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Katherine (1975) (TV) More at IMDb Pro »

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16 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
"Occupation?" ... "Revolutionary.", 23 May 2002

Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

In flashbacks, Sissy Spacek's leading character Katherine is revealed to be a political hot-head from the start (she was never an innocence lost). As she describes to us--in an unpretentious, direct-to-the-camera way--the reasoning behind her radical decisions, and why she moved from society column to the Most Wanted pages, you grasp a real, living-breathing character at work. You might even come away with some insight into the radical mind. This is an extremely smart, perceptive and compelling picture that was made-for-television but was a lot better than most of the theatrical movies released in 1975. Spacek is remarkable, as is Henry Winkler as a hippie love-interest. Jeremy Paul Kagan directed (he also directed Winkler in the overreaching "Heroes") and his work is stark and subtle. It's a no-frills winner, a straight-forward and sad tale about the well-meaning teenager gone awry.

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11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Revolution with Warts, 6 December 2005
Author: inspectors71 from The State of Confusion

For a 70's TV movie, this is strong stuff. Katherine tells the story of a pampered, UMC, boomer-princess who gets the virus of guilt when she is confronted with injustices in the third world and, you guessed it, turns Marxist.

I sound flippant here, but you can just guess the depths of depravity Sissy Spacek's Katherine--within the bounds of TV sensibilities--goes in her radicalized zeal to tear down the capitalist, fascist, materialistic, racist, showered and shaved system. And yet, when she is confronted with her lover's (Henry Winkler) using of revolutionary principles to justify his banging other girls, you can see her losing her last shred of sanity, her desire to someday have marriage to enjoy and family to care for. The transformation of Katherine from seeker of justice to angry, depraved killer is heartbreaking.

Spacek shows the sort of talent that has made her such a seriously good actress, Winkler is a journeyman actor himself (and you learn to hate him as his idealism morphs into something darker), Art Carney and Jane Wyatt are excellent as Katherine's good Democrat parents who enable her radicalization by funding their daughter as she dives deeper into the underground, and the rest of the supporting cast enriches the story.

The only drag on Katherine is the fact that it is a TV Movie (although the version I saw had a few moments of violence, drugs, and semi-nudity added; presumably for a theatrical release in Europe?). The film just doesn't have enough time to completely tell the story of the radicalized 60's and early 70's. Even though it's told in flashbacks and documentarian interviews (and the interviews with Spacek are so chillingly peaceful, you suspect there's something really bad coming), the time constraints truncate the story. You're left with an almost-told story, not a complete one.

Yet, the strength of the performances and the topicality of the story keep Katherine alive, watchable, and ultimately, crushingly sad.

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9 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
fictionalized but well done, 4 November 2003

Author: Bryce Rumbles from Baltimoreorless, Maryland

It's been many years since I saw this, but I do recall enough details to know this was not based loosely on the Patti Hearst case, as has been stated, but on Dwight, Illinois's Diana Oughton, who got involved with the Weathermen and was one of three "urban commandos" killed when a bomb they were working on went off in their NYC townhouse, in May of 1970. Diana was the daughter of an important landowning family, and was brought up in the "lap of luxury", such as it can be in rural Illinois, who became socially conscious while teaching school in Guatemala, circa 1962, then joined the SDS and its Weathermen offshoot in the late 60's.

Given that this is fictionalized, the performances are wonderful and the writing and direction (given that it's a TV movie) are above average.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
This *is* available on DVD, 29 May 2005

Author: doktorf from Cambridge, Ma, USA

although not a very full featured one. I got it at a bargain shop for $1.00. I bet that you would be hard pressed to find it at a higher price. It is not a particularly good transfer, but still better than most VHS. It is published by Digiview Productions (www.digiviewus.com).

I liked this film. It was thoughtful, unpretentious and well acted. I must admit that I had forgotten what a great beauty Sissy Spacek was in her youth and what a terrific actress she was from almost the very beginning.

