Journey to Beloved - Limited Edition

by Oprah Winfrey

Of all the events in Oprah Winfrey's life, none has affected her powerfully as playing the part of Sethe, the former slave who must come to terms with a haunting past, in Jonathan Demme's film of Toni Morrison's Pulizer Prize-winning novel - coming from Touchstone Pictures in Fall 1998. Oprah fell in love with the book when it was first published in 1988, and instantly became determined to deliver this powerful story to film herself. But making the movie was something even more profound than she might have imagined, and JOURNEY TO THE BELOVED is her own emotional account of that experience. With Oprah's heartfelt words and the evocative images of Ken Regan, JOURNEY TO THE BELOVED is an elegant book that will interest fans of Oprah, of Toni Morrison, and of fine filmmaking. Accompanying Oprah's personal journals and thoughts about the Beloved experience is a foreword by Jonathan Demme and a chorus of voices, from Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, and Beah Richards. The result is a tribute to a courageous work of art, expressed as only Oprah can express it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Oprah Gail Winfrey, also known mononymously as Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she was the richest African-American of the 20th century and was once the world's only black billionaire. By 2007, she was often ranked as the most influential woman in the world.
Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city Milwaukee. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teenage years and became pregnant at 14; her son was born prematurely and died in infancy. Winfrey was then sent to live with the man she calls her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber in Nashville, Tennessee, and landed a job in radio while still in high school. By 19, she was a co-anchor for the local evening news. Winfrey's often emotional, extemporaneous delivery eventually led to her transfer to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place, she launched her own production company.
Credited with creating a more intimate, confessional form of media communication, Winfrey popularized and revolutionized the tabloid talk show genre pioneered by Phil Donahue. By the mid-1990s, Winfrey had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, mindfulness, and spirituality. Though she has been criticized for unleashing a confession culture, promoting controversial self-help ideas, and having an emotion-centered approach, she has also been praised for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others. Winfrey also emerged as a political force in the 2008 presidential race, with her endorsement of Barack Obama estimated to have been worth about one million votes during the 2008 Democratic primaries. In the same year, she formed her own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). In 2013, Winfrey was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
In 1994, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Then in October, she finished the Marine Corps Marathon in less than four and a half hours. She has received honorary doctorate degrees from multiple universities. Winfrey has won many awards throughout her career, including 19 Daytime Emmy Awards (including the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chairman's Award), two Primetime Emmy Awards (including the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award), a Tony Award, a Peabody Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award awarded by the Academy Awards, in addition to two competitive Academy Award nominations. Winfrey was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021.

Reviews

[Tristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea why people hated this film so much. It is an incredible piece of art that captures the book in the mystical, cosmic way it was created. This photo book documenting the making of the film is just as magical.

[Patty C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, my interest is peaked. I am breaking open the Toni Morrison novel “Beloved” tonight. I am excited to read the story behind the movie!

[Graceann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oprah's photographic and written diary of the filming of Beloved - her labor of love. The film didn't do terribly well, but the making of it is rather interesting reading. It's more of a coffee table picture book than a real read, but worth the time.

[Ingrid]

An interesting book on the making of a movie on slavery which Oprah's journal of the struggles to make the movie.
Her personal struggles add poignancy to the story. It's more of a picture book of movie shots than a reading.

[April]

Nice coffee table book.

[Gaile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oprah's account of the making of the movie Beloved

[Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up and read it after seeing the movie. I loved the book it was based on and felt the movie did an excellent job of portraying the characters.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

^

[Jahnavi]

nice