The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

Oscar winning actress Jodie Foster had her first major top-billing role in 1976, a banner year for the then teenage actress. "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" shows Foster at her most resilient and vulnerable at the same time. This little Canadian shocker sent shivers down my spine as I watched it incessantly on cable TV, albeit in a censored format.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release is the original Canadian version, with a very brief nude scene of Foster (actually it's her older sister playing Jodie's double), and a brief mention of the word "fuck." Yet the PG rating remains intact on "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane," where Foster plays an isolated girl named Rynn. Everybody in the picturesque New England town wants to know what she's up to, including her bitchy and nosy landlord (Alexis Smith) and the town's notorious pedophile (Martin Sheen).

Only Rynn's new boyfriend (Scott Jacoby) knows the real truth of where her parents really are.

"The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" succeeds due to suspense and a lack of bluntly showing the audience any violence. The disappointing thing about Kino Lorber's Blu-ray is that it's not a sharp upgrade from the previous MGM DVD release from a few years back. Colors seem muted and at times, the film looks like a made-for-TV movie.

I'm happy to report that the Blu-ray does have special features that the bare-bones DVD didn't have. An on camera interview with Martin Sheen, shot in 2015, reveals his working relationship with Foster (a pleasant relationship) and his feelings on the film (he likes it). He and director Nicolas Gessner also do a separate interview segment.

Gessner does an audio commentary on the disc, but the elusive Foster is nowhere to be found in the special features department. Rumor has it that she's not too fond of "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane"; yet she should be proud of her performance and of the film.

"The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane"
Blu-ray
$29.95
www.kinolorber.com