While slightly outdated by today's movie terms, the film was well put together and gathered a plethora of feelings and issues that surrounded the black community during the time period. The actors chosen (especially Goldberg and Spacek) did their jobs extremely well, and the movie contained the subtle comparison of black families to white ones.The film's plot, set during a Montgomery bus boycott led by none other then Martin Luther King Jr himself, is historically accurate and emotionally involving--at the end of the film the audience find themselves angry and confused and relieved all at the same time. Overall, the movie, though not merited much by action scenes or intensely dramatic turbulence, is definitely worth seeing.
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missbehave067 June 2005
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dopefishie10 June 2021Powerful film with great performances all around!
My only criticism is that it ends rather abruptly during an emotionally climatic scene. Then, it was over. There was no morning after epilogue about what happened to the characters and how their lives changed. And in a film driven by characters, I felt like it needed more closure.
Def worth watching! -
view_and_review24 March 2020Nelson Mandela titled his autobiography "The Long Walk to Freedom." It seems that Black people all over the world have had to walk long arduous roads for a modicum of decent treatment and equal protection under the law.
"The Long Walk Home" takes place in Montgomery, Alabama and starts with Rosa Parks' decision to sit on the front of the bus and not yield. That action of hers sparked a bus boycott that would go down in history and change the course for Blacks and Whites in the U.S.
Whoopi Goldberg plays Odessa Cotter, a maid for a white family in Montgomery. Odessa makes the bold decision to join in the boycott while recognizing that she still has to get to work. She decided to walk the long journey to and from work except for the couple of days a week her employer, Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek), gives her a ride.
Though many of us know about the bus boycott academically, movies such as this one give us a visceral knowledge of how it played out---how it affected the rank and file amongst Black Alabamans and how White Alabamans were incensed at such an affront. It was such a small request, to sit in the front of the bus, yet it was so weighty.
"The Long Walk Home" does an excellent job focusing on one ordinary Black woman in Odessa and one ordinary White woman in Miriam. The attitudes and language of the hegemony cut deep as they casually discuss the plight of the Blacks around them. It is definitely jarring at times, but we know that truth and justice prevailed. And as the beginning of the end credits stated:
"On December 20, 1956, under Supreme Court order, the Negro citizens of Montgomery, for the first time in history rode on city buses and sat where they wanted.
Within weeks, four Negro churches and two homes were bombed. But a movement had begun." -
Scottish_8329 January 2004I saw this film by chance, was flipping through the movie channels one day and the description of it appealed to me. Goldberg is absolutely superb in this powerful film showing what it was like for black people at that time in Montgomery, Alabama. A good lesson to young people, or any person that does not fully know what black people had to put up with.
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jfarms19569 January 2014The Long Walk Home is a movie principally geared for those who want to see a perspective of US history in the mid 19950s whereby Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. School children, 9 years and up, should see it with an adult. The movie's pace is slow and deliberate. Yet, it takes the time to work out the characters' thoughts and feeling about the bus issue. Rosa Parks in my mind has always been a hero for this action. For a woman of her age to perform a righteous act in lieu of an unrighteous law is something to admire. We are all equal in the eyes of God and the law. This is what Rosa Parks was trying to establish in her own way. The movie held my attention and truly discusses differing viewpoints of the time. Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg are always good to watch, together awesome. This is a movie best watched in the afternoons or late at night. Primetime movies are better for non-serious entertainment. No popcorn here. Serious attention and thought for this movie only.
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Lechuguilla22 April 2007The real life, 1955, bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama provides the backdrop for this fictional story about an upper middle class white homemaker named Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek) who gradually becomes disenchanted with racial segregation. Her changed attitude comes about as a direct result of her Black maid, a woman of deep moral principles named Odessa Cotter (Whoopi Goldberg).
Odessa normally would take the bus to work. But she supports the boycott, and therefore chooses to walk the long distance from her shabby house to the manicured, suburban Thompson home. Yet, despite several incidences wherein Southern whites display their hatred of the boycott and of Blacks in general, Odessa, with the support of her own family and her religious faith, maintains a respectful and thoughtful attitude toward Miriam and the Thompson family. The story is told in retrospect, from the viewpoint of Miriam's daughter, Mary Catherine (Lexi Randall), who was seven years old at the time.
