Their Eyes Were Watching God: Oprah Winfrey Presents Their Eyes Were Watching God, the story of a remarkable and resilient woman's quest for love and fulfillment based on the best-selling book by Zora Neale Hurston. Academy Award winner Halle Berry (Best Actress 2001, Monster's Ball) stars as the beautiful Janie Crawford, who embarks on an emotional and dramatic journey of self-discovery. Refusing to compromise in spite of society's expectations, Janie endures two stifling marriages until finally finding love in a passionate romance with a much younger man. In one of the greatest, most lyrical love stories ever written, Janie experiences all that life has to offer, from unbelievable triumph to unspeakable heartbreak.
 
"[Their Eyes] ...Oprah bankrolled the filming, with a Terence Blanchard score and superb cinematography..."  Andy Dursin, The Aisle Seat
"[Beloved] ...[an] extraordinary cast is supported by a setting rich in authentic, gritty historical detail and an exquisitely evocative score..."  L.J. Strom, Box Office Magazine
"[Beloved] ...a sumptuous film, with rhythms and textures that match the strenuous beauty of Morrison's sentences..."  Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian
 


Editor's Note

BELOVED: Oprah Winfrey collaborated with director Jonathan Demme (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) for this African American ghost story, set in 1870s Ohio. Demme adapted it from Toni Morrison's Pulitzer-winning book. Former slave Sethe (Winfrey) lives with her daughter, Denver (Kimberly Elise), in a house haunted by the malignant spirit of Sethe's long-dead infant. Sethe is also haunted by memories of her life of slavery at Sweet Home, the Kentucky plantation where she was raised. Enter Paul D. (Danny Glover), a fellow slave from Sweet Home, who stays at the house to start a new life with Sethe and Denver. Unfortunately their plans for happiness are foiled with the unexpected arrival of Beloved (Thandie Newton), a mysterious woman who may be the physical manifestation of Sethe's dead child. Horrifying secrets are revealed, leading to a shattering climax.

THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD: Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry stars in this Oprah Winfrey-produced screen adaptation of the Zora Neale Hurston novel THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD. A staple of many school's curriculums, the book follows Janie Crawford, a beautiful African-American woman living in the 1920s, as she navigates her way through life and love in small-town America. Confronting societal ideas of how a woman (and even more, a black woman) should act, Janie (Berry) looks for fulfillment in the arms of a younger man following two disappointing marriages. While some viewers have criticized the film for leaving out some themes and details from the book, Oprah's screen adaptation definitely has some things to offer. Stunning cinematography, a star performance by Berry as the free-spirited Janie, and an undeniable chemistry between Berry and Michael Ealy (who plays Tea Cake) make this love story enjoyable for those familiar with or new to the story it is based on.