Product Details

• Actors: Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Tamu Blackwell, David Kruger
• Directors: John Berry
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: January 14, 2003
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007AJKK
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,738 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
It's easy to get hooked by Claudine, a lean, funny, Nixon-era movie about a romance nearly undone by a patronizing welfare system. Diahann Carroll stars as Claudine, single mother of six children in Harlem and a maid working for under-the-table wages. Forever worried that her white caseworker will discover her meager, outside income (thus eliminating meager government benefits), Claudine further complicates her domestic situation by falling in love with Roop (James Earl Jones). An affable Romeo and absent but financially supportive father of several kids, Roop by his presence jeopardizes Claudine's official status as a mom without means. The couple's decision to go forward results in welfare backlash, personal humiliation, family strain, and corrosive behavior. A sharp script layers the personal story within a socially conscious treatment, while Jones and Carroll's special chemistry turns the characters into fully rounded people. John Berry (From This Day Forward), an interesting if forgotten director, brings a clipped vitality to this urban affair. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best, November 14, 2002

By	thesavvybamalady "swblkdiamond" (Prichard, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews

I Love this movie.. And I am so glad that it's coming out on video. You have this woman with a lot of kids(Diahann Carroll), who is on welfare and works on the side to make ends meet. She meets this garbageman(James Earl Jones) who likes her despite the kids, dates her, and despite his own problems, want to marry her. In time,he gets cold feet and runs off for a minute thinking on the committment he's about to take on, but in the end, love rules the day. This movie,which the late Diana Sands got a hold of initially, was about to star in but got sick and later died, is so realistic. You have this woman who is on welfare, but works. You have this man who loves this woman, but he got kids from another relationship, and he got to pay for that too, then marry a woman with five kids?... That's enough to make anyone take a pause for the cause. Not to say it isn't a good idea. I have seen men do it and keep on going. But, it will make you think. A great movie by an unlikely actress. Diahann usually plays classier roles, yet she was good in this one so much so that she was nominated for an Oscar for that role.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Classic, August 13, 2004

By	Dorrie Wheeler - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Claudine (1974) (DVD)

This is a really great movie. Although it's 30 years old it is still captivating and relavent. I saw the movie for the first time in 2004 after I had heard about it for ages. Claudine has six kids--and don't ask her how she ended up with six kids. The kids are a handful. The relationship between Claudine and Roop (a handsome James Earl Jones) moves at lightning speed. They go from casual acquaintences to an intimate duo very quickly. Roop is quite a character, jovial, eccentric and captivated by Claudines beauty and her plight.

What impressed me the most about this film is the fact that although it is quite old (30 years), the issues that the film addresses (welfare fraud and welfare stipulations on women, failure to pay child support) are still issues that people deal with today.

This drama hits home, the only thing that just struck me is just how fast Claudine and Roops relationship progressed. Where was the getting to know each other? A good movie and a must have for your African American cinema collection.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A REAL TEAR JERKER!!!, July 15, 2003

By	A. R SCOTT "Alesha Scott" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Claudine (1974) (DVD)

THIS IS AN AWESOME MOVIE ABOUT A WOMAN ON WELFARE HAVING A HARD TIME RAISING SIX KIDS I LOVE THIS MOVIE I CRY EVERYTIME I SEE THIS MOVIE AND I LOVE IT I CAN WATCH IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT I LOVE THIS MOVIE.... I USED TO WATCH IT EVERYTIME THAT IT CAME ON TV WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL BUT NOW I AM DEFINITELY SURPRISED TO SEE THAT JAMES EARL JONES AND DIHANN CARROLL HAD ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO PLAY THESE ROLES BUT I HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR THE BOTH OF THESE VETERAN ACTORS THEY HAVE ALWAYS CARRIED THEMSELVES IN A VERY GOOD WAYS AND I HAVE ADMIRED ALL OF THEIR WORK BUT THIS IS A MUST MOVIE TO HAVE AND OWN ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIKE DIHANN CARROL AND JAMES EARL JONES BUT THIS MOVIE IS VERY EASY TO RELATE TO AND THE SOUNDTRACK IS ALSO CURTIS MAYFIELD ARRANGED, PRODUCED , AND COMPOSED THIS SOUNDTRACK CURTIS IS THE BABYFACE OF THE 70'S HE WAS AN AWESOME PERFORMER AND PRODUCER HE AND GLADY'S HAD DID AN EXCELLENT JOB ON THE SOUNDTRACK TO BE INVISIBLE, ON AN ON, MAKE YOURS A HAPPY HOME, ANY MANY GREAT OTHERS BUT I RECOMMEND THE VIDEO AND THE SOUNDTRACK YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH BOTH!!!!