Their Eyes Were Watching God (film)
| Their Eyes Were Watching God | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Darnell Martin |
| Produced by | Matthew Carlisle Quincy Jones Oprah Winfrey |
| Written by |
Zora Neale Hurston (novel) Suzan-Lori Parks (teleplay) Misan Sagay (teleplay) Bobby Smith, Jr. (teleplay) |
| Starring |
Halle Berry Michael Ealy |
| Music by | Terence Blanchard |
| Distributed by |
ABC Harpo Films Touchstone Television |
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Release date
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Running time
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113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Their Eyes Were Watching God is an American Broadcasting Company television movie aired on March 6, 2005 at 9 p.m. EDT based upon Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Darnell Martin and produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions (Winfrey served as the host for the broadcast.) Its teleplay was by Suzan-Lori Parks, Misan Sagay, and Bobby Smith, Jr.
Sharon L. Jones, an English professor at Wright State University writes that the film bears no comparison to the novel. The novel emphasizes Janie's life journey of living with others who try to help to establish identity for her; therefore, she struggles to find such an identity. However, Jones says the film leaves out many important concepts that help convey the central theme. She says that it is believed that Harpo's production focused the movie on the general idea of love more to reach a broad range of audience since most of her viewers are white females.
Virginia Heffernan of The New York Times comments on Halle Berry's performance as Janie. She states that out of all the actresses, Halle Berry excels at acting Janie's role. She pinpoints that the sexual scenes that Berry acts impacts viewers greatly to the point where they will definitely not forget the movie.
Ester Iverem, a journalist states that the movie stands out for its Black romance and sexuality. She also mentions the chemistry seen between Halle Berry and Michael Ealy. Their acting skills as each other's lover is what this movie stand out beyond its natural storyline. She furthers her thoughts by stating that the romance and sexuality seen in the movie are topics that compares to the romance and sexuality described in Hurston's novel.
1. Cotton, Trystan T. and Kimberly Springer. Stories of Oprah. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi Jackson, 2010. Print.
2. Felder, Deborah G. A Bookshelf of Our Own. New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2005. Print.
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