A Walk to Remember

A few weeks ago, I caught the last 45 minutes of A Walk to Remember, shown on TV from 8-10pm. I was completely captivated by the story and presentation, and noticed the movie would repeat again from midnight until 2am. So I decided to watch the beginning until the moment I would "catch up." I ended up watching the entire movie, then laid in bed at least another hour thinking about what I had just experienced, both visually and emotionally. As I would need to wake up by 6am, get my son fed and off to school, then get to work myself, at age 62, the night of little sleep and contemplation would "take its toll" on the ensuing day. During my lunchbreak, I went to Best Buy and bought the DVD (it was still being sold), and later ordered the VHS version on Amazon.com (yes we still use our VHS player), as well as the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. Having watched the movie on these mediums several times, I discovered just how much of the movie's TV version was cut, no doubt to fit into a 2-hour time-slot with an "avalanche" of commercials. Having watched the complete movie and read the book, I felt compelled to review the movie as, for the first time in my life, I actually preferred the movie version of the story to the book, although both are excellent. Also, both brought me to tears, also a first for either a movie or book.I have nothing negative to say about A Walk to Remember. Its few "cons" are totally overpowered by the sheer wonder and sincerity of this remarkable film, perhaps one of the best ever to come out of Hollywood and Warner Brothers - a monumental feat given its relatively low production budget. The subtle power of this film keeps one thinking about it continuously and wanting to see it again and again. It's a wonderful story about growing up and how one special person can change you forever. It shows how deeply loving someone so totally can transform you to gain the strength to forgive, to accept, to respect, and to accomplish that which you heretofore would never consider. This movie conveys what true love really is, how it can affect people in life and death, and how absolutely beautiful it can really be for those lucky enough to experience it to its deepest level.The movie is so caring and sincere, it subtly draws you into it. It shows a popular in-crowd teenage boy discovering that there is much more to life than reckless, carefree, aimless behavior. When a stupid prank turns harmful, a perpetrator, Landon (one of the lead characters played by Shane West) is "sentenced" to perform community service activities, and these bring him into close contact with Jamie, a non-cool, non-popular nerdy religious girl (the other lead character played by Mandy Moore), who performs the same activities -- by choice. Landon has heretofore always treated Jamie with ridicule and disdain. Though he's known her all his life, through their interaction he suddenly discovers her passion for life, with interests and a depth he never knew existed. He begins to find a new path for his own life, and the ensuing transformation is wonderfully portrayed. The performances of Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote (Jamie's minister father), Daryl Hannah (Landon's single mother), and Lauren German (Landon's former girlfriend), in particular, are extremely touching, beautifully performed and totally genuine.Although the picture's main theme is about Landon and the transformation he undergoes, Jamie is clearly the "anchor" of this movie. She's exceptionally sweet, genuine, innocent, highly intelligent and passionate. She was so interested in astronomy, that she built her own telescope and would venture into their small town cemetery, in the middle of night, to pursue her celestial passion. She did this, not to impress, but for its own sake. Her beliefs in herself are solid and she never changes. She wears no makeup and wears the same low-key, non-fashionable baggy clothes from the beginning, throughout and to the end of the picture. She actually likes who she is -- the way she is. Unlike Landon, her self-image is not based on what others think.She has just enough attitude to not take any disingenuousness from anyone - and when being "toyed" with would often "fire" right back. When Dean (a friend of Landon's and leader of the in-crowd "pack") mockingly asked her why her "Higher Power" could not get her a new sweater (she always wore the same one), she responded, "He's too busy looking for your brain." When Landon humiliated her in front of his peers, she coolly walked away at the time, but when he later came to her for help she calmly slammed the door in his very surprised face. She's a strong figure that "sees through" the behavior and demeanor of her peers and slowly influences them to value her way of existing, more than their own self-centeredness. Her role clearly shows how one individual of virtue and faith can so positively influence those around her, not by preaching or forcing her values, but by example, by simply living her life true to her own beliefs with a positive attitude, and not succumbing to peer pressure forces, no matter how difficult.Landon's role clearly demonstrates the power of forgiveness and how its redemptive qualities can bring about caring unselfish behavior. Landon's in-crowd peers, treating Jamie cruelly at every opportunity (and eventually ostracizing him when he defended her), were eventually forgiven by Landon, and when tragedy struck they were all there to offer their support for him (and ask for forgiveness each in their own way). And in what may be the film's most touching scene (though there are many), Landon essentially forgives his estranged father for leaving his family for another woman, and thanks him for his considerable support in making it possible for Jamie to return home.One leaves this movie with a number of messages. The movie teaches to always be open to new experiences and to never "judge a book by its cover," but to get to know people before judging them. The strongest message, however, is that of being a better more passionate person yourself, and to cherish those around you and the time you have with them. You're left with a sense of true love being so deep and pure that just being with the one you love brings such wonderful joy to your life. You would do anything for that person, even putting your own happiness aside for the sake of theirs. Jamie was able to change an arrogant, self-absorbed teenager into a tender, loving person who was willing to do virtually anything for her - and did!Don't be surprised if you end up falling in love with both Moore's and West's characters. The enduring innocence, sweetness, evolving chemistry and eventual deep love between the movie's leads is genuine, totally heartfelt and compelling - unequaled in any other movie -- period. In the middle of this film are a series of the most incredibly romantic scenes you will ever see in an American firm. They easily flow from scene to beautiful scene, showing two intelligent, thoughtful and sincere people slowly falling for each other. From Casablanca to Love Story to Titanic, no other on-screen pair conveys such an honestly felt passion for each other.Despite the considerable sadness surrounding their romance, the movie leaves the audience with optimism for life, love, faith and the ability for everyone to change, the possibility to become a better person -- at any age. It is a movie with this clear, beautiful and optimistic message. I watch it repeatedly with both joy and melancholy. Perhaps Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Ebert (renowned longtime TV and Chicago-Sun Times film critic) said it best when he concluded in his film review, "A Walk to Remember is a small treasure."

