Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      The Killing of Sister George

      R Released Dec 12, 1968 2h 17m Drama List
      59% 17 Reviews Tomatometer 78% 500+ Ratings Audience Score June is an actress who portrays the popular Sister George in a British soap opera. The actress spends her time drinking and engaging in lesbian sex with her much younger lover Alice. A television executive decides she likes Alice and wants to write Sister George off the show. June watches as her behavior and insecurity drives Alice away. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (54) audience reviews
      Alec B Reid gives a brilliant performance (we're very lucky that more famous people passed on the role) which doesn't shy away from the character's uglier tendencies while, at the same time, getting you to at least partially sympathize with her alienation. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/28/24 Full Review james g At about the same time as "I am Curious Yellow" and "I, a Woman" (both X-rated) played only at the local 'dirty-movie-drive-in' this one (X-rated also) actually found a slot in the biggest move theatre in town, The Carolina (still there as a revamped and gorgeous stage/opera house), right up the street from The Winston (long gone). Maybe "Sister George" is a tad bit better than "Yellow" or "Woman", but oddly you can still find all three of these films in libraries. I remember I had teachers who saw this in 1968 and talked about it (well, the said they went at least) in class! Us kids were scandalized in public, but secretly loved that we had teachers who went to dirty movies. I'd like to know if I'm the only one in the seventh grade at Wallburg Elementary who eventually watched this one as an adult. (As to the future of those elementary teachers, well, do I have stories-mostly untrue-but this isn't the place.) Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This groundbreaking movie was released December 1968. The Children's Hour with Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn had been released seven years before. Marlon Brando portrayed a closet a homosexual in 1967's Reflection in a Golden Eye the year before. "...Sister George" is a sincere attempt by director Robert Aldrich to show culture of people, not a social or psychological "problem" film. The movie could have been trimmed in places to speed up the action. The love scene between Coral Brown and Susannah York is shot like a thriller. However the performances are florid and vivid. Beryl Reid is heartbreaking. The story is fascinating. Most importantly of all, there is no suicide or conversion to "normal" heterosexuality at at the end. All the characters develop and move on. This film is worth a look. Just keep it in context. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review steve d Shocking at the time, now the performances hold it together. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member aldrich's attempt at tackling controversy considered tame by today's standards. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member very groundbreaking for its time, landmark of a movie. a should-watch, quite the cult classic. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      92% 77% Rachel, Rachel 78% 73% Last Summer 20% 50% Joanna 95% 85% Belle de Jour 33% 38% The Happy Ending Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Photos

      View All The Killing of Sister George photos

      The Killing of Sister George

      The Killing of Sister George (1968) The Killing of Sister George (1968) The Killing of Sister George (1968) The Killing of Sister George (1968) View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (17) Critics Reviews
      Melissa Anderson Film Comment Magazine Aldrich's film endures not because it's an example of bad, pre-Stonewall homo images but because of its sly way of celebrating. Mar 19, 2018 Full Review Pat Graham Chicago Reader Robert Aldrich's "daring" 1968 mating of lesbianism and commerce was, as I recall, considered pretty tame even then; lord knows what it looks like today. Apr 24, 2009 Full Review Harold Clurman The Nation The spurious seriousness of the picture spoils the comedy, while its brave assault on convention is little but hollow show. Oct 3, 2023 Full Review Barbara Grier The Advocate The Killing of Sister George... has almost as much relationship to the life of the ordinary Lesbian, as Donald Duck has to the ordinary man. May 24, 2022 Full Review Harvey G. Cox Tempo (National Council of Churches) The acting is uneven. The camera work and direction is listless. Some scenes drag on endlessly. The film is utterly forgettable. Jan 7, 2021 Full Review Penelope Houston The Spectator It's Beryl Reid and Susannah York drifting dismasted towards caricature. Jul 18, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis June is an actress who portrays the popular Sister George in a British soap opera. The actress spends her time drinking and engaging in lesbian sex with her much younger lover Alice. A television executive decides she likes Alice and wants to write Sister George off the show. June watches as her behavior and insecurity drives Alice away.
      Director
      Robert Aldrich
      Producer
      Edgar J. Scherick
      Screenwriter
      Lukas Heller, Frank Marcus
      Distributor
      Cinerama Releasing Corporation [us]
      Production Co
      American Broadcasting Company (ABC), The Associates & Aldrich Company Inc., Palomar Pictures
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Dec 12, 1968, Wide
      Release Date (DVD)
      Aug 23, 2005
      Runtime
      2h 17m