Moviepro (www.moviepro.net)

We have taken some photos of "Melody". They represent actual movie quality.

• DVD version review posted on 22 Jul 2009

  I finally get my Melody DVD today through a friend from Hong Kong. It is the English version released in Hong Kong. The graphics on the cover page of the case are just screen captures from the movie itself. However, the DVD is excellent. Images are sharp and clear. The Bee Gees songs are also good in Dolby digital sound. This DVD is a full version because there is a scene that Daniel is painting from a adult magazine and the nude pictures are shown. It works perfectly in my DVD player. The interactive scene access feature allows me to jump to any part of the movie instantly. Particularly, I like the scene in which Melody is dancing in the ballet class while Daniel looks at her through a window. This movie really captures the beauty of Tracy Hyde at her right age, place, and time. When I first saw this movie when I was a young teenager, I could not help myself falling in love with her.

• Has lost none of its appeal... posted on 16 Jun 2009

  I first saw this film at a school film club around 1972 or 1973, when I was about the same age as its leads, and was captivated by it... well, okay, particularly by Tracy Hyde, who takes the title role! Watching it again now on DVD (courtesy of a certain well-known online auction site!) I would say it has lost none of its appeal in the intervening years. Lester and Hyde play their roles to perfection with a charming innocence, while Wild has his "bit of rough" act down to a 'T'. It brought happy memories of a long-gone age flooding back and left me with a warm glow of nostalgia. The gentle soundtrack from the Bee Gees and CSNY complemented the film and helped to evoke the era beautifully. I shudder to think what atrocities might be committed if this were to be remade today... no doubt it would be an altogether different film filled with tawdry underage sex scenes, totally at odds with the simple and touching tale of first love that it is now. This is one film that deserves to be seen by a much wider audience...

• One of the best movies I've seen when a young boy posted on 23 May 2009

  It's really a pity to know we can't see again this film; I can remember very clearly each scene and when listening "First of May" it makes me smile, because not to cry. All around the globe we have the same feelings, everybody was in love at twelve, I hope some day we could watch again "Melody".

• Melody posted on 02 May 2009

  I came across this eternal beauty of a movie today. Some movies just pierce your heart and stay there forever. This is one of those sorts of the movie. For the best experience this movie should be watched at the age between 9-12 years – and it would change the entire perspective and outlook of life.The movie is about a 10-year-old boy and a girl – Daniel (Mark Lester) and Melody (Tracy Hyde); who fall in love and want to get married. The story revolves around their growing up years at home, at school and outdoors. In the end, Daniel's friend Ornshaw (Jack Wild) helps the eager boy-girl couple to get married by playing the pastor performing their marriage ceremony.There are so many great moments in the film that take you right through your childhood age, and for those who had their momentary love flicks at that age would cherish the movie more.The movie is shot beautifully in the city of London and its outskirts. The best part of the movie is its music by Bees Gees.This movie is more remembered for the first time original scripting by Alan Parker; but I would give the true credit of the movie to the Director Waris Hussein, who tragically is hardly mentioned in reviews or his name is mentioned in small fonts in the posters. Waris has done a brilliant job in being sensitive to the emotions of children. In his career he made 5 movies from 1969 to 1972 and this was one of them. After 1972 he has engaged himself with Television.Till date, this movie – especially its heroine Tracy Hyde is such a craze in Japan that in a team was sent to UK and later to France to trace her.Both the child actors though initially successful, have left acting now. Both are divorced and re-married. Mark Lester lives in US and works as an Osteopath, and Tracy Hyde is still beautiful and stays with her husband and children in a small town of Villers Bocage.This movie brought back to me memories of – Summer of 42 – a movie that I saw when I was 17 years old and still gives me Goosebumps even today – while thinking of it. Melody is such kind of experience. If you have 9-12 years kids, get the DVD of this movie and show it to your children. If you have 14-18 years old boy, get the DVD and show Summer of 42 to him.Movie magic works wonders – it penetrates your heart and stays for a life time. Melody is one of that kind of a movie. It will remain with you forever and turn you into a hopeless romantic.(Stars 8 out of 10)

• One of the best... posted on 23 Apr 2009

  I saw this movie many years ago and have always remembered it as a sweet, innocent, love story unmatched by any others. The bold child characters gave strength to me as a child to believe anything can be done if you really believed in it. It belongs in everyone's memory.

