Where is the DVD?????????

I find it hard to believe that this classic film is not available on DVD- Why do the studios feel compeled to release just about every recent TV show on DVD, yet classic films such as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are not available. I see that the 1st season of 'Fat Actress' which just concluded on cable is now out on DVD! Someone explain this to me please..... I just don't get it. I have a running list of film titles that I am waiting and hoping to see on DVD and I can only hope that someone from the film studios read these reviews because there is a market for the older quality films that are actually good even though there is no nudity, profanity or blood baths! If anyone is out there listening, please put this enchanting film on DVD-

disgrace to the book!

i am a loyal fan the the book; a tree grows in brooklyn and when i saw this movie i was horrified. this movie does not even cover a 1/16 of the book and its messages. The moviedoes not capture the characters at all and their aura. i found this movie to be too short and too plain for a book as wonderful and excellent as a tree growsin brooklyn....JUST GO BUY THE BOOK!

Tender Passage of Youth

Betty Smith's heartfelt and timeless novel of a young girl's passage through her youth in the Brooklyn slums was transformed by director Elia Kazan into one of the most touching and deeply felt films ever made. It has that rare ability to break your heart one moment and make you smile the next. There is a tenderness here that has rarely been captured on film. Many point to Elia Kazan's flashier films, but it was this sentimental film that was his crowning achievement. There are moments in this film when even those who never cry at the movies will be moved to tears.

Peggy Ann Garner was so wonderful as the young and sensitive Francie, the Academy gave her an Oscar for Most Promising Juvenile Performer. James Dunn garnered an Oscar also as Francie's loving father, Johnny Nolan, a singing waiter with a gift for dreaming he passes on to Francie, who wants to be a writer. Francie's papa makes their hard life worth living and she worships him. He understands and adores her.

But when he isn't working, Johnny is usually drunk. Everyone in their poor neighborhood knows Johnny is a good man, however, and loves and respects him. He is the one who will find a way for Francie to attend the school she dreams of, even though it is far from their home. Francie's mother is the only one who doesn't seem to see how special Johnny is.

Dorothy McGuire gives another terrific performance as Francie's hard working mother, Katie, who tries desparately not to love her boy Neely more than Francie, and fails; tries desparately not to become bitter with the charming lad she married in her youth, but can't; and tries desparately not to let her heart grow cold and hard, and fails once more.

Francie and her family may live in poverty, but Kazan takes the time to show the joy that can be found in the small things in life. For Francie, her father represents happiness and living. Joan Blondell, as Katie's sister and Francie's aunt Sissy, with her free spirit and big heart, adds to Francie's joy in life. It is one of Blondell's finest roles.

It is Peggy Ann Garner's emotional performance, however, you will always remember. She brings a sweetness and sincerity to Francie that makes her unforgettable. Purchasing this film is an opportunity to own one of the true masterpieces in American cinema. It will touch your heart and remind you what Hollywood was once capable of, and make you wonder where it all went wrong.