The film “The Long Walk Home” with Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek by director Richard Pearce is released for the first time on UCM.ONE‘s B-Spree Classics label in a newly scanned and restored version on Blu-Ray, DVD and as a limited Mediabook in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The official theatrical release in the USA was on 22 March 1991, distributed by Miramax. In Germany, the film was shown for the first time on 13 March 2002 on ARD.
Synopsis
Alabama, 1950s: Martin Luther King calls on the black population to boycott buses. So that her African-American domestic help Odessa Cotter (Whoopi Goldberg) does not have to walk, her boss Miriam (Sissy Spacek) picks her up from home by car. This soon leads to serious conflicts with her husband Norman (Dwight Schultz), who is a member of the white citizens’ council, which is a thorn in the side of the boycott and wants to do something about it.
But the more Miriam gets to know the living conditions of her employees, the more the housewife becomes a civil rights activist herself… and stands up to her husband and his racist friends…
For “The Long Walk Home” they did without elaborate studio buildings and staged the film on real locations in Alabama, including Montgomery. Whoopi Goldberg was awarded the NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Lead Actress“ for her role in the film.
Comments about the movie
“The Long Walk Home is a powerful and moving film, played so well by Goldberg and Spacek that we understand not only the politics of the time, but the emotions as well.”(rogerebert.com)
“The film is not only socially critical but also entertaining, proving that you can teach and entertain at the same time without sacrificing production values or historical validity.” (needcoffee.com)
“There is no better proof of the film’s worth than the fact that you sit through the film clenching your fists and gnashing your teeth at the appalling idiocy of racists.” (www.philm.dk)
“It’s a passionate film, with vehement, soulful performances by Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek, but also a work of great restraint and proportion.” (Hal Hinson, washingtonpost.com)
“This magnificently acted period picture brings the beginnings of the American civil rights movement to life with cliché-free characters.” (cinema.com)
“Sensitive, perceptive, convincing acting portrayal of life and gradual social change in the American South at the time of segregation.” (filmdienst.de)
“Remarkable social drama, carried above all by the leading actresses.” (prisma.de)
Techical datas
Mediabook | Picture format Blu-Ray: WS 1.78:1 / 1080p 23,976; Picture format DVD: WS 1.78:1 (anamorphic) | Running time Blu-Ray: approx. 97 min; Running time DVD: approx. 93 min | Sound formats: German DD 2.0; English DD 2.0 | Extras: Original trailer, picture gallery, artwork gallery, interview with Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek, 16-page booklet, removable FSK sticker | FSK 12
Blu-Ray | Picture format: WS 1.78:1 / 1080p 23,976 | Running time approx. 97 min | Sound formats: German DD 2.0; English DD 2.0 | Extras: Trailer, Picture Gallery, Artwork Gallery, Interviews with Whoopi Goldberg & Sissy Spacek | Genre: Drama, History | FSK 12
DVD | Picture format: WS 1.78:1 (anamorphic) | Running time approx. 93 min | Sound formats: German DD 2.0; English DD 2.0 | Extras: Trailer, Picture Gallery, Artwork Gallery, Interviews with Whoopi Goldberg & Sissy Spacek | Genre: Drama, History | FSK 12
More information about the film label: B-Spree Classics