Customer Rating: 
Summary: This movie is a disgrace
Comment: Those of you who like this movie probably have not read the book. This movie makes a mockery of the book and the characters in the movie are laughable.
This movie does NO justice to the book. They left out important facts, did you know Mary had another son that they decided wasn't important enough to even mention. He ended up dying when she left him with the Indians. They also didn't do justice to the attack on the village in the beginning of the movie when her sister-in-laws baby was swung around in the air and the head bashed into the cabin.
They made her journey seem like a good time on the frontier. And her husband did look for her for along time, but they didn't really give you that impression.
So sad that this movie was even made, they rushed everything along.
Read the book, because then you will understand what this woman went through. The book is very graphic in it's descriptions which the movie left out and that is a HUGE part of her journey and to your understanding the true story.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Eric Schweig Saves the Movie
Comment: This politically-correct slaughter of a true story portrays Indian captors (supposedly the bad guys) as the more likeable characters; while on the other hand, I had a hard time sympathizing with the charmless protagonist--a white woman who all too readily gives up her child in order to go to a husband who seems hardly worth the effort. Life among the Indians isn't bad (once she gets past the gauntlet), and she meets kind new friends. Eric Schweig plays the Indian who wants to marry her. His natural strength and charisma as an actor bring his character across as far the better man than the husband to whom the heroine is fleeing, which leaves the viewer wondering what she's thinking. Following the escape, the walk home is short enough to make you suspect that Hubby might have found her if he'd really been looking. Worse, the journey seems less about triumph over hardship than about hard-to-like women revealing weak characters under stress. All in all, the movie fails completely, and Schweig's performance stands as the only reason to suffer through to the poignant (but untrue) ending. As history it's worthless, as drama it's confusing in places and gruelling in others. But all that aside, it's an important collectible for Eric Schweig fans.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Woman of Valor
Comment: This was a good movie which both my wife and I enjoyed. Good acting by Ellen Burstyn and excellent acting by Sheryl Lee. It was good to see Renee O'Connor, more lately with Zena, when she was younger. Beautiful scenery throughout. Balanced portrayal of Indians without sterotyping them. This was a clean movie without the typical hollywood bad language and sex. I would recommend it to families with children. I did think the story was a little slow but picked up toward the end. This review was from a taped show on Hallmark Channel February 2005.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An American Hero
Comment: If this movie generates any interest you should read the book. The story (based on fact) is one of the very best historical novels I've ever been exposed to ... a real life depiction of the frontier and the challenges and experiences of an incredibly courageous and tenacious and determined woman.This is very very special!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: Mary Ingals, her kids, and sister gets nabbed by the Shawnee. Eventually she finds her way out of the village and embarks on a long wilderness journey back home. I've got some problems with this movie. It basically treats the Indians as brutish savages, complete with a broken-hearted Shawnee Indian brave who swipes Mary's kids in a fit of jealous rage. I was almost expecting the producers to wheel out a piece of Samsonite luggage for him to swing around and smash. Not to say that the Brave isn't attractive and interesting to Mary. She's attracted to him, but only in the HOT HOT HOT outdoorsy style sex kind of way.
Mary is attracted to the Brave and entertains thoughts of steamy love with him. She snaps out of his spell when the Brave suggests marriage To her credit, he was coming on too strong, I don't know of many women who would marry a guy on the first date. This is 17th century Virginia and not Reno or Las Vegas.
It's no big surprise when she chooses to stay faithful to her hubby. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, her simpish husband is out looking for her with some dude in a powdered wig. This Indian guy is actually wanting to adopt her kids, at the same time Hubby is wandering around in the woods with some guy in a wig. The choice should be obvious sister.
Instead she doesn't listen to reason and rebukes the Brave's offer of marriage, he gets steamed (suitcase smashing ensues) and he sells her to a tubby Frenchman with really greasy hair. Disgusted by the prospect of having sex with Frenchy McSweatsausage she decides to make her way back to her husband.
Blah, blah, blah. I won't spoil the ending of this one, let's just say it seemed a little...strange.
