Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001)

You won't be disappointed!

Best movie ever!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I rented this movie on VHS in 2002 and watched it for the first time. This film introduced me to the film acting of Matthew Modine and Mia Sara for the first time. I liked the character that Matthew Modine portrayed in this film and Mia Sara was remarkably charming. Matthew and Mia had great romantic chemistry on screen and the film had a smart plot from smart screen writing. Now my kids are mature enough to watch it so, I enjoyed watching it again recently with my kids. It's a real joy to watch and the bad-Jack-character caused me to be introspective about my life.The story parallels the Christian doctrine of the first Adam brought sin and spiritual death into the world and the second Adam, Christ, brought spiritual redemption, salvation and restoration to the World. And here we have the first Jack bringing death and destruction to the other world and the last Jack brings restoration to that other world. The chanting crowds wanting the last Jack to be executed reminded me of some Easter passion plays I have watched.It's been a wile since this movie was shipping new on DVD so, the prices for new and used copies are too high, at the time I'm writing this post but, once the DVD is re-released again, the DVD prices for this film will become friendly once again.I was able to borrow a copy from my public library and I also saw it for free legally, on the Internet. So there are ways to sample this movie before you decide to buy the DVD. It's a great movie.

Well that's 4 hours of my life I'll never get back. Shame really as it's a good idea for a film. If only it'd been 2 hours rather than 2 x 2 hours. At one point the film goes so slowly it almost stops.The fairytale of Jack and The Beanstalk was a lie based on the truth. The 15th generation son of Jack has to pay the price for the crimes of his distant relative 400 years ago who stole the goose that lays the golden eggs and the harp that plays for the goose to lay from the big FRIENDLY giant.The land of the giants has suffered terribly, crops have failed because the harp isn't there to play the special music and the climate has changed because the golden eggs where burned in a furnace to power the climate of the land.As I say, nice idea but tooooooooooooooooo looooooooooooooooong!

I watched this movie all in one go and I must say I didn't move from my chair. Modine and Mia Sara's performances are excellent as are the rest. Sara plays the girl from another world who comes to Modine to help him find the truth and help her bring welfare back to her people. Modine slowly will discover where the riches of his ancestors came from. Then he will try to right the wrongs and end the curse to his family. The family moves between two worlds. Our world and a fantastic one. The scenery and the landscapes are wonderful and there is also some mistery and twists till the end. The movie addresses the greed of people and how they would go all the way just to satisfy themselves ignoring the needs of others. I highly recommend it.

Corporate head Jack Robinson is about to discover that fairytales are very real in this revisionist take on `Jack and the Beanstalk'.The film starts off well, with Jack (Matthew Modine) discovering that life isn't as straightforward as he thought. A nice atmosphere is created as a mysterious woman, Ondine (Mia Sara looking very cute), appears dropping dire hints as to his family's secret. Eventually Jack discovers the truth behind his wealth, and finds out that it is up to him to put things right.The `real world' segments of this movie tend to work best, as Jack struggles to come to terms with his discovery that fairy tales are true, with the `fantasy land' segments - mainly due to some variable effects - actually detracting from the sense of wonder. While most of the performances are fine (though Modine occasionally seems to be playing Scott Bakula), the guy playing the original Jack is fairly dire.What really makes the story work is the idea that fairy tales are history dressed up to be palatable to us (and of course not necessarily reliably related history), and the way that we might exploit magic if it were available to us.Well worth a watch for fantasy/fairy tale fans, or if you liked the superior `The 10th Kingdom'.