Product Details

• Actors: Sam Waterston, Jennifer Beals, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Tim Daly, Shirley Douglas
• Directors: John Kent Harrison
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: November 14, 2000
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004XPQI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,838 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quiet Bombshell, April 3, 2003

By A Customer

I can't say enough good things about this low-budget gem. Fine acting and a gripping plot make this a must see. Based on the story of a mulatto girl who returns to her father's plantation to take back what is hers, this tale uncovers many an ugly skeleton in America's closet. It shows better than any other drama(Amistad included!), the refined cruelties of slavery and the obnoxious ideology behind it. The girl, Miss Dickson, returns to a post-civil war Georgia beseiged with a bigotry almost as appalling as slavery itself. Denied the land and house rightfully left to her by her slave-master father(superbly portrayed by the stellar Sam Waterson), she enlists the help of a noble lawyer, who dares to serve justice and not Jim Crow. Together, they trudge towards a final victory which takes Miss Dickson back through the ravages and diappointments of time, where ever since childhood, her 'blackness' and mother's identity have been kept in secret. The film does an amazing job of mixing the past with the present, making them appear indivisible. Resented and rejected by the other slaves, she tries to 'pass' into the white world, which ultimately scorns her, once her 'secret' is divulged. The Miss must confront who she is and that means acknowledging and accepting her slave mother. These scenes between mother and daughter are particuarly poignant and moving. The film shows just how much degradation you had to endure if you were a black woman in 19th century America. Perhaps the best performance of the film was that of Julia, Miss Dickson's mother. The dignity of her character still managed to shine, despite all the endless humiliation she had to suffer. Unlike most slave-period dramas, A House dares to show how whites were also prisoners of their own system of prejudice, one that forbid interracial love. But not rape. The film artfully sculpts the amibiguous relationship between Waterson's character, David Dickson, slave owner, and that of Julia. Despite the brutal rape, the nature of his feelings for Julia remain a series of speculation....did he really feel something for her.....shame at what he had done.....affection....respect..... dependence.....we are never quite sure.....the film keeps you guessing. Like a good film should. If you want a great piece of drama that tells the ignominous story of American racism as it really was and unfortunatley, still is, then A House Divided is the one to watch.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Movie, December 29, 2000

By A Customer

I really enjoyed this movie. It is based on a true story. David Dickson is a brave man who willed his fortune to his daughter. His daughter was the product of an affair with his slave. He angered his family and the town that he lived in but justice prevailed and his daughter was giving the fortune that rightfully belonged to her. The movie offers an intriguing view of the times before and after the civil war and it is a great testament to the love a father has for his daughter. This is a great movie worth watching.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A House Divided, January 16, 2002

By	Denise D. Pitts (Ohio) - See all my reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I loved the candor with which the film portrays the characters and struggles they endured in the face of unflinching opposition. Although, these events took place during very racially charged times Miss Julia, Miss Dickson and Mr. Daly quitely and courageously pursued and obtained justice. I was pleasantly and refreshingly surprised to get to the end of the movie and find it based on a true story!