The Long Walk Home (1990)

I was in the final crowd scene of this film and made the big mistake of repeating my line of dialogue the next day at work. Since it contained the "n" word, not something I would normally say. I thought the director at the end was John Frankenheimer, father of Michael Bey but maybe not? I was perceived to be a "friend of John's," screenwriter John Cork who did not and don't know. I remember thinking Ms Spacek looked every inch a star, even at 40, and led the applause as she departed the set. She had almost no interaction with Whoopi Goldberg that night until they held hands at the end. I think the film holds up pretty well, as I doubt my hometown of Montgomery has changed in the years since. Couple of things I notice, when her family gifts Odessa with a coat, it looks a lot like her old one and when the Cosby Show's Erika Alexander tries to escape rape in a park, she's taller than they are and maybe even than the black man who saves her. RIP my uncle Carl Stephens who does 2 WSFA TV broadcasts, on bus boycott and on the whereabouts of Santa Claus Christmas eve on radar.

The 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.

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)

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.