There is nothing subtle about this slow paced story. It is forceful and frank. The overt hatred by Southern whites toward Blacks is palpable. In no character is this odious racial superiority more evident than in Miriam's cigar chomping brother-in-law, Tunker (well played by Dylan Baker).
But Miriam and Odessa relate to each other as individuals, not as members of some group. Perceptive and sensitive, Miriam comes to understand that Southern racist attitudes, those feelings and emotions she grew up with, are passed down through generations. "You just don't question it", she tells Odessa, apologetically.
Both Miriam and Odessa are multi-dimensional and sufficiently unique to give the story depth of characterization. The acting is fine. Whoopi Goldberg in particular gives a great performance, along with the always reliable Sissy Spacek. The film's production design and period costumes are credible. Lighting is subdued. I liked the background gospel music, but I could have wished for even more. "We're Marching To Zion" not only is a great gospel hymn; it's also the film's theme.
Technically well made, "The Long Walk Home" has value mostly as historical perspective on an important contemporary social issue. As such, the film's message is just as relevant now as it was fifty years ago. -
ksf-214 April 2022Odessa cotter (whoopi) is the black maid for the very white thompson family. The black population is on strike from riding the buses, so mom thompson starts helping with the carpools. Which pits her against her own husband, a bigshot in town. Then hell breaks loose. Frequent use of the n word. Co-stars sissy spacek. It's pretty good. Shows the dynamics between the people in a white family and a black family during the 1950s, when events forced one to choose sides. Directed by richard pearce. Story by john cork. Very well done.
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Mike-3427 January 2000I'm a freshman in high school, and at the moment, we're studying the chronicles of civil rights in my history class. My teacher showed this film to us, and it excited me at first, 'cause I've always thought Whoopi Goldberg was awesome and I've always enjoyed her films. This was no exception. Movies shown in school tend to be boring, bland and uninteresting. So most of the time, when movies are shown, we take it as an opportunity to catch up on sleep. This movie however, kept our heads up the entire time. We were interested, intrigued, and dying to know what would happen next. It was both thought provoking, entertaining, awe inspiring, and it's even to safe to say, highly addictive. My teacher showed the film in 40 minutes intervals, as this how long each class period is and we were always stuck in our seats after the bell rang, wanting to watch more. It made us look forward to coming to class. It's an excellent, excellent movie, that I enjoyed and learned a lot from.
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jesussaysohyeahtokungfu17 February 2006Whoopi Goldberg pulls off another amazing character with this film, she keeps you in full cycle of her role all the way through.
I saw this movie on a movie channel today after been sick off work, it really got me hooked and gave me a good insight of what life was like back then and the big difference of white/black people. I have always been bought up in mixed society and looked at everyone the same but to see this movie and see how people were treated was a real shock to the system.
Direction/acting was all spot on and you really do feel for the cast in a lot of the scenes.
Probably would not recommend this film to everyone, however i would class it as a worth see if you flick past it on the TV. -
mEnTaL_hOpScOtCh15 May 2003This movie should be shown to every White person over the age of 16! The reason I say that is because it tells the cold, hard truth of what Blacks had to go through back in the 60's and it's not sugarcoated at all. It's not being said to make people feel guilty over something that they probably never took part in, but to educate people in what most public school systems DON'T teach about. As someone of primarily Native American descent who considers themselves pretty educated about Black history, I myself was very shocked and saddened at the brutality that Black Americans had to face (and still do at times). A picture (or movie) is worth a thousand words. This movie would be educational to everyone who views it. I would definitely recommend this movie to others.
