Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman of Substance poster & wallpaper

Jenny Seagrove, Barry Bostwick, Deborah Kerr

Determined to ruin the upper-class Fairley family who wronged her, Emma Harte (Jenny Seagrove) aims to become one of the richest women in the world. Although anachronistic for a woman born around 1890...( read more  read more... ), it is exhilarating to watch her think and act like a contemporary woman with the benefits of late-20th-century feminism. In just over five hours, this Emmy-nominated version of Barbara Taylor Bradford's bestselling novel A Woman of Substance traces Emma's life from overworked Yorkshire maid to the triumphant 79-year-old matriarch (Deborah Kerr) of a vast business empire.

Married twice, but only truly loving a man she could never marry, Emma devotes herself to building her business empire. Surrounded by a loyal few, including Irishman Blackie O'Neill (Liam Neeson), Emma lives her life as a strong, uncompromising protagonist similar to Gone with the Wind's Scarlett O'Hara in a social environment reminiscent of Upstairs, Downstairs. Her life is a sort of feminist retrospective on the social issues of 1890s-to-1930s England--poverty, illegitimate children, illness, anti-Semitism, World War I, whether to marry for security or passion, the role of women in the workplace, and such--making A Woman of Substance a historical and inspiring film to watch. --Tara Chace

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79% liked it

720 ratings

Unrated, 312 min.

Directed by: Don Sharp

Release Date: November 26, 1984

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DVD Release Date: April 9, 2002

Stats: 36 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (36)

  • johnmoran23
    December 1, 2007
    johnmoran23
    really loved this story watched many times wow fantastic
  • tpb001
    November 14, 2007
    tpb001
    I was made to watch this one, it was torture.
  • odemsy
    June 25, 2007
    odemsy
    If you have not seen this, you have not seen anything yet
  • Glinda
    June 3, 2007
    Glinda
    This was one of the longest movies of my life, but Liam Neeson really saved it for me. An aged Deborah Kerr plays the matriarch and it is interesting to see a woman come out on top for this time period, albeit be pure fiction.
  • ND2000
    May 29, 2007
    ND2000
    Yes! Truly shows a woman of substance
  • bunmihoyekan
    February 2, 2007
    bunmihoyekan
    Huge enduring, educationanl, lovely, different, liked it
  • loutrev26
    January 12, 2007
    loutrev26
    could watch and watch over and over again

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