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Their Eyes Were Watching God (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Their Eyes Were Watching God' is a 2005 American television drama film based upon Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Darnell Martin, written by Suzan-Lori Parks, Misan Sagay, and Bobby Smith Jr., and produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions (Winfrey served as the host for the broadcast). It stars Halle Berry, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Michael Ealy, and aired on ABC on March 6, 2005.
Cast
*Halle Berry as Janie Crawford
*Michael Ealy as Tea Cake
*Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Joe Starks
*Nicki Micheaux as Phoebe Watson
*Lorraine Toussaint as Pearl Stone
*Ruby Dee as Nanny Marnie
*Terrence Howard as Amos Hicks
*Gabriel Casseus as Sam Watson
*Artel Kayru as Motor Boat
*Jensen Atwood as Johnny Taylor
*Kevin Daniels as Liege Moss
*Wayne Duvall as Dr. Gordon
*Mel Winkler as Logan Killicks
*Maura Gale as Lula Moss
*Henry Brown as Water Stone
Reception
Catering to Winfrey's expected TV audience, the film largely avoided the more controversial themes of race, gender, and power that Hurston explored in her novel. Karen Valby of 'Entertainment Weekly' comments, "While the book chews on meaty questions of race and identity, the movie largely resigns itself to the realm of sudsy romance." 'New York Times' critic Virginia Heffernan said, "[T]he film is less a literary tribute than a visual fix of Harlequin Romance: Black Southern Series all sensual soft-core scenes and contemporary, accessible language."
Sharon L. Jones, an English professor at Wright State University, agreed that the film was quite different from the novel. She said that the novel emphasizes Janie's life journey with others who are part of her establishing an identity, and she is sometimes overpowered by them. Jones says the film leaves out many important concepts that help convey the central theme. She says that Harpo's production was thought to address a more general idea of love to reach a broad range of audience, believed to be the majority-white females of Winfrey's TV audience.
Awards and nominations
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