Oprah Winfrey Presents: Their Eyes Were Watching God
 

http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0406265/

Sunday, March 6th on ABC.

I read about this months ago. I can't wait to see this movie. It is my favorite book!

The scenes advertised between Halle and Michael are a bit :eek: :o.

I am all over this one! This is one of my favorite books. I need to get a new copy of the book because my old one is worn to bits

I will make a reminder of this, I hope they stay true to the tone of the book.

This is my favorite book, I just pray they've stayed as close to the storyline as possible :)

I'm trying to read the book before Sunday. I hope I will be able to finish.

I hope they do a good job because Oprah messed up Beloved.:mad:

I've noticed that Oprah's made-for-tv movies are generally good. She brags that this is her favorite love story so I'm also hoping she does it justice.

i too can't wait to see the sunday night special. i hope it is as good as the book - - -

beloved was not bad - i think it was just to deep for most folk - not necessarily you - but most folk - hell i had a time with some parts and i am the professor:D

My Book Club will be reading this next month, I have tried unsuccessfully to read the book once before, I guess I'll have to finish it this time in order to discuss it intelligently :) and will watch the movie tonight to see if there are any similarities between the two. I read a review in the paper today that said that Oprah has been waiting for Halle to do this project for ten years and that she and Quincy Jones ended up collaborating on this project as both were bidding for the rights to this work.

Watching
 

:)

I used to teach the book and this is a very good book to movie adaptation.

Michael Michael Michael **SWOOOON** You sweet SEXY THAAAANG YOU!!! :o :o

I forgot that the movie came on at 8 and I didn't know Mikey was in the movie. OH NOZ!

I would just like to Thank my 10th grade English Teacher for assigning this book. Just to think I had to take exams, write essays and poems about the motifs. I really like this movie. :)

Michael is official grade A FIONE :o I swear he is hurting my eyes.

chugalugchugalugchugalug......WHAT?!?!?

ahahahahahahhahahahahahhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaa!

I LOVED that! :D

I didn't finish reading the book, but I will now!

She goes from what my friend called:
1. The grim reaper (I got 60 acres...AND?)
2. To a black massa :rolleyes:
3. To the love of her life, who turns into a "dog". :o

Life, I tell ya! :o :D

the movie was ok - nothing great -

LOVED THE MOVIE!!! I laughed. I cried. I balled my hand into a fist when Joe slapped the hell out of Janie(Imma call that my Sophia moment). I see Mr. Ealy in a TOTALLY different light :eek: now. He is a tad on the scrumptious side...

The entire movie reminded me of "The Color Purple". There are several "quotable" moments. :D

When I taught this book, I told my students that this is The Color Purple's predecessor.

I loved the movie and Michael played the hell out of Tea Cake.

It was aiiiight. I think books of that quality (same with Beloved) are hard to translate to the screen. The acting was good but I don't think the overall message of the book came through.

I hope Soror Hurston is pleased!:)

I started reading the book and got to the part where Tea Cake took her money.

I thought the movie was good, I was expecting a little more depth. lol.

CTFU @ AKA2D's friend's interpretation of the movie, lol.. but when she started bawling when the old man came to get her was HILARIOUS!!!

I always thought it was mentioned in credits of the Color Purple that it was adapted from Their Eyes Were Watching God.

CRITICS
 

A friend of mine who lives in New Orleans called me and told me that a lot of guys were on the radio (not sure if it was Doug Banks, Tom Joyner, or whatever) upset that they casted the guy from BARBERSHOP to play Tea Cake, because in the book, Tea Cake is described as a taller guy with darker complexion. The guys were complaining and saying that Oprah should have gotten Omar Epps or Morris Chestnutt.

I didn't see the movie last night, but I did read the book. The guys are right, Tea Cake did not have the same features as the guy who played him in the movie. Still, does it matter? Do you think Zora meant for the emphasis to be on what Tea Cake looked like or what he symbolized? I felt Tea Cake's character symbolized a stage in Zora's life.

By the time she met Tea Cake, she was more or less free and spontaneous and that's exactly what Tea Cake was... free and spontaneous. I don't really think it was about what he looked like. I felt it was all about how Tea Cake lived. She loved Tea Cake because he never placed restrictions or limits on her. He allowed her to be mentally and physically free. His complexion had nothing to do with that.

PLUS IT'S ABOUT DAYUM TIME THE LIGHT SKINNED BROTHERS GOT A JOB IN HOLLYWOOD. SNIPES / CHESTNUTT HAVE BEEN RUNNING THE SHOW SINCE 87! :D

CTFU@Bobbyearl!!!

I thought the movie was EXTREMELY well done. We are never going to have a movie that captures all of the nuances you find in the novel. Film/TV is a different medium, and I think they captured the spirit of the story very well. For those who read the book, hopefully, this will encourage them to pick it up. For those of us who have read the book, it was like a postcard from a long-lost friend, reminding us to revisit the story again. I'm not a huge Halle fan, but she did a great job. The acting was great.

