Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41647 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-06-30
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 88 minutes

Special Features
4:3
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital English
Dolby Digital
Trailers
About The Film
Star Biographies
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection

Synopsis
A young girl turns to her neighbour for help when her own homelife becomes a nightmare. Their friendship allows the girl to experience a better life.

Customer Reviews

Very good
I was flicking on the movie channels and this sounded ok so settled down to watch it. The editing was really bad but the story and acting was excellent. Ellen Barkin was particularly pitiful and Bird just broke my heart. Maybe the editing made Julia Stiles part small but she was more of a support act in this.

DANIEL HUNTER'S FILM REVIEW (AGE 15)
LET'S BEGIN.

IF YOU THINK YOU'VE SEE A TEARJERKER, THINK AGAIN! BELIEVE ME THIS WILL HAVE YOU CRYING LIKE A RAINY DAY. AND FOR A FIRST I'M LOST FOR WORDS, YOU JUST HAVE TO BUY THIS FILM, NO MATTER WHAT IT COSTS IF YOU GET IT PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF IT ANYTIME YOU WISH TO.

TRULY MOVING
After having coffee at 11pm (not a good idea) and not being able to sleep, I found myself flicking through the TV channels for a good hour until I found 'Before Women Had Wings'. I was expecting some sort of trashy, light-hearted romance. How wrong I was.
'Before Women Had Wings' is the story of Glory Marie (Ellen Barkin - 'Drop Dead Gorgeous'), and her daughters, Bird (Tina Majorino - 'Waterworld') and Phoebe (Julia Stiles - 'Save The Last Dance'). After the suicide of the father, Glory Marie takes the girls and moves to a mobile court in Tampa Bay, Florida, mistankenly thinking that their lot will improve. Glory Marie's misery at being a beaten women (the scene where her husband punches her teeth out is particularly nasty) turns her to alcohol, and that turns her against her daughters. She thinks Phoebe is making an exhibition of herself with her big hair, and blames Bird (wrongly!) for her father's death. At the mobile court, Bird comes into contact with a mysterious black woman, Miss Zora (Oprah Winfrey - 'Beloved'), and I won't give any more of the plot away.
The acting from all the cast is superb. Although she plays a monstrous, child-abusing character, Ellen Barkin brings a sense of pity to her character expertly. Julia Stiles is fantastic as strong-willed Phoebe, and Oprah is her usual warm, loving self. However it is young Tina Majorino who steals the show as Bird, a child so innocent and sweet, who yet knows more heartache and terror than most adults ever will.

Ultimately, 'Before Women Had Wings' is a moving, shocking, uplifting film, and thanks to all concerned, this adaptation of Connie May Fowler's novel makes you really care for the characters and their fates.