Customer Reviews

Independence Day [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie was one of the most moving stories I had seen during the 1980s. The seriousness it addressed concerning spousal abuse, suicide, cancer, and true romance was unforgettable. It was the sleeper movie of the 80s. The performances in this movie by David Keith, Kathleen Quinlan, and Diane Weist are exceptional.

A young woman who dreams of leaving her small town to follow her dreams of becoming a photographer. Particailly held back by her love for local mechanic and a terminally ill relative;she fights to make her dreams a reality. Diane Weist gives a superb performance as the physically abused housewife.

I say again, would someone please release this film in DVD format!
It is a true gem, addressing the challenges and dreams of us all.
Somebody??? Anybody???

This movie was very hard to find as all the searches come up with the glitzy movie with Will Smith. This is a totally different movie, with a plot about the personal drama going on in people's lives in a small town. I don't want to give away what happened at the end, but it is a movie I would want to see again.

I have thought about this movie since seeing it many years ago and hoped to find it out on dvd. Dianne Wiest gives the most memorable performance ever, and it this film that made me remember her much later. It there is ever a retrospective of her career, this role should not be forgotten.

Before she won her two oscars and had other film successes, Dianne Wiest made this film in which she plays a sweet but troubled abused housewife. Her story takes up roughly one third of the film, and it's gripping and moving. She really deserved an oscar nomination for this early role, but very few people saw the film. (It got little critical notice, though Pauline Kael raved about Wiest in a review published months after the film finished its brief run.) The rest of the movie is nice, and has good actors like Kathleen Quinlan and Frances Sternhagen in it; and David Keith is good too, especially in his caring for sister Wiest. But the abused wife story is so strong that the film's "small town folk who long to go on to bigger things in life" theme pales in comparison. But really the Wiest story and her performance are remarkable, if it ever shows up on tv. Or someone puts it out on dvd.

Such an enjoyable lovely movie. IT is also so moving because a brother is trying to protect his sweet sister from an abusive husband. I think the movie is light enough to enjoy and intense enough to be interesting.

I had first seen this movie in the late 1980s, and was moved by the beautiful story and the impressive performances by all the main actors and actresses. As I have written elsewhere, there are several other such (grossly) neglected sleepers (including Letters from an Unknown Woman and Madame Sousatzka) that ought to be digitized, restored and transferred to DVD format. Each movie in this category has outstanding cultural and human value, and should be available for far wider circulation. Commercial value, as in so much else in human experience, should not be the primary determinant in making this possible.

This film tackled the issue of spousal abuse quite powerfully so many years earlier. The barrage of verbal and physical abuse inflicted upon Diane Wiest's character (by primarily her husband, but to a lesser degree by her own father) cannot but fail to tug at one's heart, and impel one to try to remedy such inexcusable cruelty and arrogance.

Diane Wiest, David Keith, Frances Sternhagen, Cliff DeYoung- all give sterling and compelling performances in the film. Wiest is the abused wife driven to suicide; Keith the decent and sensitive brother who tries his utmost to support and rescue his sister; Sternhagen is the cancer-stricken mother whose love for her daughter is palpable throughout the story (the scene where she encourages her daughter, played by Kathleen Quinlan, to accept a college scholarship in California so she might study photography, and offers her money to support herself, is truly heartwarming), and DeYoung is the alcoholic wife-beater. The film is not merely an exercise in sentimentality- it tells a realistic story with very believable characters that portray aspects of human character and behavior with great skill.

Stacked against such outstanding performances, the work by Kathleen Quinlan shines brighter than the rest. She is grippingly attractive, sensual, articulate, bright, care-free (looking supremely self-confident even when smoking, or watching her flame, David Keith, racing his car) and, most of all, courageous and caring enough to stand up to Diane Wiest's tormentors. Quinlan made this film the cinematic experience it is; the music adds to the dramatic environment in the film also.

Clearly, this film in my opinion called for Oscar-level recognition for both Quinlan and Wiest. Yet, as happens quite often, it has languished in the shadows all these years.

I cannot sufficiently recommend a DVD release of this beautiful gem of a film.

What a nice change to watch a decent movie without all the hype and special effects of movies today. A heartwarming story that makes you cry and laugh all at the same time. Really enjoyed it and will watch it again and again.