• Melody is an unsung 'young love' story posted on 05 Apr 2009

  When I looked up YouTube last December, I was typing the heading "1971" and stumbled upon a Bee Gees song. Being a fan of theirs, I linked it and saw the titles of a movie called Melody. Three things intrigued me when I watched the beginning credits: 1) It starred Mark Lester and Jack Wild-Oliver Twist and The Artful Dodger from the musical Oliver! just three years before, 2) It was written by future director Alan Parker and produced by his later Midnight Express producer David Putnam (who was also executive producer of Parker's kid musical Bugsy Malone), and 3) Who is this Tracy Hyde that plays the title character? I then clicked this title on IMDb and looked at the forums section and it told me where I could view the whole movie: on Google Video. I've now seen it there and I wonder: how could I have not heard of this wonderful pre-teen love story before then? How wonderful to see Lester and Wild becoming friends at the beginning despite class differences and then having that tested when Daniel (Lester's character) sees Melody for the first time watching her through a window as she's taking ballet lessons. Of the adult supporting cast, I was wonderfully delighted to see Roy Kinnear, whom I recognized from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, as Melody's father who's quite funny telling his stories that occasionally please the other adults around the table but not Melody or Daniel. Wonderful use of Bee Gees songs throughout as well as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's "Teach Your Children" for the climatic sequence. What naturalistic performances from the three young leads! For anyone interested in romance among the very young, I heartily recommended Melody.

• An Endorsement posted on 09 Mar 2009

  I saw this film when I was 7, and other than being in love with Tracy Hyde, I didn't fully understand it. But the whole film has stayed in my subconscious ever since. Something about how simply the story was told, and how it was more like real life than any film or TV show I had seen up to that point. I can now readily recall vividly, scenes and dialog from the film. The only other film from my childhood I can remember so clearly is The Big Red Balloon. I believe I saw the two films in the same
  week.

• Could anyone help me find a copy with Turkish sub-titles? posted on 04 Feb 2009

  This very cute and romantic reminder of the 1970s had made quite a splash in Turkey when first shown under the title "Küçük Sevgili" (Little Lover) in Ankara more than 35 years ago. Now, I have a lot of friends who are desperately looking for the copies of this with Turkish subtitles. Personally I have scanned the related websites such as divxplanet but to no avail so far. In case copies with subtitles are not available, does anyone know how to carry the translations per fragments onto the fragments themselves? Mark Lester was already known for his top-notch performance in Oliver title based on Oliver Twist fiction from Charles Dickens, has grown a little older to the extent of aspiring to become a family head.

• Movie of my youth posted on 24 Dec 2008

  Whenever I think about this movie, warm sensation of innocence and adolescent purity overwhelms me. I, like so many others, saw this movie when I was in my formative years (I was 13). What was remarkable was that I did not fully understand the dialogue in the movie since it was before I became conversant with English. Nonetheless, I do remember the music of BeeGees warmly decorating that feeling of love as it was felt for the first time in one's life. I remember the wonderful feeling of love, having absolutely no idea why it hurt and elated me to uncontrollable degree.After the movie, I turned off the TV set and sat in the dark for a long time. Something must have happened inside me. I began seeing the world in a new light, as growing boys frequently would when they reach certain age. But for me, the transformation happened so suddenly and with such definitive starting point. To this day, I remember the night of the movie as the first day of my puberty.I looked for another chance to revisit the night, but I couldn't find any copy for sale... (sigh~)I loved the movie... I loved the way I was before innocence and longing spirit of a youth ebbed away. Seeing the movie again probably would not bring those back to me. But I sure want to try...

• A fine, overlooked family film with real charm posted on 22 Sep 2008

  It's inexplicable to me how this film bombed when it came out. It's one of the most charming, realistic stories of adolescent first love ever put on film. Mark Lester and Jack Wild, teamed here for the first time since "Oliver!," three years earlier, make a good team all over again as the two best school friends who temporarily have a bust when Lester develops a crush on Hyde, as charming, winsome a young miss as you will ever see. And it's all told with charm and believability. I saw this film on TV almost two decades ago and wonder why it isn't available on video. It should be, since it's sure to charm the kids and parents alike. Charm without smarm is even more of a rarity today than it was in 1971. But "Melody" pulls it off brilliantly and understatedly. A true hidden treasure.

