Rocking Horse Winner

above and beyond the film
This film drips atmosphere. A creepy, gothic, moral tale of sorts, given a classic British treatment. Not only is the presentation of the film above par - it looks great - the entire package is stellar. Between the original story reprinted in its entirety, a reading by John Shea, and another film interpretation by Michael Almeryda, shot in Pixilvision, this has to be the be-all, end-all examination of a written piece and its various adaptations. Really cool. Enough said.

Overlooked British gem gets solid DVD treatment
I agree with the other reviews here. This is an unusual but very effective little fantasy based on DH Lawrence's most famous short story. Apparently, this was a pet project of John Mills, who produced the film and appeared in a key supporting role. The child actor is suprisingly good, and the cinematography is creative and appropriately creepy.

This DVD has some of the most unique extras I've ever seen. Basically, Home Vision Entertainment has packaged it as a collection of different interpretations of Lawrence's story, and the entries are very interesting. Best of all are the Almereyda short film and a full copy of the original story in place of liner notes. HVM have teamed up with Criterion in the past, and they do not disappoint here. The transfer is fine.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this a full 5-star rating is that, unlike Criterion, HVM hasn't provided any substantial info on the feature film. This is an oversight in my opinion because this...

Unusual British Film
"The Rocking Horse Winner" is adapted from the out-of-print short story by D. H. Lawrence. An upper-middle class family in post-war Britain is strapped for cash and continually spending beyond their means. The mother is played by Valerie Hobson, who starred as Estella a few years earlier in the extraordinary adaptation of David Lean's "Great Expectations." She is impatient with her husband's relatively low wages and wishes continually for more funds, seemingly not caring about the source of the money. Her young son (John Howard Davies, who later produced "Fawlty Towers") hears her pleas and soon is betting on horse racing with the help of their gardener, Bassett (played by the peerless Sir John Mills). Surprisingly, the boy seems to be rather lucky and begins to win, but complications soon arise.

The "Rocking Horse Winner" is not particularly well-known, and it definitely deserves a larger audience. The film is highly enjoyable and unpredictable, with some...

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