Turning Point [VHS]

Turning Point [VHS]
by Herbert Ross

Turning Point [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Anne Bancroft, Leslie Browne, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Shirley MacLaine, Tom Skerritt
Director: Herbert Ross
Cinematographer: Robert Surtees
Producer: Herbert Ross
Editor: William Reynolds
Producer: Arthur Laurents
Writer: Arthur Laurents
Producer: Nora Kaye
Producer: Roger M. Rothstein
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 119 minutes
Release Date: 1993-05-19
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Studio: 20th Century Fox

VHS Movie Reviews of Turning Point [VHS]

Movie Review: Great X-mas present for my sister
Summary: 5 Stars

my sister loves this movie and she was so excited to get it, great job and it even got here before X-mas even though it said it would get here after X-mas, Thanks

Movie Review: turning point dvd
Summary: 3 Stars

dvd skips and won't play all the way through. have to keep starting dvd over. not very happy with it. dissapointed. it keeps saying error,not happy with it.

Movie Review: If not for the stunning performances of the two leads I would have certainly turned away from this one...
Summary: 2 Stars

I don't know if you can label this a `sports movie', but for the sake of my argument I'm going to. I mean, technically ballet is sort of a sport, right? Well, I guess not, but whatever. It'll have to be considered one for the time being. Okay, so my argument is this. Sometimes there are `sports movies' that can be enjoyed by any and everyone, regardless of your feelings on the sport itself. Other films rely on your personal appreciation of the sport to fuel your love for the movie. I happen to enjoy a good sports movie, when it's done right, but personally I'm not a sports kind of guy, and so the film has to work extra hard to grab my attention. The film has to be able to make me care about something I'm not too interested in. When I think of films like `Friday Night Lights' I get all warm inside, because while my interest in football is minimal, that film made me care about the game and the players. When a film fails to give you a personal reason to connect to the story then you find yourself uninterested and unmotivated.

`The Turning Point' is that kind of movie for me. It is really only enjoyable (in my opinion) for someone who is in love with the sport (the dance, the profession, the art...whatever you want to call it). I found myself almost bored stiff throughout large portions of this film, and so I have to conclude that the only way to appreciate this movie is to love ballet as much as it does.

I've seen other dance films and absolutely loved them, so this isn't just a genre thing, believe me.

The film casts Shirley MacLaine (love her) and Anne Bancroft as old friends who become reunited one's daughter joins a ballet company the other belongs to. Deedee Rogers and Emma Jacklin grew up dancing together, but when Deedee got pregnant she gave up her career to start a family. Years later Deedee's daughter Emilia joins the same ballet company Emma belongs to and the two friends become locked in a subtle yet powerful war for the soul of Emilia so-to-speak. While they struggle to hold on the Emilia they also struggle with their affections for one another. They both have what the other wants so desperately and so their love is bittersweet.

The acting is very good from both Bancroft and MacLaine, but elsewhere it is lacking. MacLaine is sublime as the conflicted mother, giving her character so many emotional layers; while Bancroft simmers as Emma, keeping her guard up so as to maintain her pleasant fa?ade. The two actresses give performances that are far and away superior to the film they happen to star in. I was not impressed with much else. I felt that the dancing, while beautiful, was too prominent (especially in the end) and took away from the `film'. The gritty style in which the film was shot is also a slight deterrence, for it doesn't match the films tone at all. I thought that Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne deliver decent yet very rudimentary performances, neither shining bright enough to deserve the Oscar nominations they received.

In fact, how this movie was nominated for anything aside from MacLaine (very deserved) and Bancroft (also excellent) is beyond me, yet it managed to rack up ELEVEN nominations. Well, I guess people really liked this movie, but it the flimsy script (there is not enough depth here, really) and the poor pacing make this a film I'm not too keen on at all.

Movie Review: 3 stars out of 4
Summary: 4 Stars

The Bottom Line:

I still think it's a joke that Baryshnikov got an Oscar nomination for this movie, but despite my grudging I have to admit that The Turning Point completely works as a backstage drama-cum-soap opera; whether you're interested in ballet or not, it's a very watchable film.

Movie Review: A Storm of Vulgar Language and Vulgar Emotions
Summary: 1 Stars

I am very surprised that this movie had this high ratings. I may agree with others on the right casting, but this was not my genre. I mean, I love watching ballet but I hated to see ballet connected with divorce, alcohol, sexual relationships before marriage, jealous, mean words and actions, and swearing words. It was a very ugly movie with a beautiful ballet. The dance was exquisite but I didn't enjoy it at all because I didn't like the characters at all. When my daughter covered her ears, I had to turn it off. The peace came back as soon as it was shut off. I picked this movie because it was on the government's pick list, but I don't think my Heavenly Father wants me to watch this again.

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Summary of Turning Point [VHS]

Mikhail Baryshnikov made his film debut in this lightweight but entertaining drama about the relationship between a renowned ballerina (Anne Bancroft) and the woman (Shirley MacLaine) who had trained with her but had given up dance to become a wife, mother, and teacher. Between MacLaine's envy over her friend's career and the attention her own ballerina daughter (Leslie Browne) is getting, MacLaine's character goes through a complicated crisis. The two actresses carry the story very well and probably camouflage its thinness; they even make a somewhat condescending climax involving a catfight seem like a good idea. A subplot involving a developing romance between the virginal Browne and Baryshnikov's womanizer makes for pretty window dressing. More memorable are dance sequences featuring each in splendid performance. Baryshnikov's leaps are something to behold. --Tom Keogh

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Family Life > Mothers & Daughters

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