The Rocking Horse Winner
July 31, 2010
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Posted by admin
The Rocking Horse Winner
Based on one of D.H. Lawrence’s most enduring short works, this haunting tale of a boy driven to the limits of his own life by his mother’s wanton materialism is finally available on DVD for the first time. Plagued by his mother’s obsession with money a young, introverted boy discovers that by riding his toy rocking horse he can predict the outcome of future horse races. With the aid of his uncle and the family gardener, the boy finds an unlikely answer to the financial problems that are turning his parents into strangers. But the more he wins, the more his mother spends and the stakes get higher and higher. Like the classic D.H. Lawrence story it’s based upon, The Rocking Horse Winner is timeless and disturbingly effective. One of only seven films directed by Anthony Pelissier, this beautifully atmospheric British production ranks as the definitive filming of Lawrence’s oft-adapted story, made shortly after David Lean’s Oliver Twist and Great Expectations and featuring some of the same actors. John Howard Davies–excellent as Oliver in Lean’s film–is equally fine as the young boy who obsessively rides his new rocking horse, mysteriously gaining the ability to predict winners of actual horse races. This rescues his profligate mother (Valerie Hobson) from financial ruin, but her reckless materialism is inevitably marred by tragedy. Although British censors slightly softened the tragic blow that ends Lawrence’s story (included in its entirety in the DVD booklet), its impact is not diminished. With John Mills in a pivotal role as producer and costar, this is a masterful film not to be missed. –Jeff Shannon
Rating: 
(out of 8 reviews)
List Price: $ 19.95
Price: $ 12.92
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Categories: Gifts
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Tags: Horse, Rocking, Winner
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(out of 13 reviews)
