living a double life, trying to balance his time with his tight group of friends with the unfolding tragedy at home, and pulls it off with staggering realism.

Resser's Melora is a striking ray of sunshine and naive optimism who reaches for the stars and knows she'll make it, if she can just get that one break like her idol Locke did.

Beth Grant is dead on authentic as Melora's mother Virginia, a chain-smoking Southern woman who seems to spend all of her time cooking, sewing and sadly shaking her head at whatever scheme the kids cook up next. Equally effective is Amy Landers as Melora's sister Rhonda, who seems resigned to the life that's been handed to her.

Cheryl Hines plays Sally, best friend to Joan since high school and key linchpin in the local rumor mill. She fulfills her role as the person who's always there -- with a shoulder to cry on and receive support from with understated grace.

Academy Award-nominated Mary Badham, who returns to film after almost 40 years, speaks no words in her all too short time on screen but says more with her eyes than most current performers are able to express in two hours.

Other standout roles are Faith Prince's turn as the town busybody, Dale Dickey's sassy waitress [Skillet] at Pope's Cafe, Burton's always bored Bobbie Chester, whose choice in dates causes trouble for her friends, and McKee's Glen Tidwell, who is beginning to face up to certain truths about himself.

All are part of the tapestry that is part of life in Shelbyville, exquisitely brought back to vivid realization by Watson's masterful direction.

Production design is totally accurate to the time period and area, with local touches that only life-long residents would be able to spot. The score by John Swihart touches the heart with delicate adornment.

Aside from a little language that's appropriate but never excessive, "Our Very Own" is a long overdue film for the entire family, full of wit, whimsy and a glance at life as it once was and how many long for it to be again.

One wonders if there were any local kids who viewed the film this weekend that will be given the life-changing aspirations that moved the characters in the movie as it did in real life with Cameron Watson when he chose to strive for his dreams. The circle would truly be complete if the enchanted cycle were to begin again.

Average customer rating:

A Prince of Valor and a Nanny of Honor
This Film Really Touched Me
Perfect example of a super movie you just don't hear about
Interesting way to depict World War I
[Three stars out of Four] Long, Dull, Boring, drawn-out look at the Brits royal family

The Lost Prince
Starring: Daniel Williams (IV) , Matthew Thomas , Brock Everitt-Elwick , Rollo Weeks , and Gina McKee
Director: Stephen Poliakoff
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Made-for-TV Movies | Television | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Bertie and Elizabeth: The Reluctant Royals - The Story of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth
Middlemarch
Edward & Mrs. Simpson
The Last King - The Power and the Passion of Charles II
The Barchester Chronicles

ASIN: B00015HXDG
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Amazon.com

A marvelous reinvention of the costume epic, The Lost Prince is Stephen Poliakoff's absorbing study of the turbulent years leading up to and during World War I, seen through the percipient eyes of a scarcely remembered royal child. Extensively researched, impeccably cast, beautifully filmed, written and directed by Poliakoff himself with masterly economy and restraint, this is a timely reminder that original, intelligent drama can work as prime-time entertainment while appealing on multiple levels; and there isn't an escaped soap star in sight. Johnnie, the prince kept hidden away by his parents Queen Mary and George V for fear that his epileptic fits and idiosyncratic ways might draw unwelcome attention, is not presented as a tragic figure. His view of the great events that shatter his family and change the world forever is direct and uncluttered. Poliakoff celebrates his apartness--and that of all children who are different--as a force for good, without judging the standards, protocols, and contemporary medical theories that kept him on the periphery of society. The series makes the most of its well-chosen locations, and from Johnnie's garden at Sandringham to the assassination of the Russian imperial family, it maintains a hypnotic and elegiac quality The acting is first-rate, too. Gina McKee is profoundly moving as Johnnie's devoted nurse Lalla, and Miranda Richardson's Mary is an extraordinary performance, the controlled facade of single-minded focus occasionally fracturing to reveal a flash of humanity. This production is exquisite in every respect. --Piers Ford

Customer Reviews:

A Prince of Valor and a Nanny of Honor.......2007-05-20

I loved this film. The depiction of the young Prince John was historically as well as clinically accurate. He was an epilectic child and certainly showed signs of genuine Aspergers Syndrome. The touching relationship between the prince and his beloved Nanny Lalla Bill was extraordinary. This was a woman who devoted her entire being to the care and love and education of this young boy. She quickly realized his penchant for music and nurtured it in a way that he was able to emotionally grow and feel joy through his music. She was so proud of his achievents, even though they were gained with baby steps. The mores and values of the Edwardian years were certainly portrayed accurately by the writer and director of this film. They managed to intertwine a very complicated family history and struggle of the Sax-Coburg-Gotha family and their relationship with the Romonov's including the downfall and murder of many family members. King George V's relationship with the Tsar was brought to bare and the eventual assassination of the russian royal family was a heartbreak. The effect that this war had on the royal family and on Prince John in particular was artistically written and brought to the screen in this brilliant and touching film. I highly recommend it.

This Film Really Touched Me.......2007-03-14

Having no idea how historically accurate it is, The Lost Prince still touched me. Such a sad story, on so many levels.

The boys playing John are remarkably fresh actors (especially the younger of the two, who seems to play epileptic fits convincingly). Lalla the nurse is compassionate and loving, but unable to get most of John's family to pay much attention to him. John's parents are 1) preoccupied with WWI, 2) severely limited by their roles as royals/regents, and 3) beyond eccentric in some of their actions. One can occasionally see the king and queen try, in their limited way, to reach out to their youngest son - and fail. John's brother George is a great friend, champion, and companion, but - as other reviewers have mentioned - lives an unhappy adult life and dies young. The doomed Russian imperial family are beautiful and haunting, with the Empress even more peculiar and domineering than I have read elsewhere. John's grandmother (Queen Alexandria) and grandfather (King Edward VII) are sympathetic to strange little John, but also remote.

Such a sad story - but beautifully told. I highly recommend it.

Perfect example of a super movie you just don't hear about.......2007-03-06

This isn't the kind of movie that everyone is going to be talking about "at the water cooler." I just happened upon it, and it is SUPERB. Highest recommendation.

Interesting way to depict World War I.......2007-02-07

This recent British film focuses on Johnny, the son of King George V, who suffers from seizures and so is kept out of the public eye; but this is merely part of the story of the struggles of the British monarchy during the beginning of the First World War. More interesting is seeing the war unfold among Queen Victoria's grandsons--King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Czar Nicholas--and then to witness the empires unraveling (they graphically depict the Bolshevik slaughter of Nicholas and his family), setting the bloody course for the rest of the twentieth century. I would certainly recommend this film. The acting is also superb. Miranda Richardson is certainly a true queen among actors.

[Three stars out of Four] Long, Dull, Boring, drawn-out look at the Brits royal family.......2006-09-26

Story centres on young Prince who never
quite grows up, who is kept locked up &
away from contact with everyday people.
Uppercrust brit production is in two parts
on DVD. Not for everybody's tastes but well
filmed, acted and great scenery. Queen's
visit to hospital to see youngsters blown
apart in WWI is not to be missed. A ringing
indictment against war.

BBC Drama Collection (The Barchester Chronicles / Daniel Deronda / Jane Eyre / The Lost Prince / Middlemarch / A Room with a View / Wives and Daughters)

Average customer rating:

BBC Drama Collection (The Barchester Chronicles / Daniel Deronda / Jane Eyre / The Lost Prince / Middlemarch / A Room with a View / Wives and Daughters)
Starring: Donald Pleasence , David Gwillim , John Ringham , Joseph O'Conor , and Clifford Parrish
Director: David Giles (III) , Julian Amyes , and Tom Hooper (II)
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Television | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Television | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

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

North & South
Berkeley Square
Jane Austen Collection (Sense & Sensibility / Emma / Persuasion / Mansfield Park / Pride & Prejudice / Northanger Abbey)
The Charles Dickens Collection (Oliver Twist / Martin Chuzzlewit / Bleak House / Hard Times / Great Expectations / Our Mutual Friend)
The Way We Live Now

ASIN: B000E0OE1C
Release Date: 2006-01-24

Average customer rating:

A Prince of Valor and a Nanny of Honor
This Film Really Touched Me
Perfect example of a super movie you just don't hear about
Interesting way to depict World War I
[Three stars out of Four] Long, Dull, Boring, drawn-out look at the Brits royal family

The Lost Prince [Region 2]
Starring: Daniel Williams (IV) , Matthew Thomas , Brock Everitt-Elwick , Rollo Weeks , and Gina McKee
Director: Stephen Poliakoff
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Bertie and Elizabeth: The Reluctant Royals - The Story of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth
Middlemarch
Edward & Mrs. Simpson
The Last King - The Power and the Passion of Charles II
The Barchester Chronicles

ASIN: B00007JGON

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A Prince of Valor and a Nanny of Honor.......2007-05-20

This Film Really Touched Me.......2007-03-14

Perfect example of a super movie you just don't hear about.......2007-03-06

This isn't the kind of movie that everyone is going to be talking about "at the water cooler." I just happened upon it, and it is SUPERB. Highest recommendation.

Interesting way to depict World War I.......2007-02-07

[Three stars out of Four] Long, Dull, Boring, drawn-out look at the Brits royal family.......2006-09-26

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

SOS Coast Guard, Vol. 2, Chapter 7-12

Masters of Russian Animation, Vol. 1

DVD: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Herbstmilch