Product Details

• Actors: Joanne Woodward, James Olson, Kate Harrington, Estelle Parsons, Donald Moffat
• Directors: Paul Newman
• Writers: Margaret Laurence, Stewart Stern
• Producers: Paul Newman, Arthur S. Newman Jr., Harrison Starr
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC, Full Screen
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: January 31, 1995
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300270203
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,543 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Few first-time directors have enough clout to attempt an interiorized psychological drama about a woman's fragile sense of identity. But if your name is Paul Newman, and your leading lady is also your Oscar-winning wife, and the year is 1968… well, you begin to see how Rachel, Rachel got made. Rachel, 35, lives with her mother in a small town, stifled by routine and her own repressed tendencies. During her summer break as a schoolteacher, a few upsetting things happen in short order: the attention of a fellow teacher (Estelle Parsons), an intense encounter at a church meeting, and especially the return of a high-school classmate (James Olson) who is looking for--as he frankly says--a little action. Based on the novel A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence, and scripted by the sensitive Stewart Stern (no coincidence that he also did the Rebel Without a Cause screenplay), Rachel, Rachel includes seamless flashbacks to the title character's childhood, neatly blending the adult experience to youthful traumas. Newman handles this with skill, but primarily he creates an open space for Woodward to shine: there's nothing trite or easy about her performance, nothing of the traditional Hollywood "spinster." Not surprisingly, she received one of the film's four Oscar nominations, along with nods for Parsons, Stern, and Best Picture; but Newman's direction was not nominated. Also notable: a lyrical score by Jerome Moross. Today the film has some traces of a Sixties artifact about it, but Woodward's performance, and the seriousness with which the picture approaches loneliness and inhibition, are still admirable. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCEPTIONAL CHARACTER STUDY, December 9, 1999

By 

"scotsladdie" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachel, Rachel [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Paul Newman made his directing debut with this story and he does a great job; whenever it threatens to bore, something always saves it. Rachel teaches by day, wearing simple, practical dresses and her hair up. By night she caters to her domineering mother by preparing refreshments for her parties. This sexually repressed spinster schoolteacher, however, gets one last chance at romance in her small Connecticut town. Woodward mixes just the right amounts of loneliness and sweetness in the leading role. Won Golden Globe and New York Film Critics awards for both Woodward and her husband Newman for best actress and best director respectively (they took home four awards between them).

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joanne Woodward is terrific!, April 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rachel, Rachel [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a quiet, insightful film that is blessed with a wise and wonderful performance by Joanne Woodward. Directed by her husband, Paul Newman, this film explores the plight of a 35-year old woman who has come to the crossroads of her life. She is a decent, lonely and loyal person who realizes that she must make a major change in her life, or continue an unfulfilled and sterile existence in a small town that offers her no chance of real happiness. Paul Newman really shows his skill as a director in bringing this story to life. Here, Joanne Woodward proves that she is one of the finest, if not THE best, actress of her generation. She makes the viewer care about Rachel Cameron; you feel her loneliness, her despair, her fears, and finally, her hope for a better future. Woodward's skill as an actress has always been her courage to portray unglamourous, real women with all their imperfections and foibles. This is a great performance. The ensemble supporting cast in this film is also wonderful. The sadly underappreciated Estelle Parsons gives a gutsy performance as Rachel's equally lonely school teacher friend. Kate Harrington, as Rachel's demanding mother, and Geraldine Fitzgerald are also fine. This is a great slice-of-life film that, in its own quiet but powerful way, tells you a lot about the human condition. Kudos to Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman!

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rachel, Rachel, A Triumph!, May 9, 2000

By 

Barbara K. (Freehold, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachel, Rachel [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It was so important to Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman that they make "a little film that meant something", that they didn't even take a salary from Warner Brothers. Also, they invested much of their own money to get its deep message across.

This incredible film from 1968 continues to stand the test of time. Woodward received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her sensitive portrayal of Rachel Cameron, a 35-year-old New England spinster who lives with her domineering, possessive mother. Rachel's world is very limited, due in part to her mother's constant nagging and neediness, and Rachel's own-self doubt. This is the story of a lonely, isolated woman who looks to find love with a man from her haunted past and how she breaks out of her shell. Early on, finding a man and having a child is the only way Rachel knows to find validation and meaning to her life. By the end of the story Rachel realizes that the only person that can give her true validation is herself.

Estelle Parsons also gives a stellar oscar-nominated performance. Parsons plays Rachel's emotionally tormented friend and co-worker, Calla, who is also lost within herself and is desperately trying to grasp at something...anything.

Ahead of its time, RACHEL, RACHEL also gives a positive view of lesbianism and acceptance. The fact that the subject of homosexuality was even addressed was rare for a major studio release at that time.

Paul Newman's directorial debut has a powerful impact. RACHEL, RACHEL is a melancholy masterpiece that should not be missed.

I will also add, however, that this film is very intense and meant to be watched with no distractions, as its message is meaningful; the symbolism is at times subtle.

If any potential viewer is the type that leaves the room to do something while the movie is on, and then comes back to pick it up again, he or she shouldn't even bother as its message will be lost.