Search - Ice Castles on DVD

Katie C.
Reviewed on 2/6/2010...

This movie is a classic. It deals superbly with overcoming obstacles, and has wonderful examples of supportive friends and family. The main character descends into a kind of depression after the accident, and her family and close friends lovingly pull her out of it. Well worth watching, even if it is an older movie.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Charming, inspirational drama; Lynn-Holly Johnson is lovely

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 02/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Heartwarming and inspirational drama, starring the lovely Lynn-Holly Johnson (THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS) and Robby Benson (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST), and featuring the Oscar-nominated theme song "Through the Eyes of Love" by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager.



Alexis `Lexie' Winston (Lynn-Holly Johnson) is a promising young 16-year-old ice skater, living in Iowa with her widowed father (Tom Skerritt). She receives her training from Beulah (Colleen Dewhurst) a former ice skater, now the owner of the ice-rink and bowling alley. Beulah knows that Lexie won't achieve her full potential until a proper trainer takes her on. So when renowned coach Deborah Mackland (Jennifer Warren) offers the chance of a lifetime to Lexie, she leaves small-town life behind and begins her quest to become a champion ice skater...until a freak accident shatters her dreams.



Now with the help of her father and Beulah, and the guidance of her boyfriend Nick (Robby Benson), Lexie sets out to overcome her adversity and skate one last time...



Filled with excellent performances and the soaring, emotional music of Hamlisch, ICE CASTLES is a satisfying movie experience. Colleen Dewhurst and Tom Skerritt provide exceptional supporting performances. Lynn-Holly Johnson, in her movie debut, gamely rises to the challenge in the demanding role of Lexie. Robby Benson turns in a solid performance as Nick. Only Jennifer Warren, as coach Deborah Mackland, seems cold and aloof (though this is mainly due to the character).



ICE CASTLES is highly-recommended!"

The movie that introduced the world to my schoolboy crush :)

Darren Harrison | Washington D.C. | 04/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been enchanted by Lynn-Holly Johnson's bubbly personality and amiable charm ever since I saw her skate across the ice rink in the 1981 James Bond movie FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. While the majority of Bond fans seem to dismiss her role as an oversexed, yet naive ice skater as nothing more than simple eye candy, I thought she delivered an incredible performance and was one of the most attractive of all the Bond women.

So, perhaps it is no surprise that I love the movie ICE CASTLES (made three years before she became a Bond girl), what is a surprise is that it took me almost 30 years to see it.

So, when it appeared under my Lynn-Holly Johnson TiVo wish-list I set it to record knowing only that it features Johnson in a lead role and involved ice skating. Yet, over an hour into sitting down to watch it I was once again entranced by Johnson and the unfolding human drama and hoping the movie would never end.

Yes, I am a sucker for tear-jerkers, especially when they tug so forcibly at the emotions. I expected to enjoy Johnson's performance, what I was not expecting was to get so caught up in the story.

Johnson plays Alexis `Lexie' Winston, a promising 16-year-old ice skater, living in Iowa (which as an aside provided extra interest for me, having lived there as an exchange student.)

Trained initially by small-time trainer Beulah (played by Colleen Dewhurst), Lexis jumps at the chance to take her dream of skating glory to the next level by accepting a coaching offer from world-renowned trainer Deborah Mackland (Jennifer Warren.) That is until an emotional Lexie takes to a late unsupervised ice skating session that results in an accident that leaves her blind.

It is the second half of the movie where this feature really shines and shows true courage (along with its leading character.)

It would have been so easy for the movie to have taken a `Lifetime' movie spin of showing a character dealing with shattered dreams and adjusting to her blindness. And at first it seems that the movie might go this route. But instead we see the courage of her family and boyfriend Nick (played by 1970s heartthrob Robbie Benson) in helping her get back on the ice and deal with her handicap determined to prove that she can still compete.

Featuring the Oscar-nominated theme song "Through the Eyes of Love" by former James Bond composer Marvin Hamlisch (1977s THE SPY WHO LOVED ME) and Carole Bayer Sager, ICE CASTLES is solid entertainment and very easy to recommend. In addition to those actors already mentioned this movie also features Tom Skeritt in an outstanding performance as Lexie's over-protective father.

I have to agree with the other reviewer who notes that this movie is one that even a guy can enjoy - I did, immensely.

Another ice skating movie that is well worth checking out is THE CUTTING EDGE."

Good before, but BAD DVD release - it's CUT!!!!

KnightVoyager | Billings, MT USA | 07/28/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I will never understand Columbia Tristar's decision to leave out one of the pivotal moments in the movie. In the first competition that Johnson's character is in, during the routine, she FALLS ON THE ICE, thus resulting in the low scores she gets for her performance. This part is cut in all the releases that are available, so all you see is a beautiful performance with way-lower than normal scoring!



This scene is even referred to later on in the movie when the trainer is talking to Brian, trying to get him to do a story on Lexie. She refers to the sound of the crowds applause knocking Lexie on her butt, which if you haven't seen it before, leaves you wondering what she's talking about, because you don't actually SEE the fall in any of the releases except when it first came out in theatres many years ago.



The story would make a good family movie, but it does contain a pretty good amont of foul language in it, thus giving concern to parents when watching it with the little ones. If Columbia would make an UNCUT version of this movie, I'd be delighted to try seeing it again, but until then, I just can't recommend it since it doesn't make as much sense as it could."