Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Blistering performances.

I first saw this movie in the early 1990s right after it came out on video. My then wife worked in a video store and brought new releases home for my second opinion. This movie is riveting...it is a classic docudrama (fiction mixed with fact) and, as I titled my commentary, "we are there." First there are two Oscar-winning actresses (Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg) and a versatile actor (Dwight Schultz of "The A-Team" proving there's life after that cult series). The gradual mixture of fact (Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, the boycott, etc.) mixed with fiction (the bonding between the two women, the way the wife stands up to the husband, etc.) makes this the quintessential docudrama...recommended (required?) viewing for anyone who went through that era!! In some ways it's not just the birth of the civil rights movement, it's the birth of Southern feminism (the daughter could have very well grown up to be any of the women on "Designing Women")!! Again, this movie packs a big wallop to anyone who views it...we, the audience are given a "fly on the wall" viewpoint...we are there!!!

I've never quite understood why this movie was never a success. It has all the great qualities and ingredients that one looks for in a good drama. Historical or not. Aside from "The Color Purple",this is one of Whoopi Goldbergs finest movies.She certainly should have gotten an Oscar for this role (which would have made more sense to me than winning from her smaller role in "Ghost"). The movie did moderate to lesser business at the main box office and in no time at all,was in the "cheap" theater's. That is where I saw this in 1991 and it was "the" best movie I saw in that kind of theatre (until Ray in Feb. 2005).The story of how Goldberg's character has to walk many miles from her home to her housekeeper's job across town,speaks volumes on how the times were in 1950s south. Nearly 100 years after the civil-war had liberated them,blacks were still treated as second or third rate citizens.I agree this is a great movie for kids learning about the downsides in our country's history,as well as the positives. As seen above ten stars is my vote and I hope this movie is your vote for renting,buying or checking out from a library. It's a simply,honest look at prejudice and the ways man can be so unkind to each-other. It's a great film,period. (END)

I loved this movie. The acting was spectacular but what I really liked was the understated tone. So many movies about the history of civil rights make everything so big and dramatic. It was big and dramatic but most people were still working and living their lives. This movie shows how a person can wake up to the world around them and change. It is not a huge shift but once she sees clearly, she can not go back. Her life will be changed forever. It is really beautifully done.I found myself wanting to know more about the characters in the story. What happened the next day? Did the husband join his wife or did they divorce? Did the two women remain friends? Anyway, it was great!

This movie should be shown to every White person over the age of 16! The reason I say that is because it tells the cold, hard truth of what Blacks had to go through back in the 60's and it's not sugarcoated at all. It's not being said to make people feel guilty over something that they probably never took part in, but to educate people in what most public school systems DON'T teach about. As someone of primarily Native American descent who considers themselves pretty educated about Black history, I myself was very shocked and saddened at the brutality that Black Americans had to face (and still do at times). A picture (or movie) is worth a thousand words. This movie would be educational to everyone who views it. I would definitely recommend this movie to others.