The People (1972)
A young woman is assigned to teach school in a secluded valley whose inhabitants appear stern, secretive and anti-pleasure. Following two children who disappear to play in the woods, she finds that this is actually a community of extraterrestrials with mild paranormal powers who are attempting to repress and deny their heritage for fear of arousing prejudice and hatred in their human neighbors. Based on a series of novels by the late Zenna Henderson.
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Excellent but underrated film
It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
ABC's "Movie of the Week" truly captured my attention with this film, which had Kim Darby and William Shatner. The star-power was secondary to the story here, and I fell in love with the concepts of The People. Imagine my surprise when just a couple of years later my literature textbook in grade school contained one of the Zenna Henderson stories on which this movie was based. I looked up her printed work, which in even a university library was confined to one or two hardback volumes, and enjoyed learning more about this very down-to-earth outer space idea that she developed with so many connected tales. I loved the warm heart that pulsed underneath the sci-fi framework. Jeremy Francher is a character I will remember forever. I'm glad an old country doctor, played by Shatner(!), could save him ... with a little help!
An almost never seen made-for-TV movie dating from the early 1970's, 'The People' hints at some of the prevailing post-hippy idealism that was soon to be eclipsed by the rise of punk culture.I was a young - and therefore still idealistic - person at the time and recollect finding its quaintly sentimental take on the descendants of a persecuted alien race trapped on Earth quite absorbing. I enjoyed it very much at the time and have never seen it since. Today, with the burden of years and their incumbent cynicism and more critical evaluation I might take a different view. But then again...I recently watched a similarly-vintaged and themed 'Day Of The Dolphin' starring George C Scott, which I also hadn't seen for over thirty years, and still enjoyed that. So I'll stick with my '7' rating until I see it again.I came across a short story titled 'Pottage' upon which this movie appeared to have been based. But I've lost that too. Such is life.There was some decent low-budget SF doing the rounds in the late 60's/early 70's.
I remember seeing this as a "Movie of the Week" the first time it came on... I haven't seen it since, so I recently ordered it just for the heck of it. I hope it gives me the same warm fuzzies as, "The Point" did... :-)
Okay, I admit, this is a pretty lame movie, and yet I still remember it and even bought the video several years ago for about $5. I made my boyfriend watch it with me and he laughed through the whole thing. I was offended! (Not really) The thing that always got me about this movie was the haunting quality of the people and their community. The music when the kids are floating in the glen, the pictures they draw of their home world. It just worked for me, but then I'm a sci-fi and fantasy nut, while my b/f is a business and computer guy!