Product Details

• Actors: Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton
• Directors: William Wyler
• Writers: Jessamyn West, Michael Wilson
• Producers: William Wyler, Harry F. Hogan, Robert Wyler, Walter Mirisch
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Special Edition, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: October 13, 1998
• Run Time: 137 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305128324
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,551 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Item Name: Friendly Persuasion; Studio: Warner Home Video

Product Description

For two years the Civil War has been elsewhere. Now Confederate forces are nearby, looting and burning. It is time to fight back, Jess Birdwell's neighbors insist. Yet Birdwell, a Quaker, knows there must be a better way to settle things.

Year: 1956

Director: William Wyler

Starring: Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cooper is magnificent, July 16, 2000

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friendly Persuasion [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a lovely movie, beautifully photographed on location (no phony Hollywood sets here). The performances are stellar throughout, but Gary Cooper is outstanding as the family patriarch. Watch him acting, the subtle shifts in gait, his facial expressions and nuances make him the great star that he was. They don't make 'em like Cooper anymore. Anthony Perkins is also excellent as the vacillating Josh Birdwell, the Quaker boy gone off to fight in the Civil War and Dorothy McGwire is quietly effective. There is much humor throughout the movie, you'll laugh our loud many times.

This is a great movie for everyone in the family, adults and children alike. "Wholesome" is an old-fashioned concept, this this movie lives up to that billing.

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars About Quakers By A Quaker, December 18, 2003

By 

"ynscyp1" (Tacoma, Wa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friendly Persuasion (DVD)

This is my favourite movie and I refer people to it often to explain the Quaker Distinctive of Non-Resistance (pacifism is something different). Based on the book by Jessamine West (who was also the consultant on the set), there are many 'inside' jokes only a Quaker (Friend) would get. Many non-Plain Faith people think we plod peacefully and quietly along through life (refering to noise level and degree of emotions), and that our children are born that way, too. This movie does an excellent job of showing we are all human, laugh, cry, etc., and especially why Quakers (Friends) do not bleieve in 'returning violence for violence done' (one of Dorothy McGuire's lines), why we do not believe in the 'glory' of war (there isn't any), and why we stress the sacredness of all human life. I also like how, when the teenage son (Anthony Perkins) feels compelled to choose differently, his dad reminds the mother (who is not just an Elder, but the Recorded Minsister of the Meeting) that one of the principal beliefs of Friends is each individual being directly responsible for their own actions/decisions to God through their individual consciences. An outstanding movie, with lots to keep you intertained and interested all the way through. Look for the humorous scene with Marjory Main (Ma from the Ma and Pa Kettle movies).

76 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Hollywood, Not Bad, August 19, 2002

By 

Jedidiah Palosaari "Not My Real Name" (Fes, Morocco) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Friendly Persuasion [VHS] (VHS Tape)

There's been a lot of give and take on this movie, questioning how good it is at representing true Quakers, and rightfully so. But as a member of Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, I enjoyed it. It is fairly well acted, and full of humor. It also is probably the best one can expect from Hollywood as far as accuracy.

The humor itself is very revealing, often circling around the tendency now, and especially during the Civil War, for Friends to lapse into legalism- such as in issues of dancing, gambling, singing, and racing- in their attempt to truly follow the Spirit and the Word. The movie also accurately represents the wide range of views that Friends had in response to taking up arms in the Civil War (and again in the World Wars), with some choosing to fight and some to nonviolently resist. It brings up the interesting questions of how to respond to one's son who chooses to kill another human, when one wants to honor the child's ability to listen to God.

There are other glimmers of philosophy: the difference between militancy and militarism, as displayed by one strong-feeling pacifist Quaker at the beginning; some wonderful nonviolent action practiced by Gary Cooper and his wife upon each other. She doesn't want an organ in the house, so sleeps in the barn until he removes it. He responds by putting the organ in the house, and then going to sleep in the barn along side her, coming along with her suffering. The end result is compromise, because of the love shown in strong conviction.

I would have liked to see stronger convictions displayed by the Quakers represented. It does seem that too many of them choose the side of violence and darkness, or do not stick with their convictions. But at least one holds out. And I don't remember another movie I've ever seen where the man is shooting at his enemy, and yet crying at the same time- not from fear of war, but because he loves his enemy so much. The language of "thee" and "thou" was also grammatically inaccurate. A Friends production could have done better, but for Hollywood, it was pretty good. And I liked how, as I left the movie, I felt transported back to another time, when the greeting were still full of First Days and Friends.