I had to read I Know Why The Caged Birds Sing in my English class and we watched the movie after finishing it. After watching the movie, I regret seeing. It completely took away any of the impact the book had. The scenes made no sense in their sequences, the acting was horrible, and it seemed as though the screen writer never actually picked up the book but opted for the cliff notes instead. I was outraged at how the movie ended. Almost half of the book was cut out and certain aspects were extremely important to Maya's growth as a person. If you have read ...Caged Birds, this movie will ruin the experience of the book so I warn you not to see it.

This movie hits home with me, since my father, Sylvester Spann, Sr. played the part of Tutti, one of the three uncles that came to Maya's side after she was violated. I used to get a kick out of telling my teachers this when we had to read the book as an assignment. Show and tell wasn't so bad either. This movie is truly one of my favorites. The book is just as good. It's kind of like a family reunion, since the other two uncles that came to Maya's side were my uncles also (Dr. Lewis Liddell as Tommy and Sammy Liddell as Ira) 10/10..go figure

This is one of the most engrossing bio pics ever shown on television. You really get to see the formative years of a true renaissance woman. The book that this work was based on has been required reading in schools for years and you can really see why as you see what Dr. Angelou went through as a child, espcially suffering the trauma of being raped at the age of seven and not talking for five years due to the fact that she blamed herself for the death of her attacker. However, the only fault I find with the film is the fact that they end the film at the point where she starts to talk again. The book goes on to her teen-age years and ends at the point where she gives birth to her son a few years later. Other than that, this was truly a great story.

This film is an excellent teaching tool as a pre-study of "To Kill a Mockingbird." In conjunction with a study of the novel itself, "...Caged Bird..." can be used as an independent literary study or as an introduction to TKM.