Rating: 
Summary: Good...good acting, good portrayal!
Review: Memorable! Especially Anne Bancroft, who fit into the role of Anne Sullivan perfectly right down to the coloring and physical resemblance. Anne Bancroft has the same big brown eyes that Annie Sullivan had & she played Annie's part well. Patty Duke was good as Helen too. It's really too bad that they didn't have Anne Bancroft back to play Annie Sullivan again in "The Miracle Continues", which came out on cable a few years ago; she would have made a good Annie at middle age too. The scenes where Annie suffers from the flashbacks & nightmares are good too; you get a feel of Annie's fear at each of those scenes, esp. when she wakes up from a nightmare screaming Jimmie's name & stupid-mouthed James Keller comes up, thinking that Annie was calling him specifically. The scene where Annie's coming down on the train is good too; you get the idea that poor Annie Sullivan had a rough trip down there with nightmares & crying spells and you could see she was hot & tired & her eyes were really bothering her by the time she got to Tuscumbia. All in all, good portrayal of what probably happened.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely INCREDIBLE, to say the least =)
Review: There's not enough words to describe this movie. It's amazing! The acting in this movie is the best I've ever seen. Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft deserve every single bit of praise and recognition that they have received from this film. Their performances were unbelievably outstanding. When you watch this movie, you feel like you're actually witnessing the event. This version of the story was RIGHT on the mark. When you watch Ms. Sullivan struggle to teach Helen, it's impossible not to see the passion and the rich desire that Sullivan has to open the window of understanding for young Helen. There's only one true Helen Keller, but Patty Duke's performance was masterful and remarkable. There isn't much more to say about it, I can't put into words how good the acting is in this film. The only thing I will say is that the reaction from Helen's mother in the beginning of the movie when she first discovered Helen's problem was a little overdone. I mean, yes, it must be an incredible shock to find out that your baby is deaf and blind, but a reaction like that? I don't know, I guess it's just my opinion. It doesn't really matter, though, because it's just one scene, and the rest of the movie is just outstanding. This is an absolute must-see, and it's a masterful retelling of the classic story. You won't find a better, more superbly acted version of this movie ANYWHERE. This will forever be the #1 version, the absolute best. Buy it now and see for yourself. You'll be blown away, I can almost guarantee it. =)
Rating:
Summary: Made for Each Other
Review: Patty Duke is really an exceptional actress whose later career was bogged down in bad script after bad script. As an adult, she seemed never to be able to visualize a final product from the screenplay in front of her. Fortunately, when she was still young, someone chose The Miracle Worker for her, so there will always be testimony to what a brilliant performer she could be.Anne Bancroft may simply be brilliant, or she may possess a depth of understanding that most people don't have a chance to cultivate. She was one of the members of Actors' Equity who used her clout to help the National Theatre of the Deaf get off the ground. At any rate, she gave a great turn as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, and Annie Sullivan was no saint. Her endless well of patience, her stubborn determination may have looked like the stuff of sainthood to outsiders, but truthfully, it was born of knowing the reality of what Helen Keller could become. Annie Sullivan knew deaf and blind people. Annie Sullivan had known Laura Bridgman most of her life; had spent hours conversing with her; had seen the beautiful and elaborate clothes that Laura had designed and created, as was her passion (Laura Bridgman made all her own clothes, and had a cottage industry of design that turned a modest profit for the Perkins School for the Blind). Annie Sullivan herself had risen up from literally nothing in spite of her own visual impairment, and Annie knew that Helen had every financial advantage-- something the Kellers took for granted, but not Annie. The brilliance of Anne Bancroft was to be aware of all this, to use all this in fleshing out her portrayal of Annie, and yet, to make it so subtle, that only if you know these things beforehand, do you see them in her performance. Annie Sullivan, and Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan, is not stabbing in the dark, just giving things a try: no; Annie knows, has a very clear vision of a Helen Keller of the future, of Helen not as she is, but what she can be, and Annie's determination comes from fighting for the real person she knows exists, not the vague possibility for which the Kellers' hope against hope. Both Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft show such remarkable insights as these into their characters. Patty Duke understands that Helen isn't a wild thing, but a very bright, manipulative and calculating child; one who throws tantrums to get her way. Anne Bancroft knows that Annie Sullivan is the only person who sees through Helen's schemes, and therefore is the only one who credits her with any native intelligence. They are made for each other. There have been other versions of this story, but I believe that this one is the only one that "works," because I don't feel that in any of the others, the actresses have any real insight into Annie and Helen. Besides, this version is the only one which makes me cry, and I can offer no greater praise than that.
