5/5 Sally Field Sheds Her Habit ..Delivers Superb Performance!
  by L. Shirley (fountain valley, ca United States)
Sally Field gives the performance of a lifetime in this fact-based story of a factory worker who puts her life on hold to make life better for those around her. "Norma Rae"(1979) was a powerful eye-opener to the life led by ordinary people working under extremely poor working conditions.

Best known at the time for her light roles as "Gidget" and "The Flying Nun", and although she did capture an emmy for her outstanding performance as "Sybil", she was not thought of as a serious dramatic actress.Director Martin Ritt knew a good thing when he saw it though, insisted on casting her and his instincts were right. Sally went home from the Oscars that year with a well deserved Best Actress Award!

Norma Rae doesn't have much going for her in her life. She has two children that she's raising on her own,has lots of problems with men, and works in a textile mill in the south. The conditions of the mill are deplorable.The wages are pitiful, people on their feet all day, with barely a break, most going deaf from the noise of the machines, some even getting cancer. But it is the only job in town for most of the locals. A New York Union Organizer comes to town(Ron Leibman) and tries to convince the workers they should go Union and fight for their rights. Most are leary and afraid of loosing their jobs, but one decides it's the right thing to do.

Norma Rae goes against the grain to try and convince the 800 workers that this is the best thing for them and their children(Who will also probably work there some day). She becomes somewhat of an outcast but doesn't give up. She becomes more determined and defiant as ever as the film progresses. Eventually she realizes the power she holds.There's the wonderful famous scene where she stands on the table with the UNION sign, but the most telling scene of her determination is when it takes four very large men to remove this 90lb. woman from the premisis.It is a film that will stay with you and still holds value socially and politically today.

Martin Ritt is always excellent at bringing these social issues to the viewing audiences in an entertaining way. Director of Photography John Alonzo also adds greatly to the film with his great camera angles. Ron Leibman is wonderful as the "fish out of water" organizer who becomes mentor to Norma. Rounding out the cast and all excellent in their roles is Pat Hingle as Norma's father and Beau Bridges as her new husband.

The DVD is beautiful. The film is over 20 years old but you won't notice that. It's in Anamorphic Widescreen(2.35:1) and presents a great picture. Nice color and sharp images. The sound is Stero Surround, and is very pleasing. There is a "Back Story" featurette on the making and casting of the film, which is very informative. It may be viewed in French and there are subtitiles in English and Spanish.This is an important film and 20th Century Fox has given it some nice attention.

A great addition to any DVD collection...enjoy...Laurie

also from martin ritt and now on DVD:The Outrage

5/5 One of the 10 Best Performances by an Actress Ever!!!
  by Sponiatowski (Des Plaines, Il)
"Norma Rae" contains the thrilling performance by Sally Field as a woman on the wrong side of the tracks of life who decides it's time to stand up for the rights of her co-workers at a small textile plant.

She is offered and accepts a promotion when the plant's management tries to divert her, but a supervisory role doesn't appeal to her when her mother loses her hearing and she has to chastise her father for poor performance. Logically, inevitably she becomes more committed to fighting for a better life for herself and her loved ones and joins forces with a union organizer who came down from NYC. She ends up sacrificing all, including her self esteem, to give the workers more control over their working conditions.

Chills ran down my spine during the scene where she held up the "union" sign and another where she rebuked her husband for being non-supportive of her union efforts. I am not a union supporter, but I know good drama, strong performances, and a logical and interesting plot when I see it, so I recommend this fine film to all.

Hopefully they will give as much time and attention to dubbing and subtitling this movie into languages of third world countries because that's where this textile plant probably relocated a year after the events this film portrayed. A sad, sad outcome to an ideal.

No matter what the outcome, Sally Field delivers one of the finest performances in film history so "Norma Rae" gets only my highest recommendations!

5/5 A Film That Doesn't Go Like It Goes
  by Kenneth (Dallas, TX)
You go to the video store one night and you rent some film that you watch and think, "Yeah. That was OK. . .I shoulda gotten [that other film]." You return the tape. You get that other film and you watch it. The film is over, and you think, "That was OK, too, but I need to get [that other film]." You go to the video store to get that other film, and right next to it you see this film, Norma Rae, and it just happens on accident, but somehow you are attracted at first sight. So, you take that film home and you watch it and you think. . . "WOW! HOLY ----! THAT WAS THE BEST FILM YET!" This film is an attention-grabbing and overall outstanding film that leaves you with something every time you watch it. It stars Sally Field in one of her best performances, and you'll have no doubt in your mind that she is Norma Rae Webster. You return to the video store and find yourself asking, "How much to buy Norma Rae?"

4/5 A stunning achievement!
  by C. MacNeil (Fort Wayne, IN USA)
Director Martin Ritt reportedly commented that his film of a mother working in a southern textile mill was flawed but that he hoped it was a realtistic portrayal of life and its flaws. It's tough to find the flaws in this superb film that earned Sally Field the first of her two Oscars ("Places in the Heart" won her the second five years later). As mill worker Norma Rae, Field's character lands the reluctant role of union organizer but in the process uncovers the essence of her own character and courage. The latter is no better conveyed than in what turned out to be one of cinematic history's most memorable images when the near-beaten Norma Rae stands on a table in front of 800 co-workers and, in so doing, becomes her own person. The film expertly conveys life in a southern town, but its devastating impact is Norma Rae's gradual emergence as a truly courageous person who is willing to risk it all to literally stand up for what she knows is right. Field's riveting performance reeled in every major acting award the year the film was released, and justly so. It may well remain her best work ever.

4/5 Rae of Hope
  by Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA)
Sally Field gives a career turning performance in 1979's Norma Rae. Up to that point, Ms. Field was better known as a TV actress who starred in fluffy comedies like Gidget, The Flying Nun & The Girl With Something Extra. In 1976, she showed a more serious side, taking home an Emmy for her work as a young girl with multiple personalities in Sybil. After Sybil, she proceeded to star in more fluff pieces like Smokey & The Bandit, Hooper & The End with her then boyfriend Burt Reynolds. Norma Rae was a film with much more substance. In fact after reading the script, Mr. Reynolds advised her that she would win an Oscar for the film. He turned out to be quite prophetic. Ms. Field is superb in the title role. Norma is an unassuming factory worker from a small town in the South, who is widowed and has two kids with two separate fathers. That is until she meets Reuben Warshawky (Ron Liebman). Reuben is an Union organizer from New York City and he is trying to get the mill workers to set up a union. Most people ignore as they are fearful for their jobs, but Norma is intrigued and she starts meeting with Reuben to try and start a union. She is met with resistance and is bullied by her bosses, but Norma is not persuaded to quit. She feels that she has stood by her whole life without making a difference and this is her chance to actually matter. There is of course the famous scene where Norma is about to be removed from the mill and she defiantly stands on a table with the Union sign. Her co-workers one by one realize the chances she's taken for them and they shut off their machines in support. The film has some excellent supporting work from Mr. Liebman, Beau Bridges and Pat Hingle, but this is Ms. Field's film all the way. She proved Mr. Reynolds right and took home the 1979 Best Actress Oscar and set forth on a path that would add another Oscar to her collection and feature some of the best films of 1980's & 1990's.