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Their Eyes Were Watching God
 
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Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)

Starring: Halle Berry, Ruben Santiago-Hudson Director: Darnell Martin Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: DVD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
List Price: $14.99
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Product Details

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Produced by Oprah Winfrey, this lush, yet earthy telefilm was adapted from the 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston. Set in rural Florida, the story begins several years after emancipation. Janie (a soulful Halle Berry) is a dreamy-eyed teenager, who never knew her parents. She was raised by the bitter Nanny (Ruby Dee), an ex-slave, who marries her off to an older man the minute she gets the chance. Mr. Killicks works Janie like a dog, but leaves her alone otherwise (he's abusive in the book). Then Janie meets the courtly Joe (Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues), who whisks her away from the muck to the black township of Eatonville. The two proceed to transform the town from a patch of dirt into a real community. Along the way, Joe becomes mayor and Janie a mere helpmate. Except for her friend Phoeby (Nicki Micheaux), the townspeople confuse her sadness for conceit and she ends up lonelier than ever. Twenty years later, Joe dies and Janie takes up with the younger Tea Cake (Michael Ealy, Barbershop). Much like the other literary adaptations with which she's been associated (The Color Purple, Beloved, etc.), this Oprah production boasts an impressive line-up of African-American talent, including Terrence Howard (Crash) as the covetous Amos. A mostly successful mix between suds and substance, Their Eyes Were Watching God, which premiered on ABC, was directed by Darnell Martin, co-written by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan Lori-Parks, and graced with a classy score by frequent Spike Lee collaborator Terence Blanchard. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

Oprah Winfrey Presents THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, the story of a remarkable and resilient woman's quest for love and fulfillment based on the best-selling book by Zora Neale Hurston. Academy Award(R) winner Halle Berry (Best Actress 2003, MONSTERS BALL) stars as the beautiful Janie Crawford, who embarks on an emotional and dramatic journey of self-discovery. Refusing to compromise in spite of society's expectations, Janie endures two stifling marriages until finally finding love in a passionate romance with a much younger man. In one of the greatest, most lyrical love stories ever written, Janie experiences all that life has to offer, from unbelievable triumph to unspeakable heartbreak. Be inspired again and again by this timeless story of passion, romance, and the spirit of true love. ~

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Customer Reviews

62 Reviews
5 star:
 (36)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (62 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars No Tribute to Zora Neale Hurston, February 14, 2006
By bookscout (lafayette, LA) - See all my reviews
After reading the book, I watched the film. What a disappointment the film was. The filmmakers have taken a book that explores the differences between women and men as well as issues of race, prejudice and class difference, and turned it into little more than a formulaic romance novel. I note that most of the reviewers who rated the film highly had not read the book. I encourage you to do so. It is such a rich novel--far richer than the film. What the screenwriter has done is purge the movie of all the more difficult issues the book deals with. Gone is Mrs. Turner's discussion of race and her prejudice against darker-skinned people. Gone is Janie's jealousy as well as the explanation for Tea Cake's violence (of course, Tea Cake's violence is gone, too, because he's supposed to be the romantic hero; romantic heroes can't hit their wives as Tea Cake does in the book). Gone are the conversations on the porch of Joe Starks store. Gone is Nanny's explanation of her reasoning for Janie's marriage to Logan Killicks. It's really too bad that the production company didn't have faith in Zora Neale Hurston's story and felt they had to over-simplify it; I'm sure the audience could have handled it in all its complexity.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Halle's best work, March 4, 2006
Oprah is responsible for the filming of this classic and it is a triumph indeed. It is based on the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Harlem Renaissance novelist, Zora Neale Hurston. The reknown Miss Hurston drew colorful depictions of of her community. She used colorful characterizations that illuminated the spitit of the black America.

Halle Berry plays heroine, "Janie", who is African American but actually looks white. Janie Crawford is raised by a strict grandmother she calls "Nanny." Nanny is determined to stamp out Janie's fire by marrying her off early. In my opinion, Berry shines in this role and pulls off Janie's sex appeal and beauty as described in Hurston's book.