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Just rewatched this movie on YouTube. Taking place during the bus boycott of 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, maid Odessa Cotter (Whoopi Goldberg) resolves to walk but her employer Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek) decides to drive her for at least a couple of days of the week to her house. I'll stop there and just say this was quite an inspiring, if intense, drama about how oppressive it could be during that time if you were not only the wrong color but also the wrong gender, that is, if you weren't a white male. I mean, the way Miriam's husband Norman (Dwight Schultz) and his younger brother Tunker (Dylan Baker) felt threatened by the whole thing makes one wonder. And the way Odessa's teen kids, Selma (Erika Alexander) and Theodore (Richard Habersham) were almost completely defeated by those white teen boys definitely gave me a pause. Not to mention how openly bigoted Miriam's mother (Gleaves Azar) said her opinion in front of the help was so blatantly appalling to see. What gives one hope is not only the way Miriam and Odessa communicate with each other, but also the way the narration of the grown Thompson daughter Mary Catherine (voice of Mary Steenburgen, Lexi Randall as a child) assures us how poignantly inspiring the whole time was. So on that note, The Long Walk Home gets a high recommendation from me. P.S. Ving Rhames-several years before his star-making turn in Pulp Fiction-portrays Odessa's husband Herbert with hair. Richard Habersham was Eddie in Do the Right Thing the year before. Younger brother Franklin was played by Jason Weaver who would later be the singing voice of Young Simba in The Lion King. He's also, like me, a Chicago native. And Erika Alexander would become Cousin Pam on "The Cosby Show" after making this.
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moonspinner559 February 2008Blacks in the South during the 1950s start a strife-riddled boycott against the transit system after Rosa Parks is disciplined for not giving up her seat to a white person on the bus. Subject matter is well worth exploring, but director Richard Pearce approaches this story too dutifully, as if he were teaching a course in towing the line. The white folk are all nasty bigots, except maid Whoopi Goldberg's proprietress--a saintly Sissy Spacek--who takes up the black community's cause. It's Convenient Script-Writing 101, and without much of an edge it never has a chance to accumulate any heart--or any vitality. ** from ****
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Ellie-2321 February 2001My mother grew up in the south so I remember going to visit Grandmother and wondering about the cook, Callie. She was silent and frowned at us and we were told to stay away from the kitchen. I think she was at the point of resentment and though my parents didn't like segregation my cousins and aunts and uncles thought it was the only acceptable way. I find in sharing this movie with younger people today they are shocked at the behavior at the party and in the park. They don't realize that life was really like that in some places. I like to improve sensitivity by showing the film and discussing it as groups when we can.
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dasnyder43251 August 2006I forget when I saw the film or where, but it stayed with me. I really feel the film never got its appropriate praise or fan fair, but maybe some films are meant to be discovered by people as hidden gems and aren't meant to be touted as classics. Though I feel this one is.
I felt that Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek were the cornerstones of the film and deepened the work by providing three dimensional characters that had more to do than just worry about a cause. They had lives to lead and families to raise and the film focuses on their daily living and how they lived it with this larger situation going on around them.
This choice of direction brings us into the story much quicker because it focuses on the people and the impact the situation has on them.
What stays with me is the subtlety and how small gestures can have a great impact.
My favorite movies are about people. Real people interest me more than perfect people. This movie kept me interested.
I bought this film on clearance and when I saw the $7.99 price tag I thought to myself - 'This is worth so much more' And it is! -
postmanwhoalwaysringstwice15 February 2003whoopi goldberg shines in this gripping and moving racial drama! she won the oscar for "ghost" (released the same year), but better deserved it for this film. i think that just goes to demonstrate underlying racism in hollywood (giving the award for a comedic performance by a black performer), which as of the academy awards 2002 has seemingly begun to crack. the film is a triumph of spirit and emotionally challenging to watch at times. it just makes me shake my head at how slow understanding between people who are different can be. this is one film all involved should be very proud of!!
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I've never quite understood why this movie was never a success. It has all the great qualities and ingredients that one looks for in a good drama. Historical or not. Aside from "The Color Purple",this is one of Whoopi Goldbergs finest movies.
She certainly should have gotten an Oscar for this role (which would have made more sense to me than winning from her smaller role in "Ghost"). The movie did moderate to lesser business at the main box office and in no time at all,was in the "cheap" theater's. That is where I saw this in 1991 and it was "the" best movie I saw in that kind of theatre (until Ray in Feb. 2005).