'A Walk to Remember' was the film that first introduced me to the brilliant works of Nicholas Sparks, plus also the talent of actress and singer/songwriter Mandy Moore. Mandy was very young (seventeen I believe) when she starred in this movie as Jamie Sullivan, and it has been interesting to see her progression in various fields since then to the present day. I stumbled upon this film on YouTube of all places, whilst randomly searching for videos one afternoon, and I was instantly fixed on the various clips that had been uploaded. Therefore, I decided to purchase the movie on DVD and watch the production straight through, to make up my own mind surrounding the attention it seemed to gather from fellow YouTubers. I knew the overall story, as I had read some reviews beforehand, and this is what initially drew me to the movie.The film is based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparks, being based in the fictional town of Beaufort. The book is set in the 1940s/50s, whereas the film is set in more contemporary 1998. This was done, on the recommendation of Sparks himself, so that the movie could generate more interest with a younger crowd, being set in a more contemporary period. It is, of course, a love story, but also has a resonance of Christian values that aren't too forcibly placed onto the audience, whether religiously minded or not. The film focuses on a young lad, Landon Carter (played by the multi-talented Shane West), who is pretty much going nowhere fast and losing his sense of identity along the way, i.e. hanging around with the wrong crowd and getting in trouble with the law etc. A young girl, Jamie Sullivan (Moore), who is also the town minister's daughter, has known of Landon's reputation for years and befriends him in order to help him with rehearsals in the upcoming school recital, in which he was forced to take part following a teenage prank gone wrong. Suffice to say, a sweet and romantic love story ensues, as is typical of Sparks's productions, but it is engrained in sadness from the very beginning by the fact that Jamie has terminal leukaemia. The film deals with this revelation sensitively and the ensuing story is a sheer testament to Sparks' creative mind.The character of Jamie was, in fact, based upon Sparks' own sister, who died of terminal cancer in similar circumstances. This fact also resonated with me in that this was the first film I had seen to deal with terminal illness since I was diagnosed with a bone-marrow debilitating disease known as Aplastic Anaemia, which has effects very similar to leukaemia. Over the years, it has helped me deal with the strains of living with this condition, which can sometimes be overbearing, to say the least. Unfortunately, the film didn't garner a plethora of positive reviews with certain movie critics upon its cinematic release, and the Christian community has made a bit of an uproar concerning some 'over-sexualised' scenes. This certainly should not deter anybody from seeing the movie, however, and I'm sure the experience will leave you feeling uplifted and grateful for life in general.The film was initially released on VHS and DVD in 2002, and the DVD, distributed by Warner Brothers, is a fairly simple release with few heavy extras (undeniably because of the relatively poor box-office performance, they didn't want to invest heavily on the film distribution). The film itself is presented in wide-screen letter-box format on the DVD release, whilst the VHS is formatted for full-screen presentation. The DVD also has English and French language audio options, as well as providing subtitles for the English hard-of-hearing, and for those who wish to follow in French or Spanish. The two main DVD extras included are the two commentaries for the feature film. I found the commentary by Nicholas Sparks and screen-writer Karen Janszen particularly interesting, as there is a lot of discussion about the process of translating Sparks' original novel into a screen-play, and how certain elements of the book had to be tweaked in order to fit into the film's contemporary setting. The other commentary includes contributions from the two main cast members, Mandy Moore and Shane West, alongside movie director Adam Shankman. This is also very interesting, as there is a lot of talk about certain deleted scenes that never made the final cut due to the film board and overall timing constraints. It really is a shame that none of these deleted scenes were included on this DVD Release as extras, as I got the impression that they would have added more background and comedy into the production as a whole. Also included is the theatrical trailer for the film and film highlights of the main cast. Mandy Moore's music video for her single 'Cry' (included on her eponymous third album) is also included as a bonus feature on both formats, in which Shane West stars as Landon looking up to the sky to see Jamie in heaven (presumably!).It would be a shame not to experience this film at least once in your life, and this is why I recommend you to see for yourself Sparks' sensitive production about life, love, forgiveness, and teenage angst. I would also recommend anyone interested in the film to seek out Sparks' novel of the same name, which is in some ways worlds apart from the movie, but serves as a nice accompaniment to the feature production. It is, additionally, worth seeking out the movie soundtrack, preferably in its re-release special extended edition, which includes music from Moore herself, Switchfoot, James Foreman, and many other noteworthy performers.

