Little Women Movies: the 1994 and 2019 Films and Their Cast

Four Jos in ninety years, and why the two newest films feel so different

By Tori BooksUpdated November 20267 min readMild spoilers

1994 2019 1933 and 1949 Which to watch

The two best-known films are Little Women (1994), directed by Gillian Armstrong with Winona Ryder as Jo, and Little Women (2019), directed by Greta Gerwig with Saoirse Ronan as Jo and Florence Pugh as Amy.

Before them came the 1933 film with Katharine Hepburn and the 1949 color film with June Allyson and a young Elizabeth Taylor.

Little Women (1994)

Gillian Armstrong's film was the first version directed by a woman, and many readers still call it the closest to the book. It tells the story in order, from one Christmas to the years after, with snowy New England winters and a warm, glowing March household. Winona Ryder's Jo is passionate and a little vulnerable, Christian Bale plays a playful Laurie and Susan Sarandon is a calm, forward-thinking Marmee.

Amy is played by two actresses: Kirsten Dunst as the young girl and Samantha Mathis as the grown woman. Gabriel Byrne plays Professor Bhaer. The film earned three Oscar nominations, including Best Actress for Ryder, and costume design and music.

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Little Women (2019)

Greta Gerwig's version cuts the story in two and moves back and forth between the sisters as adults and their childhood seven years earlier. The past is shot in warm golden light, the present in cooler blue, so you always know where you are. Seeing Beth's illness and Amy's choices next to their younger selves makes old scenes hit in a new way.

Florence Pugh's Amy is the big change: no longer the spoiled little sister but a clear-eyed young woman who knows exactly how little choice women have. The film ends with a playful wink at Alcott herself, mixing Jo's story with the author's own fight to keep the rights to her book. It received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won for costume design.

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The older films: Hepburn and Allyson

George Cukor's 1933 film made Katharine Hepburn a star, and her energetic, boyish Jo is still the one some critics love best. The 1949 MGM remake was the first in color, with June Allyson as Jo, Janet Leigh as Meg, Margaret O'Brien as Beth and a teenage Elizabeth Taylor in a blonde wig as Amy. It won an Oscar for its art direction.

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Which Little Women film should you watch?

For a faithful, comforting version to share with family, choose 1994. For a fresh take that makes you rethink the story, especially Amy and the ending, choose 2019. Many fans watch both and argue happily about the best Laurie.

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Who played who in each film

Role	1994	2019	1933	1949
Jo	Winona Ryder	Saoirse Ronan	Katharine Hepburn	June Allyson
Meg	Trini Alvarado	Emma Watson	Frances Dee	Janet Leigh
Beth	Claire Danes	Eliza Scanlen	Jean Parker	Margaret O'Brien
Amy	Kirsten Dunst / Samantha Mathis	Florence Pugh	Joan Bennett	Elizabeth Taylor
Laurie	Christian Bale	Timothée Chalamet	Douglass Montgomery	Peter Lawford
Marmee	Susan Sarandon	Laura Dern	Spring Byington	Mary Astor
Director	Gillian Armstrong	Greta Gerwig	George Cukor	Mervyn LeRoy

More about Little Women

Next guideThe March Sisters: Little Women Characters Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy and Laurie Next guideWho Wrote Little Women, When, and Where Is It Set?Next guideIs Little Women a True Story? Louisa May Alcott and Her Sisters Next guideLittle Women Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending On Tori BooksLittle Women: the book page

Books Like Little Women

Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery Anne of the IslandL. M. Montgomery I Capture the CastleDodie Smith A Tree Grows in BrooklynBetty Smith Silas MarnerGeorge Eliot Anne of InglesideL. M. Montgomery Anne of AvonleaL. M. Montgomery Wives and DaughtersElizabeth Gaskell

This guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.