The Miracle Worker

Very Touching

I am in middle school, and we are learning about braille. My teacher brought this in for us, and we laughed hard, cried hard and were silent at times. I bought this movie from Menards for 10$, and I love it! Helen is played well by Patty Duke!

"Now all I have to teach you is one word - everything."

Arthur Penn's "The Miracle Worker" tells the story of the conflict between the dedicated teacher Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft--Best Actress Oacar), who works with handicapped children, and her pupil Helen Keller (Patty Duke--Supporting Actress Oscar), a blind, mute, and deaf child. As Helen sullenly explodes like a miniature time bomb, Annie patiently but enduringly attempts to break through the shell and reach the girl's mind. Two significant themes of Sixties films are clearly in evidence. First is the concept of "communication" as Annie fights to convey a single word to the vegetable-like child. Second, there is the notion of the Generation Gap--a term that would be on everybody's tongue shortly, as the young fought to free themselves from an earlier generation's form of knowledge. Though "The Miracle Worker" presents such a notion in only the most broadly symbolic of terms, it nonetheless provides the first power of image of two generations locked in a heated fight, gradually learning from one another and finally finding themselves in a state of exhausted reconciliation. Violence is the key experience of director Arthur Penn's ("Bonnie and Clyde") movie characters, and not only in genres like the detective story or the western. "The Miracle Worker" provides a particularly enlightening example. Helen--deaf, dumb and blind--is, like all Penn's characters, confronted by a world beyond her grasp. Her first meeting with the teacher Annie is the starting point for a difficult education, scattered with physical obstacles. Gradually, through an alternately harsh and tender process of touch, Helen learns to harness her instincts and to use her body to communicate with the rest of the world and to understand that 'everything has a name'. This film--Penn's most lyrical and emotional--shows how violence can be positive, allowing someone to bring life to their existence and to reach full maturity. [filmfactsman] Dedicated to the memory of Anne Bancroft Brooks (1931-2005).

A TRIUMPHANT STORY!!

This is such a wonderful movie! I've seen it over three times, yet it never ceases to amaze me through the heartwarming story and the high level of excellence in the actors and actresses. This is a truly inspirational and enjoyable film to watch with any audience. It helps you appreciate what you have and shows you some of the hardships people with disabilites have. It also documents one of the most amazing persons and miracle. If you haven't seen it, then you're missing out on a film that really touches your heart (and some truly AMAZING acting).

No Extras?

This is one of my all time favorite films, with two of my favorite actresses giving the performances of their careers. However, considering this is the DVD release, why are there no extras besides the trailer? Running commentary from Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke would have been incredible, considering that they're both alive and haven't worked together since this film...it would have been wonderful to hear them reminisce over the film. Or some interviews with them? Something...throw us a bone here. But I still give it 4 stars because the film is so special, well-crafted and memorable it deserves at least that much.

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