Their Eyes Were Watching God
Actor(s):
Halle Berry, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Michael Ealy, Nicki Micheaux, Lorraine Toussaint
Director(s):
Darnell Martin
Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Publisher(s):
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Binding: DVD
MPN: DISD41636D
Format(s): Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
List Price: $19.99
Our Price: $14.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Editorial Reviews
Description
Oprah Winfrey Presents THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, the story of a remarkable and resilient woman's quest for love and fulfillment based on the best-selling book by Zora Neale Hurston. Academy Award(R) winner Halle Berry (Best Actress 2003, MONSTERS BALL) stars as the beautiful Janie Crawford, who embarks on an emotional and dramatic journey of self-discovery. Refusing to compromise in spite of society's expectations, Janie endures two stifling marriages until finally finding love in a passionate romance with a much younger man. In one of the greatest, most lyrical love stories ever written, Janie experiences all that life has to offer, from unbelievable triumph to unspeakable heartbreak. Be inspired again and again by this timeless story of passion, romance, and the spirit of true love. ~
Amazon.com
Produced by Oprah Winfrey, this lush, yet earthy telefilm was adapted from the 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston. Set in rural Florida, the story begins several years after emancipation. Janie (a soulful Halle Berry) is a dreamy-eyed teenager, who never knew her parents. She was raised by the bitter Nanny (Ruby Dee), an ex-slave, who marries her off to an older man the minute she gets the chance. Mr. Killicks works Janie like a dog, but leaves her alone otherwise (he's abusive in the book). Then Janie meets the courtly Joe (Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues), who whisks her away from the muck to the black township of Eatonville. The two proceed to transform the town from a patch of dirt into a real community. Along the way, Joe becomes mayor and Janie a mere helpmate. Except for her friend Phoeby (Nicki Micheaux), the townspeople confuse her sadness for conceit and she ends up lonelier than ever. Twenty years later, Joe dies and Janie takes up with the younger Tea Cake (Michael Ealy, Barbershop). Much like the other literary adaptations with which she's been associated (The Color Purple, Beloved, etc.), this Oprah production boasts an impressive line-up of African-American talent, including Terrence Howard (Crash) as the covetous Amos. A mostly successful mix between suds and substance, Their Eyes Were Watching God, which premiered on ABC, was directed by Darnell Martin, co-written by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan Lori-Parks, and graced with a classy score by frequent Spike Lee collaborator Terence Blanchard. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Customer Reviews
AN EXCELLENT & POIGNANT FILM
A very poignant and well-acted story of love and spirit of the soul.
Halle Berry and Michael Ealy's love scenes are very sensual, yet
tasteful. The supporting actors are well-cast and the cinematography
makes you feel that you are there. My only complaint is the intro by
producer Oprah Winfrey. She sets the story up referencing some kiss
which takes place in the movie. In her best "I'm Oprah and $8 billion
makes me an authority on everything" tone, she says something like
"once you receive a kiss like that, you'll be ready to go to God". She
implied that she was still waiting for such a moment. Well, I'm
intrigued by this because, although I believed that I'd experience "the
kiss of life" in 1991, I'm always down for another one. So I cue up the
DVD and wait and wait and wait - distracted from the real story,
waiting for "The Kiss". Many steamy kisses go by, but nothing worth
dying over. I guess I've "been there, done that" in the kiss arena
while Oprah has only been shopping. Girlfriend, get rid of Stedman and
get a thug in your life!"
Viewers, ignore the distracting plug about the kiss - even if you
haven't had it yet. Just sit down and enjoy a great story of true love
and a woman who lived her life to the fullest. We can all learn from
her lesson here
A good try!
This review is comparing the movie to the epic novel written by literary giant Zora Neale Hurston. The movie as a movie, in and of itself is not bad. Not bad at all. In fact is captivating, moving, and very well done. However, there are a few things that Hurston would have been upset over.
1) The title: In the movie Janie is always the one "watching God." Yet in the novel "their eyes" were watching Him. Meaning it was Janie, Teacake, and another guy watching God in the eye of a storm. That guy wasn't even present in the film.
2)The novel covered more broad issues than a woman's love life. Ex. race, gender, etc... However, that was all the movie focused on.
3) Certain scenes that were vital to understanding the movie were cut. Namely, Nanny (her grandma) dying. How is the movie watcher supposed to understand how the grandma dissappears from the scene. Or the court scene of Janie being tried for the death of Teacake.
Overall, it deserves an A for effort not Accuracy.
beautiful love story
its full of pain an love an deception if you love good love stories that are not corny then you def need to check this one out you wont regret it i just ordered it. the first time i saw it was on tv an tv takes a lot the good parts out, so i cant wait to actually own it an see the whole movie
Lyrical
There is a certain lyrical beauty about this film. A thinly veiled Hurston lives vicariously through Janie, who wanders through life looking for a man who will bring her fresh strawberries and go fishing by moonlight--and she finds him in Tea Cake.
Oprah's intro to this film is telling when she says that a woman can die happy after being kissed by a man like Tea Cake.
In short, the film is masterfully filmed, character-driven and true to the era of the story.
Excellent for teachers
This is a great product for teachers to use in the classroom as the dialect is sometimes hard for students to understand. Ruby Dee does a great job reading the novel and she does voices for everyone. My students thoroughly enjoyed listening to this in class.
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