Cant say much about this movie, i bought it really cheap yesterday fancied it as I love Mandy Moore she is an exceptional singer and a good actress and Shane West too, and I knew it was an old film so they were quite young and inexperienced as actors in this film.Class is all i can say pure class, acting is superb the support cast Daryl Hanna and Peter Coyote the music and boy Mandy Moore sure has got an amazing voice.Yes OK its a little predictable but i didn't expect the secret.This movie has so much going on for it, I can highly recommend it for any age, I mean i am 66 and just loved it.BUT warning get the hankies out, I cried for so long i have a headache so make sure you have some pain killers around too lol.Just superb.West Side Story meets Mean Girls and Love Story all mixed together in a blender pure gold.Watch it you wont be sorry.

'A Walk to Remember' was the film that first introduced me to the brilliant works of Nicholas Sparks, plus also the talent of actress and singer/songwriter Mandy Moore. Mandy was very young (seventeen I believe) when she starred in this movie as Jamie Sullivan, and it has been interesting to see her progression in various fields since then to the present day. I stumbled upon this film on YouTube of all places, whilst randomly searching for videos one afternoon, and I was instantly fixed on the various clips that had been uploaded. Therefore, I decided to purchase the movie on DVD and watch the production straight through, to make up my own mind surrounding the attention it seemed to gather from fellow YouTubers. I knew the overall story, as I had read some reviews beforehand, and this is what initially drew me to the movie.The film is based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparks, being based in the fictional town of Beaufort. The book is set in the 1940s/50s, whereas the film is set in more contemporary 1998. This was done, on the recommendation of Sparks himself, so that the movie could generate more interest with a younger crowd, being set in a more contemporary period. It is, of course, a love story, but also has a resonance of Christian values that aren't too forcibly placed onto the audience, whether religiously minded or not. The film focuses on a young lad, Landon Carter (played by the multi-talented Shane West), who is pretty much going nowhere fast and losing his sense of identity along the way, i.e. hanging around with the wrong crowd and getting in trouble with the law etc. A young girl, Jamie Sullivan (Moore), who is also the town minister's daughter, has known of Landon's reputation for years and befriends him in order to help him with rehearsals in the upcoming school recital, in which he was forced to take part following a teenage prank gone wrong. Suffice to say, a sweet and romantic love story ensues, as is typical of Sparks's productions, but it is engrained in sadness from the very beginning by the fact that Jamie has terminal leukaemia. The film deals with this revelation sensitively and the ensuing story is a sheer testament to Sparks' creative mind.The character of Jamie was, in fact, based upon Sparks' own sister, who died of terminal cancer in similar circumstances. This fact also resonated with me in that this was the first film I had seen to deal with terminal illness since I was diagnosed with a bone-marrow debilitating disease known as Aplastic Anaemia, which has effects very similar to leukaemia. Over the years, it has helped me deal with the strains of living with this condition, which can sometimes be overbearing, to say the least. Unfortunately, the film didn't garner a plethora of positive reviews with certain movie critics upon its cinematic release, and the Christian community has made a bit of an uproar concerning some 'over-sexualised' scenes. This certainly should not deter anybody from seeing the movie, however, and I'm sure the experience will leave you feeling uplifted and grateful for life in general.The film was initially released on VHS and DVD in 2002, and the DVD, distributed by Warner Brothers, is a fairly simple release with few heavy extras (undeniably because of the relatively poor box-office performance, they didn't want to invest heavily on the film distribution). The film itself is presented in wide-screen letter-box format on the DVD release, whilst the VHS is formatted for full-screen presentation. The DVD also has English and French language audio options, as well as providing subtitles for the English hard-of-hearing, and for those who wish to follow in French or Spanish. The two main DVD extras included are the two commentaries for the feature film. I found the commentary by Nicholas Sparks and screen-writer Karen Janszen particularly interesting, as there is a lot of discussion about the process of translating Sparks' original novel into a screen-play, and how certain elements of the book had to be tweaked in order to fit into the film's contemporary setting. The other commentary includes contributions from the two main cast members, Mandy Moore and Shane West, alongside movie director Adam Shankman. This is also very interesting, as there is a lot of talk about certain deleted scenes that never made the final cut due to the film board and overall timing constraints. It really is a shame that none of these deleted scenes were included on this DVD Release as extras, as I got the impression that they would have added more background and comedy into the production as a whole. Also included is the theatrical trailer for the film and film highlights of the main cast. Mandy Moore's music video for her single 'Cry' (included on her eponymous third album) is also included as a bonus feature on both formats, in which Shane West stars as Landon looking up to the sky to see Jamie in heaven (presumably!).It would be a shame not to experience this film at least once in your life, and this is why I recommend you to see for yourself Sparks' sensitive production about life, love, forgiveness, and teenage angst. I would also recommend anyone interested in the film to seek out Sparks' novel of the same name, which is in some ways worlds apart from the movie, but serves as a nice accompaniment to the feature production. It is, additionally, worth seeking out the movie soundtrack, preferably in its re-release special extended edition, which includes music from Moore herself, Switchfoot, James Foreman, and many other noteworthy performers.