• Two requirements for loving this film... posted on 19 Sep 2008

  ...You must have once been in love, and you must have once been a child.I hadn't realized anyone else had seen this film, nor that it had such a similar impact on everybody. I first saw this film when I was a child growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. It would play on the afternoon "Movie with Gus", some local show that picked up movies in syndication. I may have been 10 or 12 years old. I loved it immediately. I could identify with the pain of both lovers, and the friend. It's such a universal story that it rises above the cultural, class, and period distinctions.I remember staying up to watch the movie again at 1:00 AM. Then when it was repeated on the weekend. From that point on, I made it a weekly ritual to scan through the television guide to see if Melody was on that week. In those days they must have had a pretty set schedule of syndication because, you could count on the film making the rounds again. But with the rise of cable television and video, the movie vanished from the schedule. (Now you have a hundred channels offering identical content on different timetables.)Years later I found the film on VHS (literally jumped up and down in the store) and proceeded to rent it repeatedly to show to my friends. Everyone who saw it, even as adults, loved it. I found the soundtrack a few years back as a Japanese import. I've searched for the VHS copy everywhere since. There must have been thousands of VHS copies at one time, which have probably all been dumped. I consider myself a cinephile, but with this I'd accept a tenth-generation copy just to have it again. The beauty of this film is in it's performances.Alan Parker, who co-wrote Melody, revisited the themes again in his later films, which always seem to include a sub-theme of unrequited love. I wonder to this day if Alan Parker has any fondness for this film, or if he sees it as something of a freshman work.

• My own life on screen! posted on 17 Aug 2008

  What can I say about THE film that made me be in the world of movie-making? This film made me skip many a class day to watch my own life on screen many times during 1972 and 1973. Do you know that my country spent 156 weeks showing this film? This makes it the most successful film since The Sound of Music! (on screen in my country) I taped it to Beta more than 20 years ago. I lost the copy and don't have a Beta player anymore. Today, I received a DVD copy from someone at my local Video Club. She couldn't believe I was so excited to have it! I've met through the Internet someone who knows EVERYTHING about Melody. I think you all know about him. Just let him know what you want, and you'll get it!

• This movie took me by storm posted on 12 Jun 2008

  I saw this movie when I was 10 years old or so, I had a crush for a girl in my neighborhood and this movie took me by storm. I have not been able to find it in video format. But the story is so simple yet very touching for everybody I know has seen this movie.

• what music ! posted on 25 Feb 2008

  I loved the songs in this film, especially the ones by the Bee Gees (To Love Somebody, Give Your Best To Your Friends, Melody Fair). The CSNY classic Teach Your Children I now appreciate, though I didn't when I saw the film way back in the 70s, when I was in school myself. In fact, I remember our teachers took the whole class to see it and they were quite mortified by the content, which has the school kids ripping off their teacher's clothes and chasing them down the street at the end ! What fun, we kids thought. 30 years later, as I write this, I must say Melody was one of the most memorable films I've seen (and I've seen many !). Who is this wonderful Waris Hussain (the director) and why didn't he make more memorable movies later on?

• Took Part posted on 06 Nov 2007

  My School took part in making this film, (Archbishop Temples). I remember like it was yesterday, We spent 5 Days away from normal school lessons and were paid 5 POUNDS a day, just to take part. Believe it or not I played football (soccer) with Jack Wild & Mark Lester when they were not filming. Our entire school went to see the premiere of the film before it was released to the public, that was great fun. Like everyone else I saw this film again many years later on sattelite, God, that brought back memories, not so much about the contents of the film but about those wonderful days of no school lessons and getting paid for it. If there is anybody out there who also took part or even went to my school, drop me a line, I would love to hear from you.Bas.

• This is one of my favourite ever films posted on 22 May 2007

  I'm nostalgic and this fits the bill although' its not over sentimental and the class clash story line was very prophetic. NOTE FOR THE PREVIOUS POSTER my cousin went to your school and was also in the film - do you remember Deborah O'Brien? Anyway back to the film...fantastic performances from the leads and memorable lines courtesy of Mr Parker make for a very entertaining 1.5 hours. The OST by the Bee Gee's is a fantastic too. I grew up in Lambeth in the 70's so this brings back loads of memories, if you love period pieces you'll enjoy this. WATCH THIS FILM. A min of 10 lines is a bit much isn't it?. OK what makes this film apart from the above is great cameo's from the likes of Roy Kinnear and the woman who plays the grandma.

