I was intrigued as to how this movie would turn out as it was only half the length of the original. Jessica Lange and JoBeth Williams are two of my favorite actresses, and Tammy Blanchard was brilliant as a young Judy Garland, so I was looking forward to this, and was glad CBS finally decided to broadcast it.
I'm a big S-76 fan, but I wasn't disappointed in the new version - especially since some bits from the book were illustrated, although there was no Teddy Reeves. Instances such as Hattie having her way with the girls and her garden defecation were revealed. I would guess NBC didn't even want to touch such instances 30 years ago.
I couldn't picture Hattie without the frumpy build and the wild white bun hairdo, but JoBeth Williams was perfect for the role. I do think her acting was a bit over the top, especially at the piano scene with her face contorted in wild rage, screaming "you better hold it", and it was the same thing when she was brandishing the buttonhook in Sybil's face. A scene with the evil cousin purposely smashing a crystal bowl and blaming Sybil because she wanted to see Hattie go nuts reminded me of a scene from a "broads-behind-bars" movie with the sadistic warden making life a nightmare for the naive, misunderstood "good" inmate.
The girls playing Sybil at various ages gave very sweet, touching, heartbreaking performances which made you really hate the mother. In contrast, Natasha Ryan in "S-76" was so numb, it seemed like she didn't care what Hattie did to her. The one time Ryan exhibited any emotion, screaming at the sight of a buttonhook, was done so badly, the screaming was overdubbed and it didn't even synch with the movement of her mouth. Ryan's lack of enthusiasm came across and it was tempting to cheer on Martine Bartlett: "God, that kid is so creepy, no wonder 'mom' goes nuts on her - I would, too." Jessica Lange was wonderful as Dr. Wilbur - funny at first when she's arguing about why she should take on another patient, and very warm, loving and supportive when treating Sybil. There was also a nice bit between Blanchard and Lange when Sybil is being made aware of her personalities, listening to excerpts of session tapes. Sybil is traumatized by hearing her other voices and is begging Wilbur to turn off the tapes, then says Vicki has a bad French accent, making Wilbur laugh - and us, too. Hattie also orders her to stop speaking in "that phony French", when Sybil dissociates into Vicki.
Better than S-76? No, because it didn't follow that format and shouldn't be compared to it. This is really a nice companion piece, mostly in that each movie has a little something missing from the other. I also enjoyed the more casual interactions between doctor and patient.
I'm uncertain as to whether CBS will ever re-broadcast this, as they only put it on to fill space on a summer Saturday night, with hardly any promotion, but I'll get the DVD when it's released. I just hope it doesn't take another 30 years. This movie deserves to be seen. It did lose a point with me for being too encapsulated.
I'm a big S-76 fan, but I wasn't disappointed in the new version - especially since some bits from the book were illustrated, although there was no Teddy Reeves. Instances such as Hattie having her way with the girls and her garden defecation were revealed. I would guess NBC didn't even want to touch such instances 30 years ago.
I couldn't picture Hattie without the frumpy build and the wild white bun hairdo, but JoBeth Williams was perfect for the role. I do think her acting was a bit over the top, especially at the piano scene with her face contorted in wild rage, screaming "you better hold it", and it was the same thing when she was brandishing the buttonhook in Sybil's face. A scene with the evil cousin purposely smashing a crystal bowl and blaming Sybil because she wanted to see Hattie go nuts reminded me of a scene from a "broads-behind-bars" movie with the sadistic warden making life a nightmare for the naive, misunderstood "good" inmate.
The girls playing Sybil at various ages gave very sweet, touching, heartbreaking performances which made you really hate the mother. In contrast, Natasha Ryan in "S-76" was so numb, it seemed like she didn't care what Hattie did to her. The one time Ryan exhibited any emotion, screaming at the sight of a buttonhook, was done so badly, the screaming was overdubbed and it didn't even synch with the movement of her mouth. Ryan's lack of enthusiasm came across and it was tempting to cheer on Martine Bartlett: "God, that kid is so creepy, no wonder 'mom' goes nuts on her - I would, too." Jessica Lange was wonderful as Dr. Wilbur - funny at first when she's arguing about why she should take on another patient, and very warm, loving and supportive when treating Sybil. There was also a nice bit between Blanchard and Lange when Sybil is being made aware of her personalities, listening to excerpts of session tapes. Sybil is traumatized by hearing her other voices and is begging Wilbur to turn off the tapes, then says Vicki has a bad French accent, making Wilbur laugh - and us, too. Hattie also orders her to stop speaking in "that phony French", when Sybil dissociates into Vicki.
Better than S-76? No, because it didn't follow that format and shouldn't be compared to it. This is really a nice companion piece, mostly in that each movie has a little something missing from the other. I also enjoyed the more casual interactions between doctor and patient.
I'm uncertain as to whether CBS will ever re-broadcast this, as they only put it on to fill space on a summer Saturday night, with hardly any promotion, but I'll get the DVD when it's released. I just hope it doesn't take another 30 years. This movie deserves to be seen. It did lose a point with me for being too encapsulated.