Harriet (DVD) [2019]

A very good film based on the true story of Harriet Tubman who in the US in the mid 1800s escaped from slavery herself, then went back to save hundreds of others from slavery. She achieved her aims with the help of slave abolitionist William Still, all the time she risked capture and death, she was also a member of the Underground Railroad movement. It is a very watchable and informative film about a woman who I had never heard of before I saw the film on FILM4.

To my shame, I was unaware of this story. It’s based on fact and the life of this extraordinary lady. I was totally gripped throughout and found the update at the end both fascinating and astonishing. It’s told with compassion and many of the values hold true today. What a tribute to an incredible lady.

A very good portrayal of a true American hero.

Harriet Tubman is an American heroine. Who went from slave who couldn't read or write to a conductor on the Underground Railroad. [This was not a literal thing. The name was figurative. In case you hadn't realised]. And who led a raid behind southern lines during the American Civil War. She also wasn't very tall. Hers is a remarkable story and well worth telling. So here's a movie that tries to do that. We start with Harriet in the late 1840's. Unable to get freed. She makes a break for it herself. And manages a long journey along against the odds. A deeply religious lady who also had seizures where she said God was guiding her, she put her success down to divine providence. Then after that develops as per above. This runs for just under two hours. It takes about fifteen mins to settle down, and find the style it wants to use to tell it's story. The music can be a bit overbearing at times early on. But then it is used to provide good jeopardy in escape moments. It also shows you the white abolitionists who were passionate enemies of slavery and supporters of the cause to end it. Plus Frederick Douglas and one or two other famous black people as well. This is all pretty effective at times. It does show the horror of slavery and makes you think about it. But the white actors playing the family who owned her do end up having characters who come over a bit too cliched at times. Maybe that's because we've seen a lot of such in movies. But even so. The story of how she became a conductor is interesting to watch. There are a few supporting characters in here who do intrigue as people. Both black and white. I really did find myself wanting to know more about them. But of course the film isn't her story. Music then does get a little overbearing at times and occasionally the dialogue can be a little tricky to hear. You do get the impression the running time means it's a whistle stop tour through her story. And as a result it does start to drift a little at points. Then it completely rushes it's ending. I think there's more to be told there. But we don't get it. I do though think it actually handled her talking to God moments quite well as far as getting them over on screen. That might be subjective opinion. Lead actress Cynthia Erivo is great in the lead. When you see the extras and hear her real British accent, you realise what a good job she does. It's also worth going through all the end credits, because she sings during this. This was a four out of five star film. Perfectly decent watch. But it doesn't quite stick in the mind at the end as much as it could have. I think a tv mini series might have been a better format. Speaking of which, check out episode nine of the second series of science fiction tv show 'Timeless', where the characters meet Harriet Tubman. That episode does her justice. Worth a go though. The dvd has the following language and subtitle options: Languages: English. English audio description. Subtitles: English. Extras: A commentary from the director/ co-writer. Deleted scenes: seven of them. Can be watched in a row or individually. Takes you fourteen mins to do the former. Some of these are pretty good and as a whole all worth a watch. Her story. Five min long featurette about the project as a whole. Lots of use of words like inspire, etc etc so really just for those of modern sensibilities. Worth it to hear what I said about Cynthia Erivo's voice though. Becoming Harriet: five mins not that different to the above.

....a slave story I had not heard before. A young woman who decides to run for freedom. Pre American Civil War, anti slavery work early beginnings “in the North”. Harriet, her faith sustaining her, and guiding her, decides to run, without her husband who is altpready a “free man”. She does not want to risk his life if she is caught. She makes it, 100 miles on foot, aiming for a society who assists people escaping slavery. Though initially overwhelmed and distrustful, she remains determined to help others to flee to freedom, especially her own husband and family. Dangerous to return, she does, only to find that her husband has remarried, having been told by her slave owners she drowned by escaping into a fast flowing river, jumping off a high bridge. Harriet (her new free name she chose, her own mother known as ‘Ett’) is heartbroken, but remains determined to help her own family. She does, telling them they have to do what she says, including crossing a river by wading across it. They succeed. This is the beginning of her life long story of helping slaves, she fights in the Civil War, astonishing as a first woman to lead troops. She lived into her 90’s, having remarried, having her own “free children”. An inspiring story, true, and brilliantly acted, depicted. Thank you for the demonstration of courage and Harriet’s faith, and those around her.

I didn't know anything but the very basics about the story beforehand but I really enjoyed this. It was a very balanced telling of a very interesting and informative story. The bit about her psychic powers, although allegedly true, was a bit far fetched and jarred with the rest of the story. However, she was a facinating and amazing woman, regardless of the colour of her skin, and I thoroughly enjoyed the film despite the difficult themes because I learned so much.

Have watched better DVDs on this genre but still interesting and worth a watch

An outstanding masterpiece! A most brilliantly told biopic of one of the greatest, leading names in the fight for freedom in the "vile, sick" history of the Black American slavery trade. This film should be shown in every school in every country, forever. Masterfully directed and produced. Superbly acted. 1st class photography. Fabulous locations. Wonderfully interwoven music. One of the best films I have ever seen. Fantastic!

