Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Midwife's Tale is well-researched., January 27, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Midwife's Tale, A [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I urge watchers of the video to also read Ulrich's book. It is wonderful--with the help of a personal computer and research in Maine records, she has tracked down the meaning of Martha Ballard's cryptic comments in her midwifery record book. But there are details in the video that aren't in the book, because the video attempts to recreate the missing part of the record--the daily activities, the physical feel of the people and buildings involved, the historical verity that helps us envision late 18th century life. I am a historic reenactor and am ordering the video to share with my fellows who are working to present to the public a view of the past that is as accurate as we can. Because the video was filmed in the East where 18th century sites and artifacts as well as costumers are more common than in my part of the U.S., we can watch to catch a lot of details other audiences take for granted. (History teachers might also have these motives.) Another thing that fascinated me when I saw the film on PBS was that the actors were unfamiliar to me. They look like real people, not movie stars. Family dynamics were more believable and souring relationships took on terrific poignancy. "The Midwife's Tale" is a good antedote to the simplistic visions we get of the early Republic. Domestic and community life is shown, with just tangent references to the outside world of politics and government. Anyone working with a bicentennial project--such as Lewis & Clark celebrations--should spend some time with this video (and the book).
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"a film of almost tactile pleasure and keen intelligence", March 14, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Midwife's Tale, A [VHS] (VHS Tape)
A Midwife's Tale (adapted from Laurel Ulrich's Pulitzer Prize winning book) unfolds like a detective story -- the true tale of two women, two hundred years apart, linked by the diary one of them left behind. The reviewer for the Boston Globe wrote, "A Midwife's Tale is a film of almost tactile pleasure and keen intelligence -- a rare combination." The film, which opened the 10th season of the PBS series The American Experience, has won a national prime-time Emmy for best non-fiction programming, the Silver Spire (San Francisco Film Festival), the top media award of the American Association of State and Local History, the New England Historical Association's Media Award, and the Kodak Vision Award.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
After the first 15 minutes, it gets FANTASTIC!!!, June 1, 2001
This review is from: Midwife's Tale, A [VHS] (VHS Tape)
When I watched this VHS movie for the first time, I wasn't expecting much. I very nearly turned it off because the first 15 minutes were boring and slow. But once they got past the yada, yada, yada and into this woman's life story, it was completely enthralling. I watched it a second time with the family, fast forwarding past the boring introduction. The fam also found it very interesting. The movie is kind of a docu-drama, recreated from the detailed diary of a 1780's midwife. The details about life back then are just beyond description. One tidbit - premarital sex wasn't the scandal that we'd expect in those times. However, a woman would be asked, in the throes on intense labor, to name the father of the baby. The woman's testimony during these intense moments was considered solid and incontrovertible. If the baby's father refused to marry the woman, THAT was scandalous. This movie was filled with those kind of details. I can't recommend this VHS-tape enough. One of the best movies I think I've ever seen.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
