This movie shares the unfortunate distinction with one other motion picture - 1985's THE COLOR PURPLE - of having the most Oscar nominations (11 to be exact) without a single win. Well, in this case, I think the film was very lucky to have gotten as many nominations as it did. I have mad respect for most if not all involved in this production both in front of and behind the camera, but it just didn't work for me. At its core, this is basically a 1940s women's picture - something rare in the 70s and even rarer in modern times. I was rooting for it, I really was, but the spark never caught fire. My basic problem is that I didn't care for any of these characters, and their consistent complaining and unhappiness grew rather tiresome after awhile. Dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne both received supporting Oscar nominations, but while their moves on stage are predictably riveting, neither performance feels awards-worthy in any way. Brown, in particular, seems very uncomfortable in any scene that doesn't involve dance. The two leading ladies are dependably strong, particularly Bancroft, but I didn't feel compelled by either performance. There are TONS of ballet scenes here, so depending on your love of the art form, this may be an advantage or a hindrance. It's well made, but I expected more based on the pedigree and awards attention.

A powerful story and a never ending line of great performances.

You're going to disappointed by a really stupid ending.

My goodness! It is wonderful to find a film that I love and I loved everything about this film from the performances, to the writing, to the visuals and especially the catfights. Director Herbert Ross had two major hits in 1977 what with the delightful The Goodbye Girl (1977) also being nominated for Best Picture. Of the two I would call this film superior as it explores the issues that women face in deciding whether to have a family or commit to a career in a way that is entertaining and heartwarming. Watching screen legends Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft come together with a screenplay worthy of their talents is an absolute pleasure and both shine playing polar opposite characters. So-called ‘Women's pictures' made a comeback in the late 1970s with An Unmarried Woman (1978) and Girlfriends (1978) but this was the premiere example of the genre. Retired ballerina DeeDee Rogers, Shirley MacLaine, quit dancing decades ago in order to become a mother with her devoted husband Wayne, Tom Skerritt, who is also a former dancer. She encounters her longtime friend Emma Jacklin, Anne Bancroft, when the family goes to see the ballet company she used to work for perform. Jacklin became a respected professional and won the role in ‘Anna Karenina' that she and Rogers had been competing to play but has no real personal life and regrets the fact that she never had her own children. Rogers still resents Jacklin for encouraging her to have children and believes that she did this maliciously to prevent her from obtaining the role. The women fight over Rogers' daughter Emilia, Leslie Browne, whom Jacklin mentors in an effort to fill the void of not having a daughter while Rogers reminisces about missed opportunities. Eventually the resentments between Jacklin and Rogers come to a head but in the end all is resolved and both women come to terms with the decisions they have made about the direction of their lives and careers. MacLaine brings the warmth and resentfulness that would make her so great in Terms of Endearment (1983) to this film but she isn't just a watered down Aurora Greenway, she also gets to be a woman grappling with the difficulties of marriage and jealousy over the achievements of her best friend. We see the inner conflict of Rogers through MacLaine's every action as she carries a sadness around with her in almost every scene and this is what makes the climactic argument between herself and Jacklin such a cathartic moment. All of the repressed anger and hurt that she has held inside over the years is released and MacLaine makes the most of her big moments as she is deliciously uninhibited when tearing down her best friend. Bancroft is equally brilliant as she is convincing as a woman desperate to keep her position at the top as well as someone worthy of respect. She is more resigned in the final argument but even when Bancroft doesn't get the opportunity to scream and gesticulate with her hands she lets you know exactly how her character feels. It is the chemistry between the two that makes the film work so well as they are mesmerizing as individuals but dynamite when they are together. This is a credit to both actresses as most performers with their charisma would attempt to overpower one another but fortunately Bancroft and MacLaine play each scene perfectly. The film is also able to view the issues it deals with realistically as it doesn't present us with the fairytale ending of Emilia having a successful romantic relationship and career but instead shows that she can be a professional success while ending a difficult relationship. I appreciated the fact that while Rogers and Jacklin will always be slightly wistful for what they could have had, as we all are, they recognize that we would have been disappointed by having each other's lives and made the right choice. Female friendship has also rarely been portrayed with as much intimacy as is seen in this film as we recognize that these two will always be bound together despite the terrible things they have said and done to one another. For any woman this is sure to be a film that they can relate to and when actresses as brilliant as MacLaine and Bancroft are bringing these complicated ladies to life it's difficult to turn away.

