Good start, but then it gets ruined

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The real Dr Wilbur and book author Flora Schreiber appear briefly in the film. The scene on the train where Sybil & Richard ride together, they are in the background sitting next to each other. Wilbur has red hair. The real Sybil was requested to make an appearance also however it was too risky at the time for her identity to become known.

Seamless and distinct Field portrays her characters beautifully. Based on a true story, the writer's capture the harrowing with precision and intellect without the aid of gore. Psychological terror is the most effective tool for the horrifying, when placed in the correct hands. Placed in the wrong hands will result in a mass of blubbering, red water and eyes that will roll. Luckily, Sybil isn't the latter, allowing the reader to be drawn in, horrified and hugely empathetic. Highly commended for skillful writing and superb acting, this film is one that crushes the stereotype for T.V movie. A work that will surely survives the ages, Sybil is tragically gorgeous.

...and still packs an emotional wallop that countless docudramas since have mostly failed to match. Originally presented on television in late 1976 with a hefty dose of commercial breaks, which are unfortunately more than apparent in the anniversary DVD presentation, "Sybil" is based on the true story of a Kentucky woman who developed multiple personalities to deal with the abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her nutjob mother. Although heavily dramatized for the sake of compressing a rather lengthy story into three hours, Stewart "Rebel Without a Cause" Stern's penultimate teleplay hits all the right notes as it slowly draws us into Sybil's world. Under the care of psychiatrist, Cornelia Wilbur (played with great strength and understanding by Joanne Woodward), Sybil's personalities are revealed to us one by one as we slowly discover the root cause of her illness. When the final revelations are made in Act Three, the audience is thoroughly invested in the young woman's plight, and the catharsis of her self-discovery is intensely believable and very, very human.Noted director, Daniel "A Raisin in the Sun" Petrie, was brought in as a replacement to helm this one; it was the serendipitous choice. His touches are deft and never forced, especially in the extended takes in which Sybil's personalities battle for control of her mind. Mario "Carrie,""The Stunt Man" Tosi's cinematography is solid and assured, ably abetted by superlative production design, set decoration, and costuming, along with Michael S. McLean's careful editing. Leonard Rosenman's score is effective and never intrusive, a far cry from the manipulative scores of today's films. Everything about the film reveals the devotion and care of the principals involved in making it; I'll be very surprised if the upcoming remake can match that, although I could be wrong, given Jessica Lange's participation.At its core, though, "Sybil" ultimately rests in the hands of Woodward and Field, and these two fine actresses carry the film with all due respect and love right from its unsettling opening moments to its conclusion. Sally Field is simply wonderful, forever putting to rest her typecasting as the "Gidget"/"Flying Nun" comedienne. Her Emmy for the performance was, to me, a given, and in retrospect, a harbinger of her Oscar-winning stints in "Norma Rae" and "Places in the Heart," as well as her many other triumphs. Joanne Woodward, who signed onto the project first and was instrumental in assuring Field's being cast opposite her, gives Dr. Wilbur a dimensionality not often seen in such characters. How interesting that her first and only Oscar came from her portrayal, nearly two decades earlier, of multiple-personality disorder in "The Three Faces of Eve." The rest of the cast are no slouches, either. Brad "Midnight Express" Davis is sympathetic as the composite face of Sybil's "normal" world, while respected character actress Martine "Splendor in the Grass" Bartlett is truly chilling as Sybil's demented mother. William Prince is effective as the distant father in denial of his wife's illness and criminal behavior, Charles Lane is equally perfect as Sybil's shamefully negligent pediatrician, and Natasha "The Amityville Horror" Ryan shines quite brightly as the young, put-upon Sybil. Also, don't blink or you'll miss a brief, uncredited appearance by Gordon "WKRP/Maytag" Jump.All in all, one of the best productions to be offered by 70s television, on a par with, if not matching the length of, "Roots." I'll watch the remake whenever the opportunity arises, but it's going to have to be a mighty fine piece of work to top the original.

The 30th anniversary DVD edition of Sybil was released in July. As Shirley Mason's (aka Sybil)long time friend, I was included in the documentary about the making of the movie. The documentary is a fascinating recap of how the movie was cast and how it came to be. However, I was disappointed that Shirley Mason is not mentioned anywhere in the documentary, and her name is not even shown on her paintings in the gallery. Shirley was a person to me, not a fictional character. I was told that her name couldn't be mentioned because of contractual agreements with the author of the book. Shirley Mason WAS Sybil and her life as an artist in Kentucky should not be minimized. Since Sybil is a story of abuse, but also one of recovery, I feel my friend was denied the recognition she deserves as a survivor of abuse, as a wonderful artist, as a warm, kind lady who lived a quiet life of dignity in Lexington. If and when my book, Life After Sybil... From the Words of Shirley Mason, gets published, I intend to correct that omission. Regards, Sybil's Friend ... Nancy Preston