Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 09:04:10

A triumph of the human spirit

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) A true story, excellently portrayed. Claire Danes won awards for her portrayal of Dr. Grandin. Very highly recommended,

2012-05-24 10:31:34

Great Movie

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) This is a great movie. Well acted. I was especially impressed with her tenacity in facing cowboys who obviously were not thrilled about having a woman tell them what they needed to do not alone one that seemed rather weird. They were really mean and I'm sure it wasn't easy.

2012-05-19 22:18:40

Great Movie

This review is from: Temple Grandin (Amazon Instant Video) It was such an inspiring movie to have watched.We shed to tears. The relationships between people and her are so wonderful.It was very fortunate for her to have met those people who opened the doors for her and she went "through" them.Thank you for making it so we could watch it :)

tbdwittyname 2012-05-19 12:03:36

Fantastic!

I saw a documentary on Temple Grandin that I found very inspirational.I had hoped that this film would bring about the same feelings and,thankfully, it did not disappoint. Claire Danes hit a home run withthis one; I was really impressed with her portrayal. She went smoothlythrough the extremes of emotion that Temple felt: terror to delight,anger to pride. The sometimes halting, awkward way that Temple speakscombined with the often too-loud volume must have been difficult forher to mimic. But Danes managed to do it very convincingly. Thedirector, Mick Jackson, should also be proud of what he's accomplished.The addition of the moving cattle diagrams and the distorted soundsreally gave the viewer an idea of how Temple's mind works. This is myfavorite HBO film since "Something the Lord Made" and I hope it getsthe recognition it well deserves.

2012-05-19 06:24:42

Great insight into an extraordinary young woman

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) Autism is a mystery to many and a challenge to many others. This enlightening movie shows how a different way of seeing the world led to developing a humane way of handling cattle for human consumption. Some scenes were difficult to see when students a and adults were less than sensitive to Temple Grandin. I highly recommend this movie.

2012-05-18 08:45:54

I can relate to Visual Learning..

I've seen Temple before telling her story & I thought the Movie did a good job,I'm glad Temple's mom encouraged her & let her stay -w- the Aunt & Uncle,I am more of a visual learner myself so I can relate that way & I Loved My Aunts Farm too but I wasn't allowed to visit/stay nearly as much as I wanted too but the Lil time spent has stuck -w- me that I'd love to Live a Farm Life,Temple has a Excellent Memory where mine is lacking & my parents sent me to College,I slipped through the School System & I was on my own @ 15,I think it goes to show how if the ppl around you offer support/Love what could happen & Temple's story made me wonder if I could try going to college one day & I know how it can be to feel un-comfortable around ppl but I won't need the HUGGER my kids could do that part but my mom said I didn't like being held even as a baby,I can't imagine how Temples Mom felt not being able to give her child Hugs.A Good Movie on many levels.

2012-05-16 17:12:35

Outstanding

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) I started watching this movie by myself as my husband said he wasn't really interested. He wasn't captured by the brief synopsis I gave him. However, I stopped the movie after an hour or so and then watched it from the beginning the next morning with my husband half watching to begin with. He was suddenly captivated and he watched the whole movie with me, in awe. We really did enjoy this movie a lot and it was extremely well acted, produced and directed. It's all about Temple and how she dealt with her autism in her teenage years and got recognised by a science teacher when in boarding school when she was about 13- 18. She sees things in pictures and is a genius. She went on to university and studied Animal Husbandry then graduated with a MS and then got her Phd. She sees inside the minds of animals, especially cows. Check it out. It's an amazing insight into the mind of an autistic person and how smart they are. It helps you accept people with differences and it helps you see how people like her have really had to struggle to get anywhere in life and be recognised. And they have to deal with what life throws at them. I feel as if this is mandatory viewing for all as it helps to strip away stereotypes and free people from ignorance. Outstanding performance by all the actors. Lots of sentimentalism but nothing slushy or shallow. Really well done.

2012-05-16 05:36:07

Wonderful Movie

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) Well worth purchasing as this is a movie that you will want to see several times. This gives real insights into how autistic people think and view the world. I heard Temple Grandin speak about a month after I saw the movie and she validated what was shown on the film.

2012-05-16 03:04:25

"Temple Grandin

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) This movie was amazing. As a teacher of Nursing, it gave me new insight into the Autistic mind. What an amazing person Temple is. Anyone who watches it, will come away with a whole new attitude toward the autistic person. Not only empathetically, but also intellectually will one be more able to understand the difference between the average person, and an autistic person.

2012-05-15 17:35:32

Thought-provoking & interesting depiction of a great American story

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) Thought-provoking topic. Interesting movie about the real life struggles of someone with autism. Claire Danes is a phenomenal actress in this movie. Pulls at your heart strings without being too depressing. Great Film.

2012-05-10 11:40:17

Temple Grandin is wonderful. Claire Danes is masterful

What a touching and heartfelt movie. Clare Danes should have won an academy award for best actress. Very authentic portrayal of the time and excellent work by all the supporting actors. Very cool filmaking interlacing the images temple sees in her mind and real life. Really helps the audience grip how Temples mind worked. Amazing!

2012-05-09 18:46:11

Commentary by Grandin Fascinating

This is a movie I got from Netflix, but I am buying it to share with friends and so I can watch it again whenever I like. Be sure to view it a second time with Temple's commentary--it is just as interesting as the film itself and validates everything in it. She had a hand in the production, and her comments about Claire Danes' performance are worth the price.

sammi1123 2012-05-06 09:43:19

View about Temple Grandin from a Special Education Graduate Student

I chose to watch the film Temple Grandin. Temple portrayed manycharacteristics of an individual with autism, including difficultieswith communication, stereotypical interests, the need for sensory inputand a qualitative impairment in social skills. Temple had difficultycommunicating with others because she thinks in concrete terms and hasdifficulty with abstract thoughts. Therefore, if someone was using ametaphor or idiom, she would picture what they were saying in literalterms. This is what she later explained as an adult as thinking inpictures. She also had sensory difficulties where she did not enjoybeing touched by others yet had a need to receive pressure on her bodyto calm her down. This led her to create a squeeze machine that wouldprovide her with the sensory input that she needed to continue her daywithout a meltdown. Temple also displayed having stereotypicalinterests. In her case, she became very interested in creatingeffective ways to herd cattle while still treating the animals in ahumane fashion before they are brought to die. This stereotypicalinterest brought Temple much success in her lifetime and she changedthe way the cattle business was run forever. Temple also had aqualitative impairment in her social skills, which resulted in feelingmore comfortable around animals than people. When she was around otherpeople, she would speak fast and in a very peculiar way that made herappear different than the people around her. The way she held herselfalso made it clear that she was uncomfortable around other people.Temple had two kinds of teachers in the movie. Some of her teacherswere very rude to her and did not attempt to accommodate to her needs.However, the teachers who were effective took the time to figure outher individual needs and then cater to them in order to help hersucceed. For example, once it was determined that she was a visuallearner, her teacher would use visual aides to help her learn theinformation.Overall, I would rate this movie as very high for depicting a personwith autism. I think that they did an excellent job of putting theaudience inside Temple's head to show what life is really like forpeople with autism. For instance, they would cut the shots very quicklyto lots of different sights and sounds to depict sensory overload. Iwatched this movie with my mom, who is not very knowledgeable aboutautism, and she was moved to tears at least twice during the moviebecause she was so touched by how difficult life could be for peoplewith autism and their families. I also really enjoyed that they focusedon the way that people with special needs were viewed back with Templewas a little girl because it shows how far we have come over the pastforty years.

2012-05-06 03:43:53

WOW! Highly Recommend This Movie!

This review is from: Temple Grandin (Amazon Instant Video) Don't let the cover fool you. This movie will take you on a ride you will not forget. Claire Danes is AMAZING as Temple Grandin. It opens your eyes to Autism and humanity as a whole. It's a heart-felt and inspirational story. You will learn a very important lesson from watching this movie - I did. Enjoy!

2012-04-28 02:26:15

Great movie

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) Gives lots of insight into the world of the autistic. A must watch for teachers and school bus drivers. The acting was terrific.

2012-04-27 20:21:42

Temple Grandin

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) I've watched this movie three times now. I'm so impressed with the acting and the real life story of Ms. Grandin I just can't seem to get enough. Amazing story and done absolutely "Top Drawer"... every parent should watch this video.

2012-04-27 13:35:33

Why haven't I heard of this film before?

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) I am so impresses/surprised, both with the quality and depth of the film but Claire Danes portrayal. We are given such wonderful peek into the understanding of autism, I was truly enlightened. I would (highly)recommend this for anyone who feels most of today's films are 'two hours I'll never get back'.

2012-04-27 05:49:21

Temple Grandin

This review is from: Temple Grandin (DVD) I thought this was an excellent movie, very well made, well acted. I am amazed at Temple Grandin's life and this movie did a great job honoring her important work with getting information about Autism to the public. She has definitely opened the doors to a little understood problem.

Robert J. Maxwell 2012-04-25 00:47:12

Animal Husbandry

What a remarkable woman she is. And in more ways than one. She's notsimply "autistic". That word covers a multitude of levels offunctioning. She's bright, talented, ambitious, and resourceful. Mostautistic kids, when they mature, are able to handle simple jobs -- atwhich they may be quite good -- but rarely are able to do well outsidetheir limitations. Not that they lack intelligence but that theirattention is so rigid and their plans follow their attention. Some ofus have the mistaken idea that autism is linked to genius but it's not.In "Rain Man" Dustin Hoffman was an autistic savant but only about 1%of autistics fit that category. It makes Grandin's accomplishments thatmuch more admirable. Her creativity is really unusual. She's described herself as feelinglike "an anthropologist on Mars" when she's among normal people. It'san interesting simile. Like an anthropologist, she identifies with thesubjects of her study, only in her case it's cattle, not members ofsome exotic society.The neurological anomaly that makes her different from others enablesher to intuit what the cattle are feeling, in ways that have escapedthe eyes of professional wranglers previously. And this ability makesit possible for her to design pens and other facilities that are bothmore humane and more effective.The movie follows the career path of the real Temple Grandin fairlyclosely, or so I gather after reading snatches of Oliver Sacks' articlesome time ago. It is not -- and I get down on my knees and offer upthanks for this -- it is not a tear jerker. Temple Grandin never cries.(She can't.) And no one around her breaks into sobs either. And it'snot a feminist tract, although the cowboys at the ranch at which she'sinterning are dismissive. They're also mostly polite. When they're not-- as when they smear her windshield with raw Rocky Mountain oysters --Grandin gets angry rather than hurt. And it's not a story of one personwith courage and determination overcoming a terrible handicap. That's aterribly hoary formula unless it's done for laughs. Grandin is aware ofher neurological anomaly but she isn't interested in "conquering" it.She's only interested in cattle and in making their lives morecomfortable. That's what drives her, not some Adlerian compensation.At the same time the film follows a familiar arc. In each new socialmilieu, beginning with the home and ending with the huge ranch inTexas, Grandin is misunderstood, ridiculed, and the object ofresentment. Except that there is always someone she finds who"understands" and encourages her to be all that she can be. It's an oldformula and Temple Grandin can't be blamed for the structure. Only thewriters can.Given that, and given the fact that my personal interest in animalhusbandry approaches zero, I thought the flick was quite well done. Icouldn't find any flaws in the performances. Claire Danes is thoroughlydeglamorized and believable as a grown-up autistic.The most moving moment in the film is at the end, at a meeting ofmothers of autistics or something, at which Temple Grandin stands up atthe back of the room and makes a couple of pointed remarks. Themoderator asks Grandin how long she's been the mother of an autistic,and Grandin replies that she's not a mother at all but is autisticherself. What makes the scene so effective is that nothing is made ofthe mistaken identification. Jaws don't drop with awe. The moderatordoesn't apologize. No one applauds. They simply listen to what she hasto say. Nicely done.

2012-04-24 23:11:24

Truth exceeds fiction

I am someone who has no personal connection to anyone with autism, but I do think Temple Grandin's story is a valuable example for anyone who doesn't feel like they fit into mainstream society. She pushes through the anxiety of not belonging because of her personal vision, and need, to make some things right feels so intense. As is often the case, the true story of this person's life is far more inspiring than any fictional account. Claire Daines envelopes the character so well that you forget it's her, the actress. Instead, you enter the world of Temple Grandin -- a world that few people get to experience.