Rating:
Summary: Bacroft & Duke Shine in "Helen Keller Story"
Review: Oscar winner Patty Duke and co-star Anne Bancroft give powerhouse performances as the blind deaf-mute Helen Keller and the young teacher determined to help the "crazy child" to realize her great potential for learning. Having been born into privileged circumstances, Keller's parents were able to provide the costly "assistance" necessary to show the child a way out of a life of sorrow and despair. -- We all know about the true "miracles" Annie Sullivan was able to work on Helen Keller despite the lack of confidence Keller's parents had had in any success. The powerful statement this account makes about a society that simply "writes-off" a considerable portion of our population as "useless" is still effective some 100 years later. It took the Helen Kellers and the Nellie Blys among us to point to inequities and unfairness, and the urgent need to bring about social changes. Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan have enlightened the world about the fact that all children, regardless of their handicap, can learn and better themselves. Sometimes modifications must be made to accomodate their limited abilities, but no one should be locked up in an attic and treated like a "freak" due to someone else's ignorance. "The Miracle Worker" educated us all! *****
Rating:
Summary: such a great teacher film
Review: If this film were made today we would all feel sorry for Helen Keller at the way Annie Sullivan treats the poor girl. It is so great to see how the Teacher takes on knowing that only she is the only one who can save Keller from becoming the animal she will be for the rest of her life. "The Battle of Wills" is probably the best ever put on film. Just watching Annie, break Keller, is great. Yet we, even as movie goers of this generation root for Annie everytime she beats the child when she tries to teach her manners and words. Now why don't we do that to kids now days? Some do need that kind of dicipline. Even Helen Keller later said she needed to be beat to be the person she became. But even if we did do that, now days "Parents" would say "NOT MY KID. MY KID IS A GREAT KID". It's actually the stupidest thing parents can and would say about there own kids. Lets face its's when it comes to kids being find out to actually showing there true self. Parents are the last to know who there kids really are. So parents never say you know you're kids or never say "not my kid". Back to the film. I love this film. Since the first time I saw this way back when. Too long ago to count. I loved it. It's amazing the acting skills Patty Duke had at such a tender age. Anne Bancroft also had the acting chops to impress the Academy to win that very loved and cuvated award. So did Duke. This is one film where we see the way teaching and dicipline and love for a student can save him or her from the roughness of life if one learns the wonders of an eduaction.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking for my younger students --
Review: This year in home school we studied biographies of famous Americans. We studied Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. It was obvious that theirs was just another biography -- a story about strangers. So, I hunted through Amazon.com and found this video. It proved to be an excellent resource as it showed Helen's frustration with Annie AND Annie's frustration with Helen. It showed the miracle worker and the miracle. Yes, it is an entertaining movie. (I remembered it from when I was young.) But it is also inspirational, teaching values of patience and perseverance. In this case, the movie served as a tool. It was well written and well acted. I felt that it left the same impression on my children as it left on me years ago. And now, years later, it brought tears to my eyes and shivers to my back. Thank you, Annie Sullivan. Thank you, Anne Bancroft.
Rating:
Summary: Listen - Look Here!!
Review: I'm sure I can't imagine no sight nor sound. This is a tribute to the teacher and the student. The actors and the real-life people. This is a very powerful movie. I watched Patty Duke's eyes very carefully, what emotion. I hadn't realized how physical their relationship was. I would like to see a documentary on the making of The Miracle Worker. I am moved to investigate Helen Keller's life and learn more about her. What an inspiration!
Rating:
Summary: Silence is golden
Review: Enough praise can't be given to this film. To me, the utterly striking performances of Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft are brought to a climax in the infamous dining room scene where Annie Sullivan attempts to teach Helen table manners above the protests of the family: "She is accustomed to eating off all our plates", Mrs. Keller says. Once everyone else has left the room, not a word is uttered. I don't know how long the scene lasts, but I have never been so mesmerized and totally absorbed in a scene in my life. The skill of the actresses in so successfully telling that part of the story without speaking is consummate.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Film comes to DVD!
Review: It is about time this great film comes to DVD! From the opening scenes to it's magnificent ending this is one of the best films ever made! Shot in black and white with the sparest of sets and decoration it is all about the engrossing screenplay and the staggering performances of Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. Both actresses took home Academy Awards and they richly deserved them! The DVD version is wonderful and far superior from the VHS version. Anyone interested in the early years of one of America's National Treasures, Helen Keller or anyone interested in a great film with magnificent performances shouldn't miss this one! It only proves, once again that a great film doesn't have to have blood and gore, naked writhing bodies or sinking luxury liners to rise head and shoulders above all the rest!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant film! Brilliant Acting!
Review: I can't recommend this film enough! It is not to be missed. Shot in Black and White with the sparest of sets it is all about the writing, direction and acting! And what acting there is! Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke left me weak! Anne Bancroft may be better known for her Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate but this is her greatest role! Patty Duke broke my heart! The ending of the film will melt your heart!It turned me to jello and does everytime I see it! Don't miss this true classic!
|
