5/5 A Devastating Triumph
  by K. O. Gibson (Los Angeles, CA)
I saw this film in the theater its opening weekend, October 1998. Oprah devoted her Friday episode of the opening weekend to the cast of 'Beloved' and was in tears about the release of her 'baby' with this film. 'Beloved' is one of my top three favorite books of all time for its poetic, brutal power in relating the human/spiritual tolls and scars of slavery. I went to this movie hopeful, as a book lover hoping that the source-material hadn't been ruined. No film can ever replace the original mind's eye 'movie' of the book it's based on, but Ms. Winfrey, Mr. Demme and the cast absolutely gave their all to this production. It's a worthy, devastating film; the tragedy of slavery and the human reconstruction, not just societal, from such human cruelty is incomprehensible.

'Beloved' is not an easy film to watch by the sheer realism of the fear, violence and horror of the protagonist's story, Sethe, played by Oprah Winfrey and Lisa Gay Hamilton. As with any film dealing with historic atrocity ('Schindler's List,' 'Playing For Time,' 'Roots,')it is impossible to turn away no matter how harsh the onscreen reality is. Perhaps because we know it was worse in reality, it becomes a matter of honoring their struggle by bearing witness to the recreation. In any case, it's a demanding film but the acting work by Danny Glover, Kimberly Elyse, Thandi Newton, Winfrey and Beah Richards will pull you in with both hands.

Over the years I've heard Ms. Winfrey say in interviews how she regrets the failure of this movie at the box-office. I don't find it to be a failure at all. It's an honest, stark mirror of its material, not a popcorn movie, per se. Maybe it would have done better and won Emmys had it been on, say, HBO where the network would have allowed the same depictions as shown in the movie? We'll never know, but I put my money down on it and it's here for people to discover on DVD via purchase, rental or Netflix. I hope Ms. Winfrey will see it's a neglected classic and a brave film with intense performances. I can't praise her enough for this effort. Toni Morrison was pleased with the outcome and you can't do better than please the author of the original Pulitzer-winning material. My wish list: a 'Beloved' DVD with commentary by Ms. Winfrey and company.

3/5 Fair
  by Tina Albea
The first movie never arrived but I spoke to the company and they was very helpful and they rush out another movie which I did receive.

4/5 Great Film !!!! Left me Confused
  by Wonder Woman (Baltimore, MD)
I did not like this movie the first time I saw it. I decided to purchase it and give it another try. WOW!!! What a wonderful adaptation of the book. Oprah Winfery was superb! It kept me intrigued and curious to see what the outcome would be. I would suggest you purchase this movie and watch it with great concentration.

5/5 wiped out by the wealthy
  by Bruce P. Barten (Saint Paul, MN United States)
There were some creepy things about this movie. The haunted house was a home. Sweet Home reminded me of a "Sweet Home Alabama" song by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Where the skies are so blue was a line that applied to those who got to have their own way there. My favorite character in the movie "Beloved" was like a hippie visionary: Miss Amy Denver of Boston told Sethe:
You have a chokecherry tree on your back.
The religious sequences breathing the air of freedom were quite a contrast to the exploitation for economic reasons that caused so many slaves to run away from Sweet Home. Halle's spirit being broken by seeing the schoolteacher tell how to take Sethe's milk like milking a cow is quite uncanny. I did not see this movie before 2009, and it makes me think how awful the economic schemes that drive many lives have functioned right down to the present day.

2/5 Very Strange Story
  by David L Hutchins (Mesa, AZ)
Tell me what you think of this plot: A child comes back to life to confront the mother who cut her throat, only she is a grown woman, but still talks like a child. Meanwhile this so-called ghost manages to seduce her mother's "boyfriend" who has come back after 18 years. The ghost manages to get pregnant by him. Then the "ghost", totally naked and pregnant is brought out on the front porch by her mother and disappears in a couple of minutes when a group of church ladies start chanting and singing spiritual songs from the road in front of the house. Then the mother goes into depression for having lost the child that has come back to her and her other daughter goes to work for rich white folks to support herself and her mother. That's Beloved in a nutshell. And let's not forget another ghost that you don't see at all; just her poltergeist activity, except you do see that ghost in the flesh near the end of the movie (and in flashbacks to a prior time). And people think this is a great movie? It's a very strange movie and I couldn't tell what the message was supposed to be, if there even was one. The one redeeming thing about the movie is the period costumes and scenery, which is very beautifully done. It takes place in the 1800's and you certainly do feel that you have been taken back in time.