Florence Nightingale

I purchased this movie for my homeschoolers to watch following our study of Florence Nightingale. While it was a pretty long movie, it was well done and kept everyone's attention.I selected this movie over the other ones on Florence Nightingale because Jacqueline Smith was a part of my childhood. She was such a great actress and did not disappoint in this representation of Florence.I appreciated that this movie stayed true to the times and did not try to modernize the characters. Of course, this was filmed in the 80's before Feminism really took over society, which was another reason I selected this movie.

This is arguably one of the best tv movies ever produced in the 80's. Sadly, they don't make movies like this anymore in hollywood now a days. The movie was actually released as a three-hour movie and not a miniseries in 1985. I still have a copy of this movie on VHS and it's great to get hold of this dvd version this time - much better quality. It's worth keeping this classic movie....from the production, to the music -- an outstanding film. Performance wise, I reckon Jaclyn Smith delivers her best performance in this film. She may not be in the same league like say Meryl Streep or Cate Blanchett but she's a very credible performer. I thought, she's really a standout during her quietest moments in the film. She just played it with grace and composure....I'm giving this movie FIVE stars !!!

I just got finished watching Florence Nightingale and was pleasantly surprised by this made for TV film from 1985. I thought it was well done. Are there some negatives? Sure, but there are many more positives. I know some would quibble about Jaclyn Smith's poor British accent but I got used to it and was able to overlook it because there is a lot of beauty in the film, specifically, the beauty of sacrifice. I actually thought Smith did a fine acting job otherwise. Though I suspect that they have taken considerable license with her life story it still made for a good film which conveyed well the sacrifice that she made. It would have been so easy to remain comfortable in England, a well-to-do lady with a husband and a stately home of her own, but Florence's calling was for others. She fully believed she was called by God to help the sick. Whether she had to battle such temptation toward the married life I don't know but it sure made for stirring drama. It would be interesting to see a modern film made about her life. It's too bad that they can't make more films about heroes and heroines like Florence. They probably feel that they wouldn't make enough money from films like that, so they stick with making 57 Spider Man movies instead. I guess those of us who long for films about true heroes and not superheroes will have to make do with TV movies from the 80's. Of course, if they did make a modern film about her they would probably put a nude scene in it and riddle it with F bombs. Anyway, for the price this is a worthwhile film.

Florence Nightengale was even more saintly than we knew. She passed up a chance for marriage with a man devoted to helping her achieve her dream, but unfortunately she couldn't find a way to include him in it, and it almost broke her heart. But she soldiered on, overcoming fatigue, discouragement, and rampant social and sexual prejudice. The movie did allude to the crucial importance of the London Times in financing Ms. Nightengale, and their embedded correspondent in waking up the populace. This was called the "Breakfast War", because thanks to the telegraph, the English populace learned from their newspaper about the ineptitude of the war ministry and the suffering of the soldiers. Jaclyn Smith was totally believable and will send you to your history books to learn more.

Interesting story of Florence Nightingale's life and good for Jaclyn Smith fans. She of course looks great, although I thought was very stiff and unnatural, not very believable performance. Timothy Dalton would be hard to turn down as a husband, but she did! This DVD left me feeling like it could have been a lot more realistic. Very superficial story of her life.

This is an EXCELLENT film! It is well cast, beautifully filmed, superbly acted, and historically informative. With the exception of the horrific (but true) war scenes and gruesome depictions of the terrible hospital conditions, which might disturb young viewers, it is suitable for the entire family. The life of Florence Nightingale serves as an inspiration to anyone hoping to serve others and make a significant and lasting difference in the world. We HIGHLY recommend this film!

I purchased this movie to show to my class while learning about History of Healthcare. It's a good movie and the students enjoyed it. There is even a worksheet that I found that goes along with it so you can get a grade for them watching it.

Excellent movie! Beautiful story full of love, sacrifice and dedication. The DVD was in great condition. Definitely keeping this in my movie collection. Thank you!

This is a beautifully made biopic of the woman who revolutionized nursing with her compassion and common sense regarding basic hygiene and sanitation. The film was made for TV back in the 1980s and the 4:3 aspect ratio of the DVD is the original one of the production. So don't let that detail put you off and don't waste time looking for a widescreen verion. It's a rather lenghty film with a run time of over 2 hours, but it's engaging throughout and feataures a wonderful cast preventing it from ever feeling too slow or too long. Jaclyn Smith looks lovely and delivers a very solid performance in the title role.Much time is given to Florence's home life as a young woman on the estate of her aristocratic family, her initial interest in nursing and her romance with the too-good-to-be-true Richard Milnes, played by the ever enjoyable Timothy Dalton. While the romance is likely much fictionalized, it's lovely to watch on the screen, even if it's hard to understand how any woman could possibly reject such a wonderful suitor - the man is supportive of her in every way, he is wealthy and he looks drop dead gorgeous.The second half of the film concentrates on what Florence Nightingale is famous for: her nursing skills and her compassion. The film becomes much darker and more serious now, as Florence goes to Turkey with her nurses to care for the wounded of the Crimean War. We see the horrendous conditions she encounters in the hospital when she first arrives and we witness her battles with the people in charge when she wants to implement changes and introduce some form of sanitation before, at long last, she finally gets any aknowledgement for her work.The DVD is very nice. The picture quality is fine and the sound is good. English subtitles are available for those who may need them.

I was grateful to find this movie of Florence Nightingale with Jaclyn Smith. I found it to be a good story, based on history. Drawn by my desire to be a Florence Nightingale, I could not pass up the DVD, with Jaclyn, Timothy Dalton, and the Nightingale story. Good price, Good story. Thanks Amazon.

very nice film !!! - though it wasn't the countrycode of the DVD for my region :-(But I love the film about Florence Nightingale, a courageous woman who followed what she believed what was God's will for her life and was given the grace to live a lot of love for the soldiers in the Krim war.Greets, Jörg :-)

Florence Nightingale war eine hervorragende Figur, die die Pflege als solche wie auch die Krankenhäuser als Institutionen sehr stark beeinflusste und prägte. Schon dafür Hut ab! Der Film ist sehr gut, aber wenn man schon so ein tolles Material zur Verfilmung hat, solch tolle Schauspieler engagiert und sich Mühe gibt, weshalb muss dann wesentlliches geändert werden? Die Vaterfigur z.B. wird da viel zu verschönert, denn F. N. Vater hat sie nie unterstützt. Und das ist leider nur ein Beispiel von etlichen. Deshalb ein Punkt weniger. Als Film jedoch sehr gut.

The film is based on a historic figure FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, aka "The lady with the lamp" highlighting her priviate life, personal sacrifices and the historic achievements in nursing, improving care for the sick and injured, that continues to saves lives today. Starring American actress Jaclyn Smith in the title role, and dashing Timothy Dalton as the love interest together with other well known actors/actresses including Jeremy Brett, Claire Bloom, Lesley Dunlop, Brian Cox; and Julian Fellows (writer of tv's Downton Abbey series). I once read a review which is true in that during the whole movie Jaclyn Smith's nationality doesn't enter your mind (nor for that matter her famous tv role in the original Charlie's Angels). A great performance. Jaclyn does a great job as the English heroin who revolutionised nursing care. Have watched this movie several times on tv. It's probably a 'made for tv' movie - dont let that put you off. I've enjoyed it so much I wanted to own it on DVD. An excellent, moving film. Recommended