Matilda [Blu-ray]

Director: Danny DeVito Danny DeVito

Overview

Based on the book Matilda, by British children's author Roald Dahl, this film moves the setting from the U.K. to the U.S.; otherwise it follows the original closely. Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is an extremely curious and intelligent little girl who is very different from her low-brow, mainstream parents (Danny DeVito and real-life wife Rhea Perlman), who quite cruelly ignore her. As she grows older, she begins to discover that she has telekinetic powers. Not until a teacher shows her kindness for the first time does she realize that she can use those powers to do something about her sufferings and help her friends as well. Villains from the awful Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), headmistress of her miserable school Crunchem Hall, to her parents and older brother begin to feel her ire. Look for Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) in a small part as an FBI agent investigating Matilda's shady father.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/03/2013
UPC:	0043396425811
Original Release:	1996
Rating:	PG
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	11,350

Special Features

Blu-ray exclusive:; Afternoon tea: a very magical Matilda reunion - relive the magical Matilda memories with the cast as they look back on the film; ; Also includes:; Matilda's movie magic!; A children's guide to good manners; Escape to the library; My movie about making Matilda by Mara Wilson

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Danny DeVito	Mr. Wormwood
Rhea Perlman	Mrs. Wormwood
Mara Wilson	Matilda Wormwood
Embeth Davidtz	Miss Honey/Mother
Pam Ferris	Trunchbull
Paul Reubens	FBI Agent
Tracey Walter	FBI Agent
Brian Levinson	Michael Wormwood
Jean Speegle Howard	Miss Phelps
Sara Magdalin	Matilda, 4 years
R.D. Robb	Roy
Goliath Gregory	Luther
Fred Parnes	Waiter
Kiami Davael	Lavender
Leor Livneh Hackel	Julius Rottwinkle
Jacqueline Steiger	Amanda Thripp
Jimmy Karz	Bruce Bogtrotter
Michael Valentine	Nigel Hicks
Liam Kearns	Charles
Mark Watson	Magnus
Kira Spencer Hesser	Hortencia
Marion Dugan	Cookie
Nicholas Cox	Michael, 6 years
J.C. Alexander	Nearby Boy
Malone Brinton	Older Boy
Joshua Alvarez	Child at Assembly
Max E. Blum	Child at Assembly
Erin M. Gray	Child at Assembly
Misty L. Oppenheim	Child at Assembly
Christopher Shepard Hughes	Child at Assembly,Child in Classroom
Rachel Snow	Child at Assembly
Craig Lamar Traylor	Child in Classroom
Jennifer Key	Child in Classroom
Marty Bautista	Child in Classroom
Anthony Hernandez	Child in Classroom
Raina Cease	Child in Classroom,Child in Classroom
Vinnie Buffolino	Child in Classroom
Marcella Sassano	Child in Classroom
Johnny Thomas III	Child in Classroom
Christel Khalil	Child in Classroom
Cassie Colaw	Child in Classroom
Justin Stout	Child in Classroom
Cindy Tran	Actor
Jonathan Feyer	Child in Classroom
Alissa Graham	Newborn Matilda,Newborn Matilda
Trevor Gallagher	Newborn Matilda,Newborn Matilda
Kayla Fredericks	Matilda, 9 months,Matilda, 9 months
Amanda Fein	Matilda, Toddler,Matilda, Toddler
Amanda Summers	Miss Honey, 2 years,Miss Honey, 2 years
Phoebe Pearl	Miss Honey, 5 years
Kathy Barbour	Million $ Sticky Showgirl
Donna Spangler	Million $ Sticky Showgirl
Marianne Curan	Million $ Sticky Contestant
Penny Holland	Million $ Sticky Contestant
Richard E. Coe	Million $ Sticky Contestant
Gregory R. Goliath	Actor
Roberta Findlay	Roy
Jon Lovitz	Million $ Sticky Host
Fred Scialla	Stand-In
Pee-Wee Herman	Actor
David Newman	Musician,Composer
Tim Minchin	Composer

Technical Credits

Nicholas Kazan

Robin Swicord

Liccy Dahl

Danny DeVito	Director,Producer
Nicholas Kazan	Screenwriter,Producer
Robin Swicord	Screenwriter
Michael Shamberg	Producer,Director
Stacey Sher	Producer
Liccy Dahl	Producer,Screenwriter,Director
Martin Bregman	Executive Producer,Producer
Michael Peyser	Executive Producer,Producer
Michael Lantieri	Special Effects
R.A. Rondel	Stunts
Renee Rousselot	Casting
David Rubin	Casting
Chris Watts	Special Effects
May Boss	Stunts
Travis Baumann	Special Effects
Rick Canelli	Sound Effects
Benjamin Cheah	Sound Effects
Kim Drummond	Sound Effects
Robert Chapin	Special Effects
Michael Siegel	Producer
David Kelson	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

Erstwhile Taxi tyrant turned filmmaker Danny DeVito is a good choice to bring Roald Dahl's book to the screen. They seem to be kindred spirits, with similar sensibilities for dark comedy built around those moments in life when horrible and unexplainable things happen. Matilda, for instance, has the bad luck to be born to the neglectful Wormwoods -- DeVito and real-life wife Rhea Perlman -- who discourage her love of books. Then, she is sent to a Dickensian school run by the monstrous Miss Trunchbill (Pam Ferris). But Matilda (the adorable Mara Wilson) turns tragedy to triumph with the help of the compassionate teacher Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz) and her own special telekinetic gifts. Matilda is rated PG for "exaggerated meanness and ridicule." This includes harrowing scenes of the verbally abusive Trunchbull shot-putting children out the window. But this just makes Matilda's Carrie-esque revenge all the sweeter. What makes the DVD Special Edition such a delight are the kid-friendly bonus features: among them, Wilson's own video diary of life on a movie set, an amusing "Guide to Good Manners" comprising scenes from the film, and a welcome segment extolling the virtues of the public library. Behind-the-scenes segments reveal the secrets of stunts and special effects, but as DeVito advises, watch the movie first. Lemony Snickett has nothing on Dahl when it comes to plucky children triumphing over unfortunate events. Devotees of the Dahl canon will appreciate DeVito's fidelity to the author's macabre vision.

Barnes & Noble - Donald Liebenson

The mordant vision of author Roald Dahl's world probably appealed to the director of War of the Roses and Hoffa, for it permeates this witty, eccentric, dark-toned children's film for adults. Matilda (Mara Wilson), an unusually bright six-year-old whose reading fare runs to Moby Dick and For Whom the Bell Tolls, is saddled with a pair of comically selfish and obtuse parents (Danny De Vito and Rhea Perlman) whom she has to persuade to allow her to go to school. But her teacher, the child-hating Miss Trunchbull Pam Ferris, proves no more enlightened than her parents. This hilariously exaggerated, Lewis Carroll-like version of the world is probably not too far from what many children may feel on a bad day. De Vito and Perlman camp it up outrageously and Ferris gives a terrific performance as a cartoonish villain. Cinematographer Stefan Czapsky shoots from a number of strange angles, making this perhaps the first expressionist film for children.

All Movie Guide - Michael Costello