Janie's marriage to the elderly first husband ends when she leaves him and walks off with husband number 2, Joe Starks, who promised to "show her the world." Hurston's descriptions of Janie's meticulous second husband is worth noting. We peer into their disagreements about how Janie should appear before the public as the mayor's wife and listen in on the gossip that follows as the townspeople marvel at her transformation into a lady.

Hurston's great dialogue captures the ongoing gossip of the townspeople who are quick to notice when things turn sour in Janie's house-hold. They wonder what she will do with herself when her husband dies, leaving her all his money.

You will champion Janie's strong will to be who she wanted to be and cheer her on as she sheds her mourning clothes and trades them in for pretty dresses, letting her proverbial hair down again!

When a gorgeous drifter by the name of Tea Cake comes to town, you sense what Janie will do once he catches her eye! Janie leaves her home, her business and memories of two stiffling marriages behind to run off with Tea Cake, played brilliantly by Michael Ealy. He and Halle definitely have chemistry on screen!

Of course he can't support Janie so they live off of her money until it runs out. She feels that Tea Cake's love "gave her the world everyday." Things take a turn for the worse when they both get caught in a hurricane and Tea Cake gets bitten by a rabid dog. Janie ends up putting him out of his misery and goes back home to relive her memories, never regretting the decision to live the way she wanted during her brief time with her man.

Rent this DVD and experience Janie's joie de vie in the sensual Juke joints dancing and laughing it up. But have your tissues ready for the tear jerking ending because it will definitely tug at your heart.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Woman Figthing to find her True Love, February 3, 2006

The movie "Their Eyes Were Watching God" i think deserves a 4 stars even if it had some differences from the book like: they never talk about her trail to see if she was innocent or guilty, Tea Cake never hit her and didn't show jealousy in the movie. In the Movie they didn't have the Characters Mrs.Tuner or her brother. But even all these differences it still had the same feeling as the book. It showed all her 3 husbands how Tea Cake made her feel, how Joe made her wear a rag on her hair, and etc.. This is why the movie deserves a 4 star rating. It changed a few things but it never changed the theme. Thanks for listening to Angie and Beba.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie
I was so very glad to get this movie, I had never seen it but heard about it...thanks for a great movie and a great price...I love amazon.....
Published 15 days ago by Lisa A. Wilson

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Movie!
I first saw this movie on HBO some years ago and I just simply loved it. The way that Halle Berry's character grows up being such a loving woman who does not allow herself to... Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. Reddick

3.0 out of 5 stars The book is better, great selection of actors for characterization
The book is much better. The movie does a great job of selecting the right actors for the roles. Janie, Killicks, and Jody look what I had imagined from the book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by John C. Dunbar

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE IT!
im so glad to finally have it on dvd, now i cant throw away my vhs tape of this, yaaaaay!
Published 3 months ago by T. Walker

5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie, good story
Having read the book years ago, and seeing this movie when it came out, I definitely wanted to add this DVD to my collection. Read more
Published 7 months ago by G. Tuggle

5.0 out of 5 stars Their Eyes Were Watching God
This is a really good movie. It's one of those movies that you can watch over and over.
Published 8 months ago by E. larrieu

4.0 out of 5 stars A Love Story to Cherish & Remember
I would personally like to thank Oprah Winfrey, Terrance Blanchard and Harpo productions for their lush, lighthearted, inspiring, and romantic adaptation of the Zora Heal Hurston... Read more
Published 13 months ago by M. Washington

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXCELLENT & POIGNANT FILM
A very poignant and well-acted story of love and spirit of the soul.
Halle Berry and Michael Ealy's love scenes are very sensual, yet
tasteful. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Bambi Shangri-La

3.0 out of 5 stars A good try!
This review is comparing the movie to the epic novel written by literary giant Zora Neale Hurston. The movie as a movie, in and of itself is not bad. Not bad at all. Read more
Published 19 months ago by angelsky7

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful love story
its full of pain an love an deception if you love good love stories that are not corny then you def need to check this one out you wont regret it i just ordered it. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Adviser

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