Customer Reviews

Bernice Bobs Her Hair

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I guess this is the type of movie that students are expected to watch and write reports on and that's kinda too bad, because the American Short Stories series is definitely one of the best series on TV.

This F. Scott Fitzgerald story is one of the best from the series as it captures the attitude of the times, the '20's. The teenagers are all affecting such sophistication. Bernice isn't used to this New York City sophistication, and is painfully shy at first on her visit, but finds herself prodded and pushed. The lesson is eventually learned, the lesson that it's best to be yourself since nobody else can do as good a job at being you as you can.

Importantly, the lesson is given to us in a most entertaining manner. One who hasn't become acquainted with Fitzgerald should find this taste of his skills addictive.

Well worth watching.

This adaptation actually merits four stars; Shelley Duvall and Veronica Cartwright shine in their roles as Bernice and her more popular cousin Marjorie. Duvall is especially well-cast as the gawky, socially-inept outsider. The period details (furniture, clothing, hair) are exact and give this period piece authenticity so that when Bernice finally goes through with the title act, we can see why bobbing one's hair would be considered so shocking. The scene in the barbershop, where the audience just sees the horrified faces of the onlookers with the sound of scissors snipping away at Bernice's hair in the background, is the high point of the story.

The problem is with the DVD itself. This transfer looks as though it was pulled right off a set of film reels that had been sitting in a closet for years. There is an omnipresent hiss throughout the movie, the audio is muffled at times, and the picture looks washed out. The film should have been remastered before being put on the market; this production deserves a lot better.

This was a hard film to find. I had to finally track it down through my local library and they had to find it and have it shipped to Indpls. just for me to watch. I am a Bud Cort fan so it was worth the wait, and the hunt. It is a hoot! It is very slow moving, but don't be fooled. it allows Bud Cort and Shelley Devuall to play and I loved it.

I remember screening the whole series in 1976 when I interviewed Bob Geller, the executive producer. A variable project with some wonderful moments, "Bernice" was one of the very best of these adaptations. Joan Silver perfectly contrasted jazz age innocence with the sometimes confusing mores of the era Fitzgerald was so expert at capturing. The casting and direction were near perfect. Shelley Duvall was wonderful as the title character. Ditto Veronica Cartwright and Bud Cort (check out "Heat" to see what the years can do). Now, the caveat. This film, indeed, this series, deserves a superior transfer. This is plain awful. The image reveals all of the uncorrected flaws of the 16mm original. And, the sound reproduction offers endless unfiltered analog tape hiss. The wonderful Dick Hyman score (several other key production members also worked for Woody Allen around this time) is essentially wasted in this aural mess.
Too bad, too. These little gems offered top talent in front of and behind the camera. And, as was the intention of the project, they served as an introduction to important American short literature. If only someone could redo these DVDs state of the art, with valuable extras such as interviews, story to film comparison, commentaries, production and costume design, etc. And, the price is a little high for a single short film, too,

I'm a high school English teacher and purchased the video to show my students after reading the short story "Bernice Bobs Her Hair". The video was a little boring, mostly because it's so dated. However, it really helped my students to visualize the story. It sticks to the written version wonderfully, and the characters fit Fitzgerald's descriptions very well.

One of the most entertaining adaptations I know. The script is excellent, the performances perfect, the whole less-than-an-hour story is involving and funny and sad and subtle. After enjoying it for years and then watching it with my eight-year-old son whom I didn't expect to respond to such muted teenage romantic tensions, I was surprised that even he "got it" and laughed because the actors played their roles so effectively.
But it's also one of the most poorly produced pieces, technically, that I know. Student-grade filming. I assume it's shot on 16mm film. The audio is muffled. It's a shame that such good acting and interacting was not served with better production.

I think that this story was one of the better movies that we have watched in our english classes. It kept you wondering what was gonna happen and you wanted so see the end because the people are so different than today. The people that are friends with Marjorie are all stuck up and stick to their own social group and when Bernice comes they all look down on her. Marjorie thinks that Bernice is ruining her summer so she teaches her to "fit in" with her people. Bernice tries hard but when she bobs her hair then everyone frowns on her again. I think this story is a good one to watch in class because it is funny and shows you how you shouldn't give into peer pressure.

This was a good school movie. I must say that it is not the best one that I have ever seen, considering I work in a video store and see most of the movies that come out. It tells alot about the peer pressure that we face as teenagers. You have to be outgoing in this day and age to even be noticed. Not that I mind, even if you didn't have to be I probably would. You are always having to impress people. The way Bernice gets noticed is asking people if she should bob her hair. It went too far when her cousin Margorie pushes her to actually do it. Margorie is a shallow person that needs people to pay her attention constantly and when Bernice, the kind one, starts getting too much attention, Margorie gets jealous. Therefore Margorie gets her attention back by pushing Bernice to bob her hair on the spur of the moment. Bernice got revenge in the end though and it serves the shallow one, Margorie, right. It is just like America in general. It was a good movie and I will tell others about it.

This was a pretty good movie, as far as films for English class go. It's based on a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is why we watched it in English. The actress who plays Bernice looked like she was starving to death and would keel over at any minute. She also had quite a massive wig. But beyond it being painful to look at the main character, it was a pretty decent film. In it, a girl named Bernice goes to stay with her aunt and her cousin, Marjorie for a few weeks of her summer. Bernice wasn't too popular with boys, and as Marjorie got sick of asking boys to dance with her, she complained to her mother about how Bernice was ruining her summer. Bernice overheard her cousin complaining, and got really depressed and refused to go out for about a day, before asking Marjorie to help her become socially appealing. Marjorie told her a few lines, and showed her a few moves, and, sure enough, Bernice became instantaneously popular. To make herself appear more daring, Bernice announced that she intended to bob her hair, after Marjorie suggested it. Soon, all the boys were calling on Bernice, including Warren, the boy that had been persuing Marjorie for years. Marjorie became jealous, and decided to remind Bernice of her promise to bob her hair, while the two of them were on a picnic with Marjorie's group of friends. Instead of backing out, like Marjorie expected her to, Bernice announced she would bob her hair, and they all piled into their cars and took off for the barber shop at the breakneck speed of 10 miles per hour. Even when the barber told her he had never cut women's hair, Bernice didn't back down. So, the barber bobbed Bernice's hair, but the results weren't quit what Bernice had imagined. In conclusion, this was a decent movie that tells a lot about teenagers, and has some funny scenes and lines, and a hilarious ending. I'd recommend watching it as an entertaining and educational experience.

This is by far the best movie I have ever seen. I decided the first time I saw it on PBS that it was a great reflection of Fitzgerald's style. The surprise ending is wonderful! I would recommend this to anyone who has ever enjoyed this author's works.