The story of how Goldberg's character has to walk many miles from her home to her housekeeper's job across town,speaks volumes on how the times were in 1950s south. Nearly 100 years after the civil-war had liberated them,blacks were still treated as second or third rate citizens.
I agree this is a great movie for kids learning about the downsides in our country's history,as well as the positives. As seen above ten stars is my vote and I hope this movie is your vote for renting,buying or checking out from a library. It's a simply,honest look at prejudice and the ways man can be so unkind to each-other. It's a great film,period. (END) -
lee_eisenberg29 April 2016Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg put on spectacular performances in this story of the relationship between an affluent woman and her maid in Montgomery, Alabama, during the bus boycott. The movie shows how both women start out filling the roles that society expects of them - a housewife and a servant - but both slowly realize that they have to be more than this. There's no glossing over the rabid racism of many of the people in Montgomery, some of whom believe the Civil Rights Movement to be a commie plot.
There's a scene where we hear a suggestion that there might one day be a black person in a position of power. Obviously that's now the case, but racism persists, as do police killings of unarmed blacks. Movies like "The Long Walk Home" will remain relevant as long as these problems continue. I recommend the movie both as a look at the events of the era, and as a look at how these women of different socioeconomic backgrounds turned out to have more in common than they realized.
Definitely worth seeing. Watch for an early appearance by Ving Rhames (Marcellus in "Pulp Fiction") as Whoopi Goldberg's husband. -
I first saw this movie in the early 1990s right after it came out on video. My then wife worked in a video store and brought new releases home for my second opinion. This movie is riveting...it is a classic docudrama (fiction mixed with fact) and, as I titled my commentary, "we are there." First there are two Oscar-winning actresses (Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg) and a versatile actor (Dwight Schultz of "The A-Team" proving there's life after that cult series). The gradual mixture of fact (Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, the boycott, etc.) mixed with fiction (the bonding between the two women, the way the wife stands up to the husband, etc.) makes this the quintessential docudrama...recommended (required?) viewing for anyone who went through that era!! In some ways it's not just the birth of the civil rights movement, it's the birth of Southern feminism (the daughter could have very well grown up to be any of the women on "Designing Women")!! Again, this movie packs a big wallop to anyone who views it...we, the audience are given a "fly on the wall" viewpoint...we are there!!!
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GreyDiva21 August 2000Whoopie Goldberg got gypped in 1990, when she was nominated for, and won Best SUPPORTING actress for the movie "Ghost". THIS was the movie she should have been nominated for; in the BEST ACTRESS category. This was one of the finest performances of the year, and definitely of Ms. Goldberg's career. Regrettably, she is too well remembered as a comedienne. People forget how well she handles drama. This is a performance worth seeing. Sissy Spacek is fresh and forthright; and the story manages to be didactic without being heavy handed.
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The use of the n-word is so common today that it's almost mundane. Blacks use it, whites, Asians, Latinos, etc. Have we forgotten that it is one of the most heinous words in the English language? Watch this great movie in order to see how the word is so hurtful and scathing. Both Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek are beautiful in this film. They are outstanding actors! The bond between their characters predates the bond between Minny Jackson and Celia Foote in "The Help". Everyone should see this. Stop using the n-word, no matter what colour your skin is. The circumstances of this film happened not that long ago; but so many of us don't realize what it's like to not be able to sit where you want on the bus, or to drink from whatever fountain you please (fountains are dirty anyway! I once saw a man in the park let his dog drink from it lol). Please watch this movie so that you can have more compassion for people, no matter what their background!
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shimmer2121 August 2002In eighth grade, my history teacher showed us a movie called "The Long Walk Home". Usually, movies in history class could put you right to sleep. However, this one was much, much different. For the first time, everyone in class was awake and watching the television screen. It was an amazing movie that really helped us better understand what life was like during the bus boycott. I had never thought that blacks would have trouble getting rides then--I just never thought about it from someone else's angle before. This movie really helped me understand a different time period. When the bell rang to go to next period, most of the class stayed and lingered a few minutes to catch the end of the movie. A few of us even had tears in our eyes. Don't miss this movie--it is fantastic.