One of the best true movies I think I have ever watched.

シンシア・エリヴォが好きで何度も何度もこの映画を観ました。セリフ１つ１つを覚えてしまうくらい観ても毎回泣けるし感動します。 他のレビューにもある通り、販売されているものは海外リージョンの為、日本語訳が無くリージョンフリーのデッキでないと観ることが出来ませんが、 アマゾンプライムでは有料になりますが日本語訳のついたものが視聴出来ます。この歴史に残る素晴らしい作品が日本版DVDで販売されていないのは本当に残念でなりません。映画内のアングル、エンドロールのデザインまでが美しいです。主演がシンシア・エリヴォだからこそ実現した、レスリー・オドムJr、ジャネール・モネイの出演も嬉しい驚きでした。シンシア・エリヴォの素晴らしさはもう言葉では表せません。DVDだとメイキングやカットされてしまったシーンも観れるので更に理解が深まります。

Ignore the bad reviews, see the movie, and make up your own mind. I have a bias here, because Harriet Tubman has been my #1 personal hero for most of my life. But that bias made me worry that the movie would screw things up, so I started watching the movie with a bias against it. I was blown away. And I am a total crab about movies. I’m the grouchy old lady who stomps around grumbling that they don’t make truly great movies like they used to. This is a truly great movie, the likes of which I have not seen in a very long time. Cynthia Erivo’s performance as Harriet Tubman is so magnificent that she seems to be channeling Tubman. She conveys, without a single false note, Tubman’s transformation from a brave but scared woman into a bold and confident leader. In general, the acting is superb. To give only two examples: Leslie Odom Jr. is splendid as the Black abolitionist William Still. And how a sweet country singer like Jennifer Nettles managed to come off as a queen-of-evil slave owner is beyond me, but she did it. I get the creeps just thinking about her character. The story is gripping, with well-developed characters that viewers care about and a lot of suspenseful action. Tubman’s courage was jaw dropping, and the movie leaves viewers in no doubt about this. She went south again and again and again to lead slaves to freedom, at terrifying risk to herself. Where did she get her courage? Tubman was quite clear about this: It came from God. Tubman also said that God sent her visions which warned her of danger and foretold the future. To its great credit, the movie respects Tubman enough to take her at her word. Her religious experiences are presented as real. Period. Take it or leave it. If you’d rather leave it, that’s perfectly fine. You'll still enjoy the movie if you interpret her uncanny sense of danger as nothing more than keen intuition. There was nothing pushy about Tubman’s religion. She was quite frank about her religious experiences, but she didn’t try to shove her religion down anyone’s throat. The movie is in no way anti-Black. There are only two Black bad guys in the movie, and one of them does something quite remarkable. Virtually all of the scum in the movie are White. But the movie also shows White people who put themselves in danger to help slaves escape. Some viewers mistakenly think the movie shows that Tubman was in love with a White man, her slave owner Gideon. What the movie clearly shows—SPOILERS AHEAD, all in parentheses—(is that Gideon had a sick obsession with Tubman, that he was a narcissist who mistakenly thought she liked him, and that he went nuts about all of this because she was Black. So why didn’t Tubman shoot Gideon dead when she had the chance? Not because she loved him, but because she thought he didn’t deserve an easy death.) (This is what Tubman told Gideon, after shooting off part of his hand: “You’ll die right here. On a frozen, blood-soaked battlefield, the moans of a generation of young men in your ears, dying in agony around you, for a lost cause. For a vile and wicked idea! For the sin of slavery! Can you hear them? God don’t mean people to own people, Gideon! Our time is near! You tried to destroy my family, but you can’t. You tried to destroy my people, but you won’t. God has shown me the future, and my people are free. My people are free!”) (That doesn’t sound like love to me. It sounds like justice, as in: “Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Amos 5:24.) (There’s a real irony in this misunderstanding, because Tubman does fall in love—with a Black man, after her husband marries another woman. Of course, he can’t help falling in love with her. Unfortunately, he’s married, so they don’t do anything about it. This is presented with such exquisite subtlety that many viewers may miss it, especially given the trend in movies to just splat things out. It’s presented more directly in an outtake that’s included with the DVD—a outtake that makes your heart ache. If the movie’s director had known how badly some viewers would misinterpret the movie, she probably would have kept the outtake in.) END OF SPOILERS. This movie rightly celebrates a genuine American superhero, and does it in a highly entertaining way. The movie is truly inspiring, and we could use a lot of inspiration these days. Don’t miss it.

Film excellent, j'ai adoré je recommande rien que pour l'histoire qui est très prenante et les personnages attachants, très addictif comme film. 🙂

物凄く楽しみにしていた商品なのに、届いて再生しようと思ったら、「再生できない地域番号です」 との表示が出るだけ。 日本で再生できないなら、そんなDVD売らないで欲しい 返品と返金依頼はすぐ受けてもらえたけど、もう1本同じショップさんで購入しているものもあるので、その商品が到着次第、両方をまとめて返送するつもり。返送料はこちら持ち。物凄く残念でならない