Lovely, reflective dance soap opera

Beautiful movie. Lovely to see Barishikov's dancing and personality.

I SAW this in theaters when it came out and as a teenager, I loved everything about it. I rewatched it recently with an adult's eye and found most of it still endearing. maclaine and bancroft are wonderful and the dance sequences are breathtaking.

The Turning Point is a gorgeous ballet with some amazing dancers which is constantly interrupted by a terrible movie. There are two stories taking place in this lousy movie, and the first one is about a former dancer who is regretting her decision to quit the ballet. You’d think, because Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft star in this story, it would be brilliant. However MacLaine is completely unsympathetic, and behaves in a frustrating way. Not to mention the movie keeps making us face the fact that Bancroft is getting old, which is just depressing. Then there’s the secondary story about the daughter of MacLaine’s character who is dealing with her first big romance, and trying to balance that with her big break in the ballet. Let it be known that not all actors can dance well, but more importantly not all dancers can act well. Mikhail Baryshnikov tries as the male love interest, but he’s pretty terrible. However, he’s not as bad as Leslie Browne, who is almost unwatchable. Yet when Baryshnikov and Browne break into a dance it is marvelous. I found The Turning Point to be thoroughly unpleasant because of the bad plot and acting, and frankly I’d rather just watch the full-length ballets that they were performing in the film instead of ever sitting through this movie again.

The Turning Point is a decent film. It is about a former dancer who is forced to confront her long-ago decision to give up the stage to have a family when her daughter joins a ballet company. Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft give good performances. The script is a little slow places. Herbert Ross did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama and romance.

It's decent but whoa, 11 Oscar nominations? Shirley MacClaine and Anne Bancroft are great and some of the supporting actors did a good job too but it overall isn't captivating. The dance scenes are really well done and it has a great soundtrack but overall, it's just a decent movie on its own merits

Watched this again after many years. The ballet is first rate and there is a lot of it. Bancroft and MacLaine are compelling, except when they attempt a fight. Career vs. family theme isn't very deep, but a film that was nominated for 11 Oscars certainly struck a chord a the time.

11 nominations and one went to Baryshnikov, too. He dances in the movie. The movie won 0 Oscars. Baryshnikov dances in it.

11 Oscar Nominations........No wins. The performances in this film are breathtaking but the story is sub par. It really made me miss Anne Bancroft.

Wonderful performances from Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft and fantastic dancing by Lesley Browne and Mikhail Baryshnikov in this exploration of career versus family.

Being the movie about the choices we make and their consequences on a long term basis I would have focused more on those situations than in ballet itself, because making the decision of marrying and leaving all of your dreams behind can happen in many other circumstances. The film could have been great without all the shallow ballet scenes (some of them are important of course) which I think are gaps of time the director could have seized to make more riveting dialogue, like the verbal fight between Deedee and Emma. Great performance by Anne Bancroft, I would say the same for Shirley MacLaine but she plays the same mom every time.

Together with THE COLOR PURPLE, this movie suffered the same fate of being nominated for 11 awards and won 0. Bland but probably Oscars love the emotional complexity and the beautiful dialogue. Acting is top-notch from the two veteran actresses, Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine.

B- Not aging terribly well, with an overdramatized storyline, it remains an interesting case study of a modern woman's struggle.

Enjoyed the great acting and the ballet dance

A former ballet dancer's daughter moves to New York to star in a big-time ballet company, and the move resurfaces old grudges. I suppose that the highlights of this film are the ballet sequences, which are well-choreographed and visually fun to watch. But these sequences do nothing to advance the story or the film's characters; they divert the film's focus. Deedee, played by Shirley MacLaine, is the center of the film's main conflict, and Deedee must reconcile her choice - to settle down and have a family rather than compete against Emma, played by Anne Bancroft, for professional success. Despite scenes in which Deedee looks on enviously as her daughter achieves the success she never did, this conflict just sits in the background, and there aren't many moments in which we see Deedee working to resolve the conflict. The affair subplot is lame and poorly presented, and the final fight between Emma and