The trouble with a re-make is that it will inevitably be compared with the first. In this case, that would be the superb 1962 film version. It's been nearly 40-years since I saw it, but it left a powerful, indelible impression on me. Unfortunately, this one looked like a Hallmark TV movie against the classic 60's version, which I sincerely hope that anyone who enjoyed this version will take the time to see. As much as I dearly love Sidney Poitier, none of the cast of this psychological pot boiler can hold a candle to the original, which featured the best actors from the Broadway stage—not movie actors—particularly a superb Howard Da Silva as the doctor and Keir Dullea as David, in the role that I personally feel is his best (you may remember him as the marooned astronaut in Stanley Kubrick's classic, "2001"). Do yourself a favor and watch this one, too.

This may have come about under the aegis of Oprah Winfrey, but don't let that put you off; "David and Lisa" is far more watchable than her self-titled opus. (Another British viewer complained that She Who Thinks She's God appears in an intro before the movie starts; this is the case on video and on its US screenings, but I watched the movie on BBC2 and her appearance was removed, for which much thanks. Less justifiably, the Harpo logo was also absent - I don't like Oprah, but I like end credits.)Though Sidney Poitier is top-billed, Lukas Haas is the real star of the movie; he plays an articulate and intelligent young man who's very disturbed - he suffers from a recurring nightmare involving "clock executions," and has a severe phobia about being touched, all of which accounts for his widowed mother (Allison Janney from "The West Wing") sending him to a special institution. This movie is basically a love story, and the object of his affections - though it takes him a while to realise it - is a fellow patient played by Brittany Murphy (anyone seeing this after "Girl, Interrupted" and "Don't Say A Word" will probably not be surprised). Given to speaking in rhyme to make her internal demons go away, his interest is at first clinical, but eventually...Compared to "The Bell Jar" (the book, that is - I haven't seen the movie version), this isn't particularly wrenching, but it isn't meant to be. Blessedly non-sick-making, sensitively told and generally well-performed (some of the freakouts may seem overacted, but how far is too far in cases like this?), "David and Lisa" is an involving story right up to its final scene - there's no real miracle cure, instead a suggestion that they're heading in the right direction. (And unusually for a love story, the two never kiss.)And to the person who complained about Marco Beltrami's music; in addition to being above-average for TV, it must have been a refreshing change for him to score a movie not about serial killings. Fans of him (and Haas and Murphy) should tune in.

I don't think I would have ever even heard of this film if one of my favorite actresses was not in it. Kimiko Gelman that is. Thank you Kimiko for having me watch such an incredible story. If this movie ever airs, my advice is "WATCH IT!!" 1-10 (10)

Oprah Winfrey has done it again as she produces a compelling new version of the 1968 classic. Two mentally ill teenagers fall in love and conquer their illnesses with the help of the school's director, played by Sidney Poitier. I found Lukas Haas and Brittany Murphy excellent in their respective roles as David and Lisa. This film reaches out people of all ages at many different levels. It is fundamentaly a teenage romance with a unique twist. I would recommend "David and Lisa" to anyone and everyone!