American Experience - A Midwife's Tale

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful glimpse into the life of a wife, mother, and midwife.......2007-09-06

This is a PBS documentary about the diary of an 18th century midwife named Martha Ballard. It is interesting to view how her life was chronicled in her own words and portrayed so beautifully through this film. I also got a better understanding of life in those difficult times and how life was constant work and toil, especially for a woman. There are a lot of parallels between Martha Ballard's life and the lives of wives, mothers, and women across various cultures and time periods. It is encouraging to know that there is a common thread among women who take on so much of the work involved in family life, childrearing, etc. I am inspired that she raised her children with so much tireless strength and dignity, and even went beyond her own family to help other women bring their children into the world.

Perfectly wonderful.......2006-12-20

Enthralling slice of life from a rare perspective. Beautifully filmed & acted. Research is academically strong.

For Those Who Worship the Past.......2006-06-26

This was REALLY only meant for people that like recreating the past. Remember when Oprah attempted life as a woman in the 1700s? Civil War recreationists would like this too. Still, this is completely a niche market. Remember how the Simpsons tried a show like this and the show got cancelled? I was sitting here bored watching a show that implies "Wasn't eighteenth century life so interesting and admirable?" This is 90 minutes on one historian speaking on one historical document. I appreciate this as a contribution to women's studies. But otherwise, yawn!

This does mention spicy topics such as premarital sex and rape allegations. The historian can document health epidemics and property boundaries. Still, I would have like to seen this midwife's life contextualized. For example, how and when did she learn to read and write? I imagine most women in the 1700s did not have those skills. The work suggests that the midwife was not stigmatized for her job and made good money from it, so why didn't she pass this trade on to her own daughters? The work does show her tracking in snow. Still, Maine, to this day, is icy cold. Did she smoke meat? How did her family and other family survive during long, oppressive winters? Each woman and girl here always has her hair covered. I imagine this was in order not to catch or spread lice, but the work never says. When the midwife dies, her children and grandchildren are at her bedside. I heard this was a common practice back then, but the documentary never says. The historian notes that the midwife recorded her tasks and not her feelings. Is this an example of the Protestant work ethic? Again, things should have been fleshed out.

Again, do not view this if you aren't in the targeted niche.

Average customer rating:

Don't Miss
Semi Tough
Good Book, Bad Movie
Semi-Good.
Semi Entertaining

Semi-Tough
Starring: Burt Reynolds , Kris Kristofferson , Jill Clayburgh , Robert Preston , and Bert Convy
Director: Michael Ritchie
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Sports | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000059TFQ
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Amazon.com

This comedy is based on Dan Jenkins's novel about two good-old-boy pro football players (Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson). Best friends on the field and off, they're also friendly competitors in the arena of love for the same woman (Jill Clayburgh), who happens to be the daughter of their team's owner. Directed by Michael Ritchie, who was something of a poet of films about competition in the 1970s and early 1980s, this movie has a certain shaggy charm, abetted by Reynolds's knowing way with a one-liner. If Semi-Tough doesn't seem to go much of anywhere, it still has a good time getting there. The best moment is a send-up of an est-like self-actualization program, with the late Bert Convy as a wonderfully smarmy stand-in for Werner Erhard. --Marshall Fine

Description

Get ready for friendly passes, romantic fumbles and passionate touchdowns in this bawdy and livelyromantic comedy (Variety)! Starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston and Burt Convy along with a host of real NFL players, Semi-Tough is an uproarious comic free-for-all (Playboy)! Sexy Barbara Jane (Clayburgh) and wayward football players Billy Clyde (Reynolds) and Shake (Kristofferson) have been best friends for years. But when Shake finds enlightenment with a wacky philosophy called IT, Barbara Jane finds herself falling in love with his new confidence. Soon engaged, Shake and Barbara Jane make a dash for the altar. But as Billy Clyde watches from the sidelines, he suddenly realizes that he wants Barbara Jane too! And when Shake begins to have second thoughts about marriage, Billy Clyde discovers that to score true love, sometimes all you need is a sporting chance and all the right moves!

Customer Reviews:

Don't Miss.......2007-06-20

First off, the movie is different from the Dan Jenkins novel. It is far more textured and layered. The send-up of Est training is hilarious. This is not so much a movie about football as it is a love story with a strong subtext satirizing self-help movements (including Pyramid Power). The dialogue is memorable and Preston's performance would have garnered an academy award if the movie had been perceived as serious and weighty. It IS serious and weighty, but it is done with a light, humorous touch. I have watched this movie at least 20 times and never tire of it. The reason: the performances, of course, but the one-liners are priceless. This is the best introduction to the pantheon of Jenkins characters populating his Ft. Worth-centered novels, with a young Brian Dennehy doing a star turn as T. J. Lambert. If you don't know the novels, you've got a great set of treats ahead of you. In this case the movie is better than the book. Baja Oklahoma was also made into a movie--worth seeing, but not quite as good as the book.

Semi Tough.......2007-02-11

Burt Reynolds in one of his better films. A bit more serious than all his Smokey & the Bandit films. Perhaps an honest portrayal of his difficulty with his relationships. Was worth seeing again after all these years.

Good Book, Bad Movie.......2007-02-06

Do yourself a favor, read the book. It is so much better than this nonsense.

Semi-Good. .......2006-07-25

Semi-Tough is one of the few football movies I never got around to seeing until the other day and I am sorry I waited. It is a humorous, energetic send-up of football, celebrities, and post-sixties New Age mumbo-jumbo. As for what another reviewer said about Jill Clayburgh, I have to agree, she's completely miscast here, but that's my only acting criticism. I think Reynolds is outstanding in this role and really stands out. He is compelling and believable as Billy Clyde Puckett and his presence basically carries the film. What I found most unique and valuable here, however, was the satire involving Friedrich Bismark and BEAT--which was a paper-thin roast of Werner Erhard and EST. It is rather courageous that this movie decided to tangle with those parasites in the way they did, but it remains a rare example of Hollywood using its special position in society to advance the public good. There are other inventive parodies here as well such as the owner's devotion to "moveogenics," and Reynolds having to get "pelted" by a quack doctor. On the whole, Semi-Tough is a good bit of fun and also has something to say to its audience.

Semi Entertaining.......2006-03-18

Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson play professional football players who live together. They have been friends all their lives. They live together, platonically, with Jill Clayburgh, another lifetime friend and daughter of the team's owner. They are all great buddies and hopelessly irresponsible party animals of varying degrees. Things seem to be fine until Kristofferson and Clayburgh decide to get married. At that point, Reynolds realizes that he has had a lifelong crush on her and schemes how to get her without loosing his friends in the process.

He is aided by Kristofferson being the disciple of a New Age guru type who makes million trying to get "IT". The problem most people seem to have with getting it is that "IT" is undefined and doesn't mean anything. Kristofferson wants his fiancé to get "IT" but she doesn't get it. Reynolds pretends he does but really knows it is all a crock. He uses his knowledge of their personalities to maneuver things the way he wants.

The sports scenes are minor and forgettable. The emphasis is on the comedy. Unfortunately, the comedy is forgettable as well. It is also dated and the whole productions screams "70s". It's not a bad show but neither is it worth repeating more than every few decades.

Average customer rating:

Semi-Tough / Gator
Starring: Semi-Tough , and Gator
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

Description

Disc 1: Semi-Tough WS Disc 2: Gator PS

DVD:

DVD

DVD