Rating: 
Summary: kohner
Review: Truly a guilty pleasure. On the one hand, the racial issue in this movie was considered enlightened in 1959 (by Hollywood standards of the time, anyway); by today's standards, it has some squirm-worthy moments, especially when the Juanita Moore's Annie Johnson asks lily-white Lana Turner's Lora Meridith to "Just let me do for you" without pay (Then again, Annie might have been ahead of her time _ a single mother on her own who was savvy enough to find a kindred soul in fellow single mother Turner). On the other hand, this is a tear-jerker/soap opera supreme, which truly comes to life when the smoldering Susan Kohner enters the picture. She is both sexy and vulnerable, and, while some may (quite correctly) question a white actress playing a light-skinned African-American role (compared to the 1934 version of this film, which featured an authentic African-American actress in the same role), Kohner does her part justice, all sex, rage, and ready-to-burst emotion (Watch where she kicks a stuffed animal across her room). She is much more interesting than squeaky white-bread Sandra Dee, and, well...let's face it, she is stunning (And when then-unknown-but-just-about-to-be-a-star Troy Donahue slaps her around and uses the vile N-word, she makes a harrowing scene even more horrific). Beyond looks, Kohner steals the whole last 10 minutes of the film (If you haven't seen it, stop reading here)when she clutches the flowers on her mother's coffin and weeps "I didn't mean it...Momma...I loved you." Over-the-top sentiment? Yes. Dated but well-intentioned messages about race and society? Yes. But Susan Kohner's performance alone both makes this get-out-your-hankies weeper ever more weepy and adds a touch of sophistication to a movie aspiring to prestiege.
Rating: 
Summary: All time favourite, Imitation of Life
Review: I have to say of all the films I have watched this is one which sticks out in my mind as time after time it reduces me to tears, what a tear jerker!!! The film focuses on a young white single mother and her struggle for fame as an actress played by Lana Turner. Her friend and maid played by Juanita Moore does a brilliant performance of a black single mother bringing up a child in the fifties. It touches on many issues including the identity crisis of a young black child trying to hide her parentage with tragic consequences. Fantastic, script and performance by all. Get your hankies out for the last scene you'll need it, "momma, momma, I'm sorry momma........". A definite must for the video library.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT A CLASSIC!
Review: I must say that I have never cried as much watching a movie as I did from this one. This is definitely a tear jerker. Imitation of Life is an excellent movie, with real life issues. Wanting to pass for white in the past was something that happened a lot. It's sad but true. Juanita Moore (Annie) was the sweetest lady ever. (She reminds me so much of my late mother). Annie went through trials and tribulations from her daughter wanting to be white, but she still held everything together for the group. This movie is a definite must see for anyone who has never experienced what a true classic is like.
Rating:
Summary: A classic tear-jerker.
Review: A mother(Lana Turner) aspires to an acting career and in the process neglects her emotionally-troubled teenage daughter(Sandra Dee in her first major movie role) who grows to resent her. The definitive version of Fannie Hurst's classic tear-jerker. I defy anyone to watch this film without sheding at least one tear. I'm not by nature a very emotional person who expresses my feelings, but this movie has touched me in a way that no other film has. Lana Turner is always credited as one of classic Hollywood's most beautiful and glamorous leading ladies and she most certainly is, but she was also one heck of an actress and her dramatic skills are in full reign here. Also magnificent is the lovely young Sandra Dee who, like Turner, shows here that she is not only a pretty face, but a strong screen presence as well. I thought Juanita Moore as Turner's friend was also very effective. The film raises many sensitive racial issues that were not commonly discussed in Hollywood films of the 1950's making this motion picture way ahead of its time. Look quick for Troy 'A Summer Place' Donahue in a small role.
Rating: 
Summary: I left the room after 20 minutes.
Review: This is the absolute worst movie you could ever possibly imagine. The amount of cheesy over-the-top melodrama in this film is so ridiculous I couldn't help laughing out loud. Does the main actor have to grab her shoulders every time he has to say something! Why do I have to watch the intimate scenes through so many light filters it looks like it's been shot through a shower door! Please don't waste 2 hours of your life watching this joke of a movie.
Rating:
Summary: I love this movie
Review: I saw the original 1930s version of this movie, and I was not very pleased. It was a bit different than the glamorous 1950s version (with Lana Turner).The best part of the 1950s version is during Annie's funeral when Sarah Jane cried over the casket.
Rating:
Summary: IMITATION OF LIFE on VHS ASIN: B000005XPV
Review: ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES I LIKE THIS MOVIE VERY MUCH. I LIKED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TO LITTLE GIRLS TILL THEY GREW UP AND DISCOVERED THEIR OWN IDENTITIES. IT WAS GOOD TO SEE TROY DONAHUE IN A DIFFERENT ROLE. I LIKE THE COLORS THE DIRECTOR USED IN THIS MOVIE.
Rating:
Summary: For a good cry, watch this movie!
Review: This movie will have you in tears. Each time I watch it, the reaction is the same. Lana Turner is the struggling actress that turns her back on love for a career...Juanita Moore is fantastic as the long-suffering domestic that tries to instill black pride in her angry, light-skinned daughter, who is passing for white. It's a movie about race, love, prejudice, insecurities, family...this movie has it all. Pick this one up!
Rating:
Summary: Imitaion of Life was and still is the best movie ever made !
Review: The movie was great, it left you with all sorts of mixed emotions. Once you see this movie ask yourself "Would I have did what she did?" I still can't figure out what I would have done. We have a tendancy to say what we would do, when we are not in that situation. This is a must see movie for everyone. Will it ever be sold as a DVD? Thanks for all you do to keep us entertained.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie I have ever seen, one of my favorites!
Review: This movie is a real tear jerker. It is an excellent movie, a classic! I highly recommend it just make sure you have a box of tissues close by. You WILL cry at the end!
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