Watch Norma Rae For Free

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a very good movie. It is extremely fun to watch. The movie is simple to explain, basically the movie is about a labor organizer who comes to a small southern town with the mission to set up a labor union at the local cotton mill. Obviously, the mill does not want it's workers to organize. After the organizer arrives he ends up making friends with a worker at the mill. Obviously there is more to the story then this but this is the basic synopsis. The film does a good job of telling the story of how some of the blue collar workers are treated in our country. The quality of the film stock reminds me of a B movie. But the acting and story are superb and nothing short of a quality A list flick. I know the movie came out in 1979, so I was expecting a little lower quality film stock but this is so far below the standards of the time that I think it was by design to help put the viewers in the shoes of the cotton mill workers. The trick was nothing short of effective, I think this low quality of the film's picture helped put me in the right frame of mind. As far as the acting goes it is great. In fact Sally field wan an Oscar for her performance in the movie. And I think the labor organizer at least deserved a nomination. The other Oscar that the film won was for Best Original Song, and the song deserved it. The music here is simple and the song defiantly anchors the light soundtrack. Other then these two wins the film was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. Those last two nominations go to show just how good this movie really is!!! Take my advise, WATCH IT!

This is a review of "Silkwood" and "Norma Rae", two of the more famous "women's pictures" of the 1980s. The better of the two, "Norma Rae" stars Sally Field as Norma Rae, a textile worker in small town North Carolina. Director Martin Ritt delves into Norma's social and home life, highlights the exploitation of both Norma and her fellow workers, and then introduces Norma to a Jewish unionist played by Ron Leibman. Ron teaches Norma the importance of solidarity, worker rights and battling for betterment. Sally, meanwhile, reveals herself to be a headstrong, blue-collar warrior; the brawn behind Leibman's brains.While "Norma Rae" does trivialise (it champions a "fairer capitalism", rather than examine the contradictions of capitalism itself), it does contain a number of good passages, most of which either compare Ron and Norma's differing social backgrounds or show the textile bosses strategically promoting dissenters and so pitting workers against workers. John Alonzo's cinematography is pitch perfect, gritty, intimate and pseudo-documentarian.Some have complained that "Norma Rae" is uncritical of unions, that the film neglects to mention that Norma's textile plant promptly shut down, and then go so far as to suggest that "unions are bad" because they "end jobs" and "chase jobs offshore". We see similar arguments today, banks, and the financial sector as a whole, which proclaim themselves as being "indespensible", threatening to pack up and leave countries if taxes are raised or stricter measures are put in place. Such things are typically used as "proof" for the benefits of less regulation. In reality, it's tantamount to blackmail.Directed by Mike Nichols, "Silkwood", another blue-collar whistle-blower picture, stars Meryl Streep as Karen Silkwood, a lowly worker at an Oklahoma nuclear facility. Along with her best friends (played by Kurt Russell and Cher), Karen begins to gather proof of her company's copious wrongdoings, which include poor safety measures, employee exploitation and radiation spills. Like "Norma Rae", the company bosses attempt to fight back, but can't seem to counter Karen's grit and determination. Both film's are overly sentimental, deal in very broad stereotypes (bad bosses, good exploited workers, saintly activists etc), but mask their deficiencies well with their low-key tones, naturalistic acting and strong, small town atmosphere. Their ancestors are King Vidor's "Our Daily Bread" and Michael Wilson's "Salt of the Earth". Their children are everything from "Matewan" to "North Country" to "Erin Brokovich" to "The Insider" to Ken Loach's underrated "Bread and Roses". The tale's familiar, and is habitually resuscitated every now and then.Unlike most films in this genre, "Silkwood's" hero is actively stalked, hounded and murdered by the shadowy corporations she locks horns with. In real life, the nuclear facility at which Karen worked (Kerr-McGee) was rumoured to have strong ties to the US Government, the CIA and the NIA. As Karen was about to whistle-blow on the illegal sale of nuclear grade plutonium, some believe she was assassinated. In the 1970s, women like her spearheaded the anti-nuclear movement, which has been successful in stopping the construction of nuclear plants, which even today are constantly being offered as "clean", "carbon free", "reliable energy sources".8/10 - Overrated, simplistic, but well acted. Worth one viewing. See "Bread and Roses".

Very social and clever movie about ordinary girl who tries to awake her sleepy town in order that to fight for their rights. I became interested this film because recently saw remarkable drama "Rosa" with Bette Midler. I learned that she was nominated on Oscar, but winner became Sally Field with "Norma Rae" and I'm urgently became search its. "Norma Rae" is very absorbing and dramatic story, I'm really very strongly worried for characters of this film and I'm deeply imbued their troubles, because similar problems are very actually today and touching many ordinary people in all the World. This film makes you wonder about many important for us things and I strongly recommend its for watching to everyone. Maybe this film will be unite us, maybe no, but some important and right things in your hearts will remain exactly. .

This is based on a real life story. It takes place in a small Southern town where virtually everyone works at a textile mill. They're underpaid and overworked and some die because of the conditions. Norma Rae (Sally Field) is disgusted with it but what can she do? Then union organizer Reuben (Ron Leibman) comes to town. He revs her up and they start trying to convince the workers to unionize...but the company management doesn't like that.Incredible movie. As everyone probably knows this film won Sally Fields a deserved Oscar and proved to everyone she can act. She's just incredible--full of fire, energy and anger. When she's on screen you can't take your eyes off her. In a good move the movie does NOT glorify her or make her a super woman. She's just a strong, determined woman fighting for her beliefs. The sequence where she holds up the "UNION" sign in the factory has become a classic. Leibman matches her. He was just as good, if not better, than Field. He deserved Oscar recognition too but sadly didn't get it. It also shows how a man and woman can work together and NOT fall into bed. It also shows how Norma's husband Sonny (a sadly underused Beau Bridges) comes around and realizes his wife is doing a good thing to which he was incredibly opposed to at first. The script is great--never too preachy or too sappy. Martin Ritts did an incredible directing job too. Heck even the opening and closing song ("It Goes As It Goes") is great and ALSO won an Oscar. A great movie. Well worth seeing.