I was quite suprised when it was actually my boyfriend who selcted this film for us to watch because for me it seemed like a bit of a chick flick from what was written on the cover. However, once I actually started watching I discovered that this wasn't just another tired old story regurgitated again in a new form for the latest generation of teenagers. This was a touching, sensitive story which actually reflected reality unlike so many other teen films. It didn't have the typical makeover scene which caused the popular boy to fall for the nerdy girl, it didn't have the classic bet which the girl eventually finds out about- it was missing all that which I have to say wasn't a bad thing. This was something I found very refreshing.The story that unfolds is one of real love in real time. There is no slushy scene where they eventually fall in love after half an hour of delibertaing whether they like each other or not. This is realistic and shows that love grows over time and can eventually overcome anything that is put in its way. It has a truly touching message to it and a heart-wrenching twist which keeps you captivated. It has an excellent ending which seems very fitting and leaves you thinking. I would say that this is well worth a watch, even though the script in the end is a little cheesy. Up to that point everything is excellent and if you can forgive a few little cliches that are thrown in then I'm sure you will thoroughly enjoy this like I did. Give it a try.

I may have watched this film years ago but it is still a film i often come back too as it always makes me feel good. It also never fails to make me cry, tears of both sadness and happiness and while a lot of this is down to Nicholas Sparks both Mandy Moore and Shane West deserve a lot of credit for bringing the characters to life and being able to convey all those emotions. I defy anyone not to feel moved when Moore sings 'Only Hope' in the school performance while Shane's Landon watches in awe.As for the big twist, that other reviewers are kind enough not to mention so as to ruin it. all i will say is that you will not see it coming and therein lies the catalyst for the tears.It is wonderful to see a teen movie focusing on real issues and not being too stereotypical, yes we have seen the bad boy/good girl story before but i think at least in this movie the plot that transpires is not as obvious.I would urge anyone considering it to give it a go. An amazing film.

Buy buy buy its worth every penny..an absolute heart touching story..fantastic I havent stopped watching this movie since I got it off ere 2 days ago...bit of advice have plenty of tissue or an old blanket at hand cos I can guarantee you will be crying buckets ..I no I did .the acting is superb from shane west and the buetiful mandy moore...and the story so touching..also got brilliant heart touching songs throughout..gotta be the best movie ever made..if you like a good cry ..or just a good romance..or just a normal person lookin for a good film ..then buy this ..u will not be dissapointed so warm and loving.......im still crying five mins after its finished...buetifull :)