I'm telling you now, don't read this unless you've seen the movie, because I spoil it. In my English class, we read the novel as a class. I liked the book and I thought it wasn't that bad. Then, we watched the movie. I can tell you that my whole class kept laughing at the bad acting. From when you see Finny on the ground after he falls when Gene jumps in the water, to Gene's completly emotionless reaction when he learns that Finny has died. Many of the parts were changed. Such as the scene in the butt room and the movie is nothing like I thought it would be. I just have to say that I thought the actor who played Brinker was really hot. So, the movie was fine but the acting was laughable.

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Overall, not too shabby May 6 2004

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

Poor John Heyl. Whatever happened to him...? He played Phineas in this film and did so rather well, I thought. Parker Stevenson is a very unfortunate, one-dimensional, barely-able-to-convince-us-he's-a-real-character Gene; this is troublesome since the entire story behind "A Separate Peace" is really's Gene's own. The supporting cast did a fine job...the actor who played Leper was credible, and Brinker's role was filled very adeptly as well. What pleased me most was the firm adherence of the film to Knowles' novel, which is one of my favorite works of American literature. I'd like to see the 2003 made-for-TV version of the book but cannot locate it on VHS; the 1972 rendition is still, in my opinion, a tremendously commendable adaptation.

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A "Dead Poet" type of Story April 16 2003

By T. Groeger

Format:VHS Tape

A good portrayal of Gean (Parker Stevenson)& Finny(John Heyl), & the tension between the lead characters is already evident within the first few minutes of the movie.

The setting depicted at the Devon School where there is a dangerous diving tree (very high and scary above the river) and the physical tension between the two roomates portends what will happen later in the story.

While I had a little trouble getting over the "Hardy Boy" image of Parker Stevenson, he still makes a handsom Gean and John Heyl a more athletic and outgoing Finny.

Needless to say the jealously builds in Gean as the story continues and the sad truth is Finny is really his best friend (of course Gean can't see through his jealousy). While this movie can't approach the charm and quality of a more contemoporary classic like Dead Poets Society, it is faithfull to the book and the gloomy mood of World War II where we're really not sure the world is friendly or not.

It is a haunting and lamenting type of story that should be of value to any of today's youth, that negative actions played out today can have really bad consequences. Once you've really "screwed up" you can't take it back easily & you may regret youthful mistakes the rest of your life!

In the end Gean makes his seperate peace by revisiting the school (much later in life) and in some small way remembering Finny if only to beg his forgiveness (much like returning war veterans revisiting Vietnam or the Beach of Normandy making their peace with the wars of their time).

P.S. I'd never trust a review by a 12 year old, they're usually bored easily and can't sit still for more than 10 minutes. A message from a grumpy old man!

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Good for its kind

I was in this film, along with about 100 other preppies. It's pretty close to the book, with a few minor changes. Some parts will remind you of Owen Meany. The staircase will. Read more

Published on Jan 2 2003

A decent adaptation of the novel

This movie closely follows the novel, with few changes that cause very minor distractions. I do not recommend watching the movie prior to reading the novel. Read more