I know that I'm in the minority, but I also think that Oprah did an excellent job with Beloved. Again, it is very difficult to capture a book fully on film.

Re: CRITICS
 

I didn't hear C.J. Morgan or Tom Joyner, but I did hear Russ Parr and they were talking about it.

I don't see the big deal. It was a good movie either way.

Does anyone know if the movie will come on again?

Probably sooner on the Oxygen Network than any other network.

Thanks...

Re: CRITICS
 

I don't know the last time people checked but Omar Epps ain't but ____/\____so tall himself....Omar and Halle would NOT have had the same chemistry.

Why people always got to Monday Morning Quaterback? The casting was fine as it was...maybe they did screen test and saw what we saw last night (is it a surprise to anyone that they were dating after filming this movie)? If Eric hadn't messed up I dare say Halle would have been the one to step out first...

I'm just saying...:p

LMAO@ MMQ

Now you know, we have NOTHING better to do on a Monday AM. :p

I'm sure if you would not have liked it, or some other programming, you'd be on the MMQ bandwagon as well. :D


It's all good! :cool:

I am so glad my 10th grade english teacher assigned this book too!!!! While I was watching the movie I couldn't quite recall what I had read. But the dog scene jump started my memory. I think this movie was really good, it sure had me distracted from doing my homework.:) I just had to put my homework down after Michael appeared in the movie.:eek: But I am so mad that he has an afro on his chest as well as his head.:D

Re: CRITICS
 

I think they needed a guy that "looked obviously" much younger than Halle to play an opposite role to her... Then, there may have been some politicking, 'cuz it is a Harpo production and "they" did not want those big name actors all up in the mix--especially with Miss Academy Award Halle Berry... And Halle herself may have had her agents and publicists to say, hey, Oprah, I am doing you a favor and not charging you too much for this with my resume... But given my last two movies bombed, I'ma hook you up and make this happen if you get me "no name so-n-so" to play opposite to me for this Jaine role... Overall, I think they did aiight of a job casting...

I think the history was that Zora was inappropriately interacting with a young man much too young for her age at the time that "Their Eyes.." was coming out... I think the whole idea of the name "Teacake" was something of a "sweetness, that is unadulterated" by the ageism that old men before Viagra enforced on young women a long time ago... But that's my opinion.

I think Jaine as a character was written into the free spiritedness that was constrainted by society as a whole in the 1930's before WWII. Women had little say who they would marry and how they would marry... Then after Jaine was married to men that suppressed and maybe abused her, the freedom associated with a younger man enabled her to pursue her desires back in that day... What is now called a "Boy Toy"...

That is what I found that could have been captured better in the movie that I read in the book... Jaine as the character desired freedom to be... All the other "older and controlling" men, suppressed her... And only when Teacake manifested his illness, did he begin to suppress her, too. And it took Jaine to kill the love of her life... Then be forced back into the "daily grind " of things by going to jail and subjugated to a lengthy court appearance--where the scholars say that Zora failed to give Jaine a voice...

I understand that made for TV movies can be only so long, but I also think the lack of a court case missed some essential points to the complexity of the Jaine character...

DAYUMN!
I watched it with Mr. 1228 and sistahfriends, I saw Michael Ealy in a whole new light! :D
And that hot kiss...I was about to toss Halle outta the way and say "take a number honey, this man is mine!" Lawd hammercy!

That book is one of my faves of all time. I have worn out about 3 or 4 copies of the book.

Needing an ice cold shower right about now... :D

Didn't like this movie
 

I did not like this movie. I have never read the book. I am sure that I would have loved the book if I had read it so I am going to purchase it. I feel that some books just ought to never be movies. A great piece of literature is just that - a great piece of literature and hard to transform to the screen. Beloved should have never been a movie and as much as I loved Song of Soloman I could never imagine it as a movie.

The casting was great! I am really and totally in love with Michael since I saw him in Barbershop! Looking forward to seeing some more of him:p

I saw the movie because of this post, I wanted to see what all the talk was about. I haven't read the book, but now I will.

Overall, I liked it. I wish the ending had been different. I needed more closure! I assume (from a prior post) that the ending of the book is different??

And, omg, I'm such a dumb***. The whole entire movie I thought that Tea Cake's name was "T.K." until I read the posts here. I knew I shouldn't have been flipping to other channels during the commercials. I probably missed when he said his name. It all makes so much more sense now!!!

Haha, a friend of mine thought the same exact thing.

I watched the movie and thought it was good. I forgot at one point that this was regular TV (the kiss), but got reminded really quick when all the commercials startedc popping up.:)

I tried reading the book several times but trying to understand the dialect makes my head spin. I am so glad they made it into a movie. I luv the movie. :D