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rsubber28 November 2013This is the kind of movie that makes you want to cry—not because you watched the movie, but because what you're watching really happened. I didn't live in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 .didn't know about the bus boycott at the time. Shame on most of the white folks who are accurately portrayed in "The Long Walk Home," the racist citizens who complained at their dinner parties that "the ni__ers don't want to work" while their black maids were serving dinner. And much too tardy and much too inadequate praise for the other white folks who are accurately portrayed, the ones who felt the injustice, a little bit or a lot, that framed their everyday lives, living with their black neighbors in Montgomery. This is a message movie, plain and simple. Sissy and Whoopi are the messengers, plain and simple. They know what they're doing and they send the message to the viewer, straight from the shoulder, right between the eyes. It all seems very calm, except for the one, not-too-violent crowd violence scene at the carpool intersection—frankly, it's a bit awkwardly choreographed, but the denouement is satisfying. Sissy, rather incredibly, tells her domineering, bigoted, abusive husband to stuff himself at the very end. Good message, but not too realistic from a white 1950s housewife in Montgomery, Alabama. But Sissy is the other strong character—Sissy is on the right side of the bus boycott, and she sticks her neck out a lot more than Whoopi's maid character does. There is dreadful truth, and heroism, in "The Long Walk Home." Read more on my blog: Barley Literate
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davispittman3 November 2017The long walk home (1990) is one of the most powerful films I've ever seen. It is so incredibly meaningful, and reflects how hard times really were racially back in this time period. The performances in the movie is one of the ways this movie is able to be so effective. Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek are amazing here and why neither of them get nominated for academy awards or golden globes I'll never know. Spacek plays a white housewife in 1950s Montgomery Alabama who has an African American maid (Whoopi Goldberg) that she begins to drive to work during the bus boycott. She starts to become an ally for African American rights, much to the dismay of her racist husband and her even more racist brother in law. It has absolutely wonderful writing that really shows the true message and nature of the film. There is no moment throughout the entire runtime where the film is uninteresting, poorly put together, or weak in its message. I can't believe how very underrated this film is, and I think it's one that everyone needs to see at least once. 9/10 for The Long Walk Home (1990).
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futures-128 March 2007"The Long Walk Home" (1990): Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg, Dwight Schultz, Ving Rhames, and Dylan Baker star in this story about the 1955 Montgomery Alabama bus strike. It had to happen, but it wouldn't happen overnight, and not without serious new problems. The "back of the bus" rule was no longer acceptable to some citizens. This is a serious and insightful look at two fictional women, existing at opposite ends of the Montgomery social structure, who, while having accepted their current relationship, find themselves hesitant participants in the "larger" world. "The Long Walk Home" brings history back to life in reasonable and wonderfully detailed way. The acting is strong, dialog good, the sets and costuming some of the most thorough I've ever seen. Women have to take off their clip earring before speaking on the telephone. They leave lipstick on the edge of their Russel Wright coffee cup. Children stand in fear of adults doing things they don't understand, and often do NOT get explanations. THEY learn from behaviors.
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bsmmay27 August 2006I teach in a small town where the majority of the students are Caucasian. After watching the Long Walk Home for the first time, I began a search to buy it for my personal collection. I use this movie every year after the unit on the Civil Rights Movement. This movie shows students what can be accomplished if everyone is willing to make the necessary sacrifices and work together.
It also shows them that this was not an easy task. It was more than just giving a speech or refusing to sit in the back of the bus. It was making the commitment to walk to work, the store, everywhere.. regardless of the number of blisters on the feet or how early the walk had to begin.
I am a big fan of Whoopi's, and while they did not seem to be two of her more popular movies, The Long Walk Home and Sarafina were two of her best. While I was out on disability, my movie, The Long Walk Home, disappeared. If anyone knows where I can get a replacement of her movie, I would definitely appreciate hearing from them.