The Giver

Locations
Call Number: DVD Drama Giver
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	DVD Drama Giver	1-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	DVD Drama Giver	1-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult A/V 1-week checkout	DVD Drama Giver	1-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult A/V 1-week checkout	DVD Drama Giver	1-week checkout	Reshelving
Traverwood Adult A/V 1-week checkout	DVD Drama Giver	1-week checkout	Due 04-24-2024

Title from sell sheet.
Originally released as a motion picture in 2014.
Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Jeff Bridges, Katie Holmes, Taylor Swift, Cameron Monaghan, Alexander Skarsgard, Odeya Rush, Emma Tremblay.
The story centers on Jonas, young man who lives in a supposedly ideal world of conformity and contentment. Yet as he begins to spend time with the elder, who is the sole keeper of all the community's memories, Jonas quickly begins to discover the dark and deadly truths of his community's secret past. At extreme odds, Jonas knows that he must escape their world to protect them all; a challenge that no one has ever succeeded at before.
DVD, region 1, anamorphic widescreen presentation; Dolby digital.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

The Giver submitted by SBNB on July 3, 2015, 3:14pm The book is excellent, and the movie is pretty good too. They changed some things from the book, but that's to be expected. They had to add more drama, and I get that, but it's unfortunate that along with these changes, the story felt rushed. I didn't feel like Jonas' transformation was given enough time. But overall, great story and good movie.

Pretty Good submitted by Carbon14 on July 4, 2015, 10:21am For what it was, a movie based on a book, it was good. Like SBNB said, it does feel rushed. If you haven't read the book yet then please do, you're missing out on the parts/emotions that were rushed through and those parts that were missed or changed for the big screen!

Nothing new submitted by leenajong on July 15, 2015, 7:53am Just like another one of those Hunger games or Divergent.

Tolerable submitted by kelleyc on July 1, 2016, 8:42am Like most books-made-movies, this one fell short. Not having read and loved the book as much as I do, I suppose it would make a good movie. But too much was changed, and I feel like the real tone and message of the book was lost.

meh submitted by Kaebib on August 14, 2016, 4:07pm watched worse

Better Than I Feared submitted by Meginator on August 5, 2017, 6:59pm The filmmakers played with fire here, turning a beloved classic into a film that leaned more toward the blockbuster side than the indie feeling that might have better suited the source material. However, it's not that bad! The changes largely made sense in the context of the film, even if some aspects make far more sense after reading it first, and the story is relatively deep, if not nearly as subtle as the book. The differences were large enough that I can approach each version on its own terms, and though this film isn't particularly great it isn't terrible either. The middle of the road is just fine here.

good submitted by KOH on August 28, 2017, 7:24pm I liked how the story unfolded. They did well adapting this story from page to screen.

Seeing is Believing submitted by Aveliney on July 7, 2018, 2:18pm This book really messed with me as a child, it was nice to be able to see someone's interpretation of the book. I enjoyed it.

The Giver submitted by lstorc on August 5, 2018, 10:58pm It felt like there were gaps and important things missing; interesting overall

Pretty good submitted by mandevil on April 21, 2019, 1:56pm Jeff Bridges carries the film. Meryl Steep unremarkable.

The Giver submitted by Varshini on July 22, 2019, 11:59pm I liked it, but I can sort of understand why some people wouldn’t. The book was a bit different than the movie though.

Misses the Point submitted by rebecca.perreault on July 17, 2020, 3:23pm The book explores themes of freewill vs predestination in a utopia. The film missed the mark by ignoring the premise of the book to instead copy popular dystopian teen movies.

BETTER THAN THE BOOK SOMETIMES submitted by riyas_khareem on June 15, 2023, 7:41pm ABSOULETY AMAZING