• One of the best movies ever released posted on 24 Feb 2007

  "Melody" is indeed one of the best movies ever released. When I first saw it I was 13 years old. I've seen it 11 more times since then. Now I'm 41 and I still consider it the best film I've ever seen. I've talked so much about it that my children, who are 6 and 13 now, want to see it but it is unavailable in shops. With so many movies on the marketplace, this is unbelievable !!. Fortunately, I could get in contact with a guy in Great Britain who sells it over the Internet. I've recently bought it to keep this treasure with me FOREVER ! "Melody" is a love-story film told from the perspective of the adolescents' world and teaches grown-ups so much about love and essential life values !!!. No-one should miss it, it is really worth-seeing !!!!!!!!!.

• What to say? posted on 22 Jan 2007

  What to say about this gem that has not been said before?That it was written by Alan Parker, before he was recognized as a world famous screenwriter/director? And that even then, it is a movie that has unjustly remained without being re-released.No, that's just theory. It is the feelings evoked that matter.I watched this movie once, as it played in an Argentinian TV channel at a time when there were only 4 TV channels. I probably watched it because of a recommendation from my father, who during my forming years, had gained my respect for introducing me to Spielberg in films such as Close Encounters and Raider of the Lost Ark. My guess is that I was probably about the same age of the main characters when I sat in front of the set.I remember also the following day at school, as all the boys and girls that had watched it would whisper about it. Girls would probably whisper if it could happen to them, too... if those stupid boys would wise up one day. We boys... we were not willing to admit we had seen and liked a "love" story -- a chick film. As such, we had to make fun of it. But deep down, all of us could tell... we could tell when we looked at each others' eyes that we were lying. That this movie had told perhaps our own story of first love and touched us in a way perhaps no one else had before, in a way we would not forget, we could not forget.I am 33 now, I grew to work in the TV and film industry both in Argentina and abroad and have watched literally thousands of films since. It is a testament to this film that after watching it only once, I not only remember the film fondly, but that some scenes are still etched in my mind: The Frere Jacques scene as the two main characters talk about how they feel.... a scene that has no dialog, and it is just played with music and visual narration. The farcical view on authority and that funny ending, which could be called a teenage The Graduate.I have since been looking in vain for a copy of this movie or for the chance to watch it again and again and again.--- Update: I found it. In Argentina, this movie is now finally being redistributed, by a small private company. Alas, albeit it is on DVD, the copy is not a very good one, with muted colors and a somewhat jittery transfer.

• I met Mark Lester after seeing this 14 times in two weeks!! posted on 18 Sep 2006

  I adored this film back in 1971, and played truant regularly to see it! As I was roughly the same age I identified with it very strongly. I learnt every word to every track and bought the album for £2.50 and relived the film through the record for years. I loved it so much I wrote to Clapperboard and begged them to see a clip. Months later they showed the clip where Mark and Jack were being caned in the Headmasters office,and I was over the moon.I tracked Mark Lester down after months of trying to find him. When my friend and I saw him come to the door we almost fainted. His mum made us drinks etc, and then Mark spent the rest of the afternoon teasing us and squirting paint at us!!We got a signed photo and to this day I still watch the film on tape.I've been to most of the locations where it was filmed, the trough where Melody set her fish free, the cemetery where they sat in the rain, and best of all I have a photo of me and my boyfriend ducking underneath the railings at the point where Daniel and Melody left the cemetery while the "First of May" was playing!! Sad or what??!! I saw this when I was 11, and it has remained firmly etched in my memory as the best childhood film I have ever seen, maybe because I had a huge crush on Mark Lester!!Anyhow, I'm Julie and if anyone has more to add you can be sure I'll be interested. Bye now. S.W.A.L.K

• touching and memorable posted on 11 Jun 2006

  I remember when I was about 9 I saw this in 1974 on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). But I only saw the last half. For years the scenes would remain in my memory. Well, now with the internet I was able to obtain a really bad copy on DVD and watch it all the way through. Timeless. I love the ending and the message of young innocence, friendship, and love. The soundtrack is awesome, with the Bee Gee's and the last song. It should be redistributed on DVD once again for this generation of children to watch.Where are these kind of films today? They all seem to be about quick formulas and toilet humor.Now, granted, Mark Lester lacks a little masculinity at times, but Tracey Hyde is too cute. SPOILERSMy favorite scene is when Melody is waiting after the spanking. How she holds her ground. This is one actress that should have gone a little further in the industry, but then again, perhaps it is best we remember her the way she was, and not spoiled by grocery store tabloids.This is one of my all time favorite films.