The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

PG

Released Sep 20, 2023

39m

Comedy

Adventure

Short

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

96 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. He sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling. Extremely faithfully adapted from Roald Dahl’s long short story.

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Critics Consensus

With The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson returns to the world of Roald Dahl -- and proves his distinctive style is a comfortable fit for one of the author's sweetest stories.

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Audience Says

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar proves Wes Anderson still has what it takes to adapt Roald Dahl, although the concept might be unsatisfying for some.

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Sophie Gilbert

The Atlantic

It’s thrilling to be distracted by really good storytelling. But it’s more thrilling to be provoked, or even altered by it.

Oct 16, 2023

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Christy Lemire

Breakfast All Day

I think this is the just the right bite-size amount of Wes Anderson... I kind of feel like shorts are an excellent use of his his style [and] his voice.

Oct 14, 2023

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Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)

Anderson seems to have perfected the art of simultaneously showing and telling – a tinkertoy approach to cinema that can pall over the length of a feature but plays with delightful brio in a short.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 13, 2023

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Zach Youngs

InSession Film

The stories themselves are fascinating...

Rated: B

Jul 3, 2024

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Tim Miller

Cape Cod Wave Magazine

Anderson’s whimsical, storybook approach fits perfectly for this playful adaptation of a 1977 Roald Dahl short story about how a gambler learns to cheat by seeing through cards.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 4, 2024

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Armond White

National Review

Rather than expanding and becoming richer, Anderson’s method folds in, like origami.

Mar 22, 2024

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Audience Member

Wes Anderson brings the short stories of Roald Dahl to life in a series of four short films (streaming on Netflix). Wes Anderson’s postmodern filmmaking style is a perfect match to Dahl’s quirky stories. First, I recommend watching the other three short films - The Swan, The Rat Catcher, and Poison - first before Henry Sugar. These other three are under 20 minutes each and are a great primer to a longer short film (... paradox?). CONTINUE READING ON LETTERBOXD: https://boxd.it/5QlIQl

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

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Kevin P

4 unique shorts wonderfully adapted from Rohd Dahl’s literature with Wes Anderson’s direction as a match made in heaven. The dialogue is wonderfully narrated straight from the book while visually shown off like a vividly pretty yet loosely managed stage play. All 4 stories are quite interesting, with Poison being the most tense, The ratcatcher being the most peculiar, The Swam being the saddest, and Henry Sugar being the most whimsical. Each story stands on their own, but together, they all make something wonderful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

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Sydney W

Though very well made, The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar feels more like a book being read out loud to you and not like an actual film.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

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Richard S

It is relly condescending to the audience to think people don’t already know that unearned wealth and cheating leads to emptiness. This is insulting and creators and actors should really be ashamed to show their contempt for the audience. Poorly written and executed.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

Full Review

Regal R

93/100 - Wes Andersons amazing style blends theater and film into one with this production. A genuinely captivating story with great acting, this fast paced apologue showcases what a collective effort can accomplish.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/10/24

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Child D

I believe all the positive reviews were written by friends and relatives. It was a challenge to sit through this movie. Boring and annoying. Cannot believe that such a constellation produced such a terrible movie. What a shame!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/17/24

Full Review

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Director

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Henry Sugar

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: Trailer 1

1:05

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Synopsis

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. He sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling. Extremely faithfully adapted from Roald Dahl’s long short story.

Director: Wes Anderson
Producer: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales
Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: American Empirical Pictures, Netflix, Netflix Studios
Rating: PG (Smoking)
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Short
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 27, 2023
Runtime: 39m

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