Sybil (1977) starring Joanne Woodward, Sally Field, Brad Davis. Woodward plays the compassionate psychiatrist Dr. Wilbur to Field's Sybil, a woman who has 16 distinct personalities, or alters. Having just read the book "Sybil," I was curious to see how closely the movie (actually a TV miniseries) would hew to the book. As it turns out, not very. The completely extraneous character of Richard (Davis) is added, and he has no real counterpart in the book. Nor does the heavy emphasis on a certain Christmas holiday come from the book. Nor does Sybil ever cook Christmas dinner for Richard and his son. The dream sequence is totally different from the book. And so on. On the other hand, Field's performance as Sybil is outstanding and can't really be faulted. Likewise, the portrayal of the horrendous abuse -- torture, really -- that Sybil suffered at the hands of her mother is true to the spirit of the book. The subtitles consist of closed captions, which are adequate. Grade: B-
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