I guess this was right around the time Henry Winkler was playing Fonzie and some of those mannerisms come out in his performance.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Underground...and on TV, 18 May 2008

Author: pljewkes from Boston, MA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Jeremy Kagan directed this very low key drama starring Sissy Spacek in the title role as a child of wealth turned "revolutionary" circa 1970. It's a sad and really bleak time capsule capturing an era when young people naively thought they could really change the world, resorting to violence once they realize their peaceful demonstrations are doing nothing. The war in Vietnam, racism, class wars...it's all here. Spacek is riveting, if not perfect. As her boyfriend and fellow radical, Henry Winkler is shockingly good. Art Carney and Jane Wyatt are Spacek's parents and they're proud of her despite her misguided actions. A really good movie.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Good plot, good acting, but something is missing, 12 January 2008

Author: Killakai from United States

Strengths: The acting is good, the characters seem real and make sense and you get to see Katherine develop through her experiences. Very real plot, could easily be an autobiography of one of the weathermen members. They explain why she believes as she does, they don't gloss over her beliefs, she is hardcore, and much of the things that are said in the movie seem like thats how they really happened for many who lived in that era.

Weaknesses: The way the story was told made it bad to me. The talking to the camera interviews especially bothered me. Thats not how you tell a story, you show who she was, by showing her in action. The movie did a good job of showing you who she was by her dialogue and actions, but blew it by having various family members and herself tell you who she is, and why she is the way she is. That is bad story telling.

Overall i think it was worth watching, i think it captures that era pretty well, and shows enough about her politics to make it an interesting conversatoin piece. But the replay value is very low, imo, and the score is horrible.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Life of Diana Oughton, guilty spoiled rich girl, 10 June 2008
Author: oscar-35 from Movieland

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A spoiled privilege young woman evolves into a violent radical under the guidance of a revolutionary. Stars: Sissy Spacek, Henry Winkler. Based on the life of Diana Oughton, daughter of a wealthy Illinois real estate owner and politician. The most interesting film character is Winkler playing a noisy grass smoking San Francisco SLA tough-guy radical. Spacek plays a rich affluent Patty Hearst like character who gives it all up and with a guilty conscience and she becomes a underdog loving political bomb carrying radical. Shot in a dated documentary through the politically turbulent 60s & 70s US history. The roles are believable but the film's look is very bargain basement. A particular scary scene is when Ms Spacek removes her clothes and tries to portray a nude bar dancer to earn money for her radical underground radical cell. This film was meant to be serious but comes off very laughable. AMAZINGLY idiotic left-wing political "drama".

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4 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Terrific acting, direction and score, 19 May 2001

Author: rollo_tomaso (rollo_tomaso@excite.com)

Loosely based on the Patti Hearst saga, this all-too-true account of the times and the conflicting feelings stands well on its own merits. Masterful work by Spacek and Winkler as the well-meaning but misguided rebels. The scene where Art Carney and Spacek dance is so compelling, it always makes me cry; the music is perfectly used; and all the supporting performances are raw, truthful, and insightful. Viewed through present lenses, this may seem overdone, but having lived through those times, it is write on the money and lovingly directed. At the time creative directors were able to say in TV-movies what the film studios would not allow especially with regard to Vietnam and teen unrest -- quite the opposite of today. My score in the context of its period is 10/10.

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2 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
good movie for a TV movie, 9 October 2006

Author: Tayfun_Yilmaz from Turkey,İzmir,Boudja

i watched it on local TV,the movie about young people who want to change US in 60's and, although it is a TV movie,there are good screenplay and acting, especially Sissy Spacek's acting, once i have seen her as much young, the movie are really good flashback, it explains the freedom events in US by young people who want to change everything and protest Vietnam war, they try to make a revolution in US and show US citizens the real face of US political leaders in 60's such as Nixon,if you like TV movies and movies about youngness actions in 60's years in US, this movie are one of the best that can be made in 70's

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2 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Katherine still relevant especially for today, 19 January 2006

Author: psargia from United States

Though a low budget TV movie of the 1970's, Katherine hits a nerve today because it sends a message to a complacent society that has gotten caught up in pop culture and comfort food that injustices are committed everyday by our government with most of us barely noticing. It's a good film for young people who are beginning to grapple with the world around them to learn that things aren't as good as they always seemed in their cocoon of upbringing and schooling. And it is a wake-up call, like a lot of today's new indie films (Syriana, Goodnight and Good Luck and The Constant Gardner) for the rest of us who live for the next episode of The Sopranos or Desperate Housewives between days at work. Despite some drawbacks of the production, Sissy Spacek's impassioned performance effectively sends the movie's message home.

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