Nglas

I saw this film when I was 10 years old and fell in love with it. Now, at 31, I have rediscovered it and was amazed that it has withstood the test of time and remains the beautiful country movie that I remembered. The characters are well developed and three dimensional, which is good because a few of them come across as awful within the first ten minutes of the movie, making you want to hate them. A standout in the cast is Beverly D'Angelo and Tess Harper, who take their characters and run with them. Evilita is a spoiled, selfish, slutty young woman who's been married more over 6 times, while her spinster sister Sara Lee (Harper) has spent her life taking care of their elderly father. The whole family returns when he takes a turn for the worse and is not expected to live much longer. A hunt for his will is the main plot of the movie, but what keeps it going is the relationships between the family members. By the time the end credits roll, you will be misty eyed and grateful for having discovered this gem of a movie!

I began watching Prisoner Cell Block H as a child while living in England. This was during the late 1980's and the show had already ended, but the reruns were extremely popular and people would forget the show had been over for two years. Right away, the show became my favorite. Prisoner was one of the first, if not the first, television show that was centered on and starring a cast of mostly women. It was also one of the first shows to portray an open lesbian in a positive light. Characters such as Bea Smith, Myra Desmond, Sandy Edwards, and Marie Winter made this show addictive. Besides rooting for the good guys to reclaim power in the constant power struggles, there was also the entertaining game of spotting actors who have been with the show before returning as another character and also spotting the wobbling sets. Low budget, starring plain, ordinary women... this show probably wasn't expected to be as huge as it became, but after watching a few episodes, anyone will see just why it became such a hit.