one of my absolute favorites!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

. . . not with a whimper! Peter O'Toole makes a convincing pedantic school teacher as title character "Mr. Chips," but an otherwise perfect film is marred by fairly forgettable songs (most of which are recycled a time or three too many) and producers who keep tacking on weepier and weepier "bonus" endings, as if they're running a Kleenex concession on the side. Repetition seems to be the name of their game, as many parallel scenes and lines of script repeated verbatim are peppered between all the reprized songs throughout this musical remake of GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS. That being said, this movie persuaded me and many others AGAINST considering a career as an educator. What could be more depressing than repeating the same stuff year after year to an audience that annually gained a collective year of life, compared to yourself? GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS essentially is a slow-motion version of the Bill Murray movie GROUNDHOG DAY. With CHIPS' multiple endings, 1969 film-goers may have been drawing comparisons to Sartre's NO EXIT, too. Still, it deserves high marks for warning teachers to ask not for whom the school bells toll--they toll for them.

This movie is awful. Watch the original 1939 version with Robert Donat for the really great performances. Why they made this a musical is beyond me. It was a beautiful story and did not need the "help". Nothing against O'Toole or Clark - they are great actors but nothing could help this flop. Do yourselves a great big favor and either rent or buy the 1939 version. You will not be sorry. Robert Donat won the Oscar for Best Actor and this film is probably the one responsible for making Greer Garson a big star. I never have been able to understand why producers make re-makes of great movies. It would be more logical to remake a bad one and make it better.

okay, this is no masterpiece of any kind, but it's just about perfectly done for what it is (with one exception). literary sensibility is always wonderful when brought to the screen, and this is no exception - even when the work in question is as utterly insignificant as Hilton's "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". I haven't actually read Hilton's novel, but this movie feels pretty unadulterated to me. An insubstantial, pleasingly sentimental little wisp of a story, a bit like "Driving Miss Daisy" in its smallness and tastefulness, but better directed and more emotionally satisfying and fuller. Peter O'Toole gives what is, in my opinion, the best performance of his extraordinary career (along with his - utterly different - turn in "The Stunt Man"). He manages to project Chips' timidity and smallness of spirit beautifully (especially in the scene in the restaurant where he first meets Petula Clark's character, his future wife), while lending him great dignity and carrying the film emotionally. There's no question in my mind that he should have won the Academy Award. Petula Clark is, in the beginning of the film, a bit too old and plump to be convincing as the hot young showgirl she's supposed to be, but she still looks great and, most importantly, has the charm and joie de vivre that the role demands she have, in spades, in order for her to convince us that she could melt the quiet old prune that is O'Toole's Mr. Chips and bring charm and gaiety into his life. The film is, in general, surprisingly well directed and atmospheric, with a very convincing school atmosphere. The extras all seem very convincing and well-directed, and the film is lavish - enjoyably so. So kudos to Herbert Ross in that department. The other superb performance comes from Sian Phillips as Clark's actress friend Ursula Mossbank, a heavenly role invented for the film. Phillips is pure style, an exquisitely charming, campy creature, towering in skimpy silk dresses with the sinuous neck of a leopard. The only flaw in the film is the music, which Pauline Kael aptly described as "a form of instantly disposable muzak....Your brain flushes it out while you're hearing it". That's pretty much the size of it, in fact, one may have fond memories of the film, having completely forgotten that it was a musical, as the music is so uninspired you barely experience it at all. It's just a faint irritation that unnecessarily stretches the film out to its unwieldy length. Oh well. A lovely film, just the same.

I saw this film when it first came out, and didn't know what to expect exactly. What followed the Overture was one of the most pleasurable filmgoing experiences I have ever had. A lush score of songs and music by Britisher Leslie Bricusse (of Doctor Doolittle & Wilie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory fame as well as making his mark on the Broadway musical scene), and scored by the incomparable John Williams. There's not a bad song in the entire film. Plus some of the most exquisite cinematography, costume design and filming locations I have ever seen in one film. Not to mention the Academy Award nominated performance by Peter O'Toole, and the equally strong performance, in my opinion, by the wonderful Petula Clark. Now, given that Peter is not the same caliber a singer that Petula is, he still manages to sell his songs to the audience, and that, after all, is what it is all about. This is a faithful adaptation of the excellent book by James Hilton, and deserves to be treasured for generations to come. I recommend this film for family viewing, though most men will consider this a 'chick' flick. But if you like a truly great film musical, then this film is for you. But be warned that a standby box of Kleenex is just as important as popcorn for your viewing pleasure.