The Women of Brewster Place
by Donna Deitch
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DVD details
Actor: Mary Alice, Moses Gunn, Olivia Cole, Oprah Winfrey, Robin GivensDirector: Donna Deitch
Brand: Allegro
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 180 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-02-03
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: XENON
DVD Reviews of The Women of Brewster Place
DVD Review: Excellent movie, but awful dvd
Summary: 4 Stars
Being too young to watch Brewster Place when it originally aired in 1989, I had the pleasure of seeing it when I was older and it's one of my favorite tv miniseries ever. Based on Gloria Naylor's award winning 1982 novel, The Women of Brewster Place chronicles the lives and struggles of seven black women in the bleak, 60's era inner city neighborhood Brewster Place.
Daytime talk diva Oprah Winfrey (who also served as producer) stars as Mattie Michael, a middle aged woman who's had her fair share of pain and disappointment. Shunned by her parents after becoming a teen mom, Mattie is forced to move once more to the rundown housing project after her young son is accused of murder and flees authorities, causing her to lose her home. She quickly becomes the matriarch of the community, viewed as a source of strength and comfort to the other women.
Jackee Harry (of 227 and Sister, Sister fame) is Mattie's man hungry, love starved friend Etta Mae Johnson. Desperately longing for security and stability, she moves from one louse to the next until she settles into Brewster Place. Robin Givens portrays Melanie "Kiswana" Browne, a naive, idealistic girl who abandons her privileged middle class upbringing and college education to find her "black roots" in Brewster Place. She makes it her mission to bring social change to the neighborhood, no matter how challenging and impossible it seems. Screen legend Cicely Tyson has a short scene as Kiswana's dissaproving mother, but she uses her time to shine with an amazing monologue.
Ciel Turner (Lynn Whitfield), the granddaughter of a kind woman who took Mattie and her son into her home many years ago, is a young wife and mother struggling to keep her family together. However, she loses it all in order to find herself. Cora Lee (Phyllis Yvonne Stickney) is the neglectful mother of a brood of rowdy kids (think the 60's version of Octomom) always causing a ruckus for the neighbors. Obsessed with baby dolls since childhood, the woman thinks of her own children as dolls when they're infants, but loses interest in them once they're older.
Lorraine (Lonette McKee) is one half of a lesbian couple who feels unwelcomed by many in the community. Her partner Theresa (Paula Kelly) couldn't care less about being judged, but Lorraine's need for acceptance is consuming and she befriends Ben (Moses Gunn), friendly older man who genuinely cares for her. Unfortunately the mean and spiteful gossip Miss Sophie (Olivia Cole) enjoys causing trouble for the couple by spreads all kinds of vicious rumors about them. She gets put in her place soon enough though.
A shocking act of violence brings everyone in the community together and gives them the power to fight back against racism, homophobia, violence against women, drugs, and other struggles of inner city life.
The acting is truly remarkable. You feel for all of the characters (even Miss Sophie to a degree) and root for them to overcome the corruption and hopelessness surrounding them. It's painful to see Lorraine yearning for acceptance from the other tenants and being shot down at every turn. Poor Ciel about to lose her sanity when all that is near and dear to her is destroyed, but Mattie does everything in her power to pull her back from the brink.
My only gripe (and a very big one) is that many key scenes are cut out of this DVD edition. I won't rehash them all, but it's annoying and plain unfair to pay for a movie you love with certain scenes missing. Instead of buying this edition, look for the Original Uncut Version released this past February. It's much better when you get to see this moving drama in its entirety.
Description of The Women of Brewster Place
Studio: Allegro Media Group Release Date: 01/24/2006Bestsellers in DVD
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