A Patch of Blue (1965) Reviews

• Very emotional

  sugar-bear2004-11-29

  I love this movie so much. I bought the DVD and I can't seem to stop watching it. The acting by the superb cast and the plot is what makes this movie stand out from many other good movies. Guy Green did an awesome job picking the cast. SIDNEY POITIER:Sidney does a great job as Gordon Ralfe. An African-American business man who lives with his brother, Mark and tries to live an ordinary life. He is also a compassionate man who has a giving heart and doesn't judge everyone. ELIZABETH HARTMAN:I think Elizabeth Hartman's performance is what makes me want to keep watching it over and over again. Hartman plays soft spoken Selina D'Arcy. Accidentally blinded as a child, Selina learns how to deal with life despite having not been taught very much. Selina only knows how to do the house chores and is used to the constant abuse by her mother and grandfather which whom she lives with. Selina is as fragile and naive as a small child. Although blind, Selina doesn't let that get in the way. Visits to the park and her small job of beading necklaces are how she and Gordon(Poitier)actually meet. Hartman's performance is the rare gem of it all. SHELLY WINTERS:I didn't really like Winters in this role. But because she played it so well....I can say that I liked it. Winters plays Rose-Ann D'Arcy, a middle aged, foul mouthed prostitute who's also Selina's mother. It is her fault that Selina is blind. Her fault that Selina was raped and her fault that life is the way it is for Selina. But Rose-Ann doesn't care about anyone but herself. She bad mouths her own father and physically abuses Selina. She has a short temper and makes money the best way she knows how. She apparently makes life a living hell for almost everyone. The love Selina has for Gordon is as pure and heart warming as true love can get. I don't normally like romance movies but this movie is far from that. It's a story of the love two people from different worlds have for each other and let nothing get in the way. I LOVE IT!!!

• A Patch of Excellence.

  tfrizzell2002-07-26

  One of those genuinely moving and emotional films that toes the line to excellence and almost succeeds. Young Elizabeth Hartman (Oscar-nominated) is blind and has been a part of a household where she has been treated like a second-rate stranger and outcast by her cold mother (Shelley Winters is a smashing Oscar-winning turn). One day Hartman meets professional businessman Sidney Poitier in the local park and they become quick friends as Hartman is treated with love and respect by Poitier while Hartman's handicap means she does not know that Poitier is really African-American. Two pure hearts are able to overcome the cruelty of others in this fine American motion picture that is well worth one's time. It is one of the better films of the 1960s. Sidney Poitier was at the top of his career here. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

• Color blind

  jotix1002006-01-26

  "A Patch of Blue" was perhaps the best film in which Elizabeth Hartman appeared. In fact, this was the movie in which the young actress made her movie debut. Guy Green, the director, took quite a chance when he entrusted Ms. Hartman to play such an important role. Unfortunately, her career didn't do much for her as it appears Hollywood forgot her and she was relegated to do television work. In fact, Ms. Hartman only made six full length movies, when she deserved to have been seen more. The story of "A Patch of Blue" is about how blind we humans are. Yes, Selina is blind, but she sees people as they really are. This abused young woman is more intelligent than she is given credit for. She might not have the use of her eyesight, yet she recognizes kindness when it comes her way without making judgment on the only true friend she encounters in her life. Gordon, the nice black man who stumbles upon Selina in the park, is amazed how no one has ever paid attention to her. Clearly, he sees the potential the young woman possesses and he is determined to help her in whatever way he can. Selina, on the other hand, couldn't care less what color Gordon is because she has seen beauty in the way he tries to give her the chance in life her own mother didn't bother to get. Rose-Ann, the mother is only interested in her own needs. She is a sad woman who is saddled by a daughter that she sees as a burden, yet, she is the one that caused the blindness because of her careless actions. Rose-Ann is a prejudiced woman who judges Gordon too quickly without even investigating how he is trying to help Selina. The film will not disappoint. Ms. Hartman did an excellent contribution to a film despite her inexperience. Sidney Poitier made a sympathetic Gordon real. Shelley Winters, who won the Oscar for this film doesn't have much to do, and even though she does good work, one has to be leery of those Academy members that voted her the best supporting actress of that year when she deserved accolades for many other excellent contributions to films she did before this one. "A Patch of Blue" owes a great deal to its director, Guy Green, who fought to make the film and for having Elizabeth Hartman in it.

• Not Enough Shelley Winters!

  bregund2004-10-24

  Shelley Winters's platinum-haired, overweight, foul-mouthed Roseanne D'arcy is as much fun to watch as her pouty, midwestern Charlotte Haze in Lolita. As sharp and horrible as a root canal, she marches around the tiny apartment she shares with her daughter and father, ordering Selina about like an indentured servant: "Where's my dinner?" she bellows like a foghorn. Classic. The fight scene between she and her father is not to be missed, as the one-liners fly back and forth like knives. When the neighbors try to intervene, Shelley launches into them like the assault on Normandy, gleefully turning husband against wife. Sidney Poitier is wonderful as always, as Gordon. As an actor, Poitier can do no wrong; he glides into the room with that curious mixture of animal magnetism and precise diction, sizing up a situation with the efficiency of an accountant. His Gordon Ralfe is realistic and fatherly toward Selina, even as he tries to ignore the underlying romantic tension between Selina and himself. Elizabeth Hartman's Selina is so fragile that she looks as though she will break any moment. I have a hunch that much of her excellent performance is mined from her real-life depression, if her IMDb biography is accurate. This is an excellent film, and highly recommended.

• A great film...touching and thought provoking

  EmAn12132004-05-04

  "A Patch of Blue" is a wonderful film which works on at least two levels: a romance and a social commentary. Unlike most romances, it manages to be touching without being melodramatic, and unlike most social commentaries, it subtly makes its points without manipulation or a hidden agenda. It is the story of how Selina, a blind girl who is verbally and sometimes physically abused by her mother, discovers her independence with the help of a young, black professional, Gordon. Selina's entire life has been spent alone and indoors. She has not learned how to read Braille or how to get around on her own. She basically does not know how to live independently. She meets Gordon in the park one day, and he essentially begins to teach her how to live. A warm and trusting friendship develops. The obvious complication from their relationship is the fact that Selina's mother is a racist, and Selina does not know that Gordon is black. Both characters are wonderful: Gordon is cautious but intrigued, knowing he is walking on dangerous ground. Selina is comically naive and eager with an unbreakable spirit. If you get a chance, watch this movie! It is inspiring and is one of those rare films that actually makes you think.