Ben Kingsley, Brenda Blethyn, and Hannah Taylor Gordon star in the stirring tale of one of the most influential young women of the 20th century. Based on Melissa Muller's critically acclaimed book, Anne Frank goes beyond the story you already know and paints the true portrait of Anne both before and after she went into hiding.
Get to know the high-spirited and popular girl before the war, and experience the challenges of the brave people who risked their lives trying to keep her safe. Anne Frank also explores the enduring mystery of who betrayed the Frank family and reveals what happened next.
The story has been adapted for television and movies before, but this version, which played on ABC television, moves beyond what Anne wrote, meeting up with the Frank family before Anne receives her diary, and following her past the diary's last entries into Auschwitz and Birkenau. Hannah Taylor Gordon is a superb Anne, bringing to life the multifaceted girl, in turns intelligent, dreamy, creative, spoiled, and bratty, a girl like any other except that Anne is a Jew in Nazi-occupied Holland.
The only one who outshines Gordon is Ben Kingsley as Anne's father, Otto Frank. His quiet performance is extraordinarily powerful; as he watches his family slip away, it is impossible not to feel his grief. This brave film is difficult in parts to watch--the concentration camp scenes are brutal--but this is a remarkable adaptation of Anne's life, and it is a film to be shared and discussed and remembered. -- Jenny Brown
Media Type | Movie |
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Recommended Age | 10 and up |
Actors | Ben Kingsley, Brenda Blethyn, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, Tatjana Blacher, Joachim Krol |
Director | Robert Dornhelm |
Running Time | 120 minutes |
Studio | Walt Disney Video |
Release Date | Aug 28, 2001 |
Language | English |