A Painted House

Starring:Scott Glenn, Arija Bareikis, Robert Sean Leonard, Melinda Dillon, Logan Lerman, Audrey Marie Anderson, Geoffrey Lewis, Pablo Schreiber, Michael Shamus Wiles, Luis Garcia, Miguel PÃ©rez, Diane Delano, Lucas Elliott, Sean Jones, Richard Crowe, Neva Howell, Liz Byler, Donna Denley, Don Pirl, Silas Weir Mitchell
Director: Alfonso Arau
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Product Description
Until that September in 1952, Luke Chandler had never kept a secret or told a single lie. But in that long, hot summer when 10-year-old Luke Chandler comes of age, two groups of migrant workers and two very dangerous men - come through the Arkansas Delta to work the Chandler cotton farm. And suddenly mysteries flood Luke's world. A murder leaves the town seething in gossip and suspicion. A beautiful young woman catches Luke's eye.
A fatherless baby is born, and someone has begun furtively painting the bare clapboards of the Chandler farmhouse, slowly, painstakingly bathing the run-down structure in gleaming white.
As young Luke watches the world around him, he shelters secrets that could shatter lives and change his family and his town forever.
A memorable adaptation of John Grisham's life-affirming story, A Painted House draws on childhood memories and "local lore" from his Arkansas roots.

SPECIAL FEATURES :

Full screen version

Digitally Mastered

2.0 Dolby surround

Production Notes

Cost and Credits

System Requirements:
Running Time: 98 Minutes

Format: DVD MOVIE
Amazon.com
Even by the high standards of the Hallmark Hall of Fame, A Painted House is well above average. John Grisham's well-received "lawyer-free" novel was respectfully adapted by Patrick Sheane Duncan (Mr. Holland's Opus), and director Alfonso Arau (Like Water for Chocolate, A Walk in the Clouds) brings just the right touch of toughness and delicate nostalgia to Grisham's semi-autobiographical remembrance of boyhood in rural Arkansas, circa 1952. Grisham's alter ego is 10-year-old Luke Chandler (well played by Logan Lerman), and when tempers flare into violence between the Mexican migrant workers and itinerant "hill people" hired to harvest cotton on his grandfather's farm, Luke--who has witnessed a murder--must decide whether to expose the killer or keep the crime a secret. Filled with warm grace notes and a perfect cast including leather-faced Scott Glenn and Melinda Dillon (as Luke's grandparents), A Painted House juggles multiple crises (including devastating rainstorms) with strong family values, capturing the humor and hardship of farming life at a crossroads of fading tradition and inevitable change. Combining elements of To Kill a Mockingbird and Places in the Heart, this is a purebred Hallmark production in every respect, earning a badge of pride for everyone involved in its making. --Jeff Shannon

Average customer rating:

family movie
Pretty good for a book adaptation
A Painted House (DVD) based on novel by John Grisham
Read it instead.
-An American Story--

A Painted House
Starring: Scott Glenn , Arija Bareikis , Robert Sean Leonard , Melinda Dillon , and Logan Lerman
Director: Alfonso Arau
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

The Chamber
The Rainmaker
Mickey - A Family Story by John Grisham
The Locket
The Gingerbread Man

ASIN: B0000C3I8M
Release Date: 2003-10-21

Amazon.com

Even by the high standards of the Hallmark Hall of Fame, A Painted House is well above average. John Grisham's well-received "lawyer-free" novel was respectfully adapted by Patrick Sheane Duncan (Mr. Holland's Opus), and director Alfonso Arau (Like Water for Chocolate, A Walk in the Clouds) brings just the right touch of toughness and delicate nostalgia to Grisham's semi-autobiographical remembrance of boyhood in rural Arkansas, circa 1952. Grisham's alter ego is 10-year-old Luke Chandler (well played by Logan Lerman), and when tempers flare into violence between the Mexican migrant workers and itinerant "hill people" hired to harvest cotton on his grandfather's farm, Luke--who has witnessed a murder--must decide whether to expose the killer or keep the crime a secret. Filled with warm grace notes and a perfect cast including leather-faced Scott Glenn and Melinda Dillon (as Luke's grandparents), A Painted House juggles multiple crises (including devastating rainstorms) with strong family values, capturing the humor and hardship of farming life at a crossroads of fading tradition and inevitable change. Combining elements of To Kill a Mockingbird and Places in the Heart, this is a purebred Hallmark production in every respect, earning a badge of pride for everyone involved in its making. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Until that September in 1952, Luke Chandler had never kept a secret or told a single lie. But in that long, hot summer when 10-year-old Luke Chandler comes of age, two groups of migrant workers and two very dangerous men - come through the Arkansas Delta to work the Chandler cotton farm. And suddenly mysteries flood Luke's world. A murder leaves the town seething in gossip and suspicion. A beautiful young woman catches Luke's eye.
A fatherless baby is born, and someone has begun furtively painting the bare clapboards of the Chandler farmhouse, slowly, painstakingly bathing the run-down structure in gleaming white.
As young Luke watches the world around him, he shelters secrets that could shatter lives and change his family and his town forever.
A memorable adaptation of John Grisham's life-affirming story, A Painted House draws on childhood memories and "local lore" from his Arkansas roots.

SPECIAL FEATURES :

Full screen version

Digitally Mastered

2.0 Dolby surround

Production Notes

Cost and Credits

System Requirements:
Running Time: 98 Minutes

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

family movie.......2007-03-13

It keeps you thinking. It has a great theme of family and closeness. The story of one boy and his families hardships living by the river.

Pretty good for a book adaptation.......2005-09-01

I was curious about this film because I had recently read - and enjoyed - the book by John Grisham. And well, yes, the book IS better, but who would expecte anything else? The movie version still is very good indeed, the acting was good. Scott Glenn played the grandfather very convincingly and Logan Lerman gave a promising performance as young Luke Chandler. These two worked well together and they are the main characters. Although some slight story adaptations were made, the film still stays true to the book (John Grisham himself was involved in the project). There should have been a little more focus on the character of Cowboy, since his part in the story got bigger towards the end and only little background about the developing conflict between him and Hank Spruill (a very good performance by Pablo Schreiber as the angry young man) was really given - whereas in the book the conflict builds gradually. The final - and fatal - fight between the two also differs from the book version, but the way it starts here was probably necessary to make it work (see my comment about the lack of development). Apart from a few minor upsets, this is a fine and entertaining film.

A Painted House (DVD) based on novel by John Grisham.......2005-08-03

An excellent movie breathing life into the story and characters as depicted in John Grisham's story.
I loved the book and this film really does it justice. A must have for any John Grisham fans.

Read it instead........2005-01-27

If you see it you'll never want to read it, a great book to read. The movie didn't carry the half of it.

-An American Story--.......2004-09-18

Having listened to this book on tape, my husband and I were delighted to see that Hallmark Hall of Fame had turned this wonderful story into a film. We were not disappointed.

This story takes place in Arkansas and is set in September of 1952. The Chandler family owns a farm. They grow cotton and hire both, Mexican migrant workers and Hill people, to pick their crop. The two groups clash when they meet on the Chandler farm. The story is told by 10 year old Luke Chandler. Logan Lerman gave a memorable performance as Luke. The entire cast was good, and we also enjoyed Scott Glenn in the role of Luke's grandfather.

John Grisham's books are always captivating, but this is my favorite. I wish that he would write more stories like this one. It gave us a look at America in a different era when baseball was an American past time and families worked together for a common goal. It also showed the relationship between the farmers and migrant workers who shared the responsibility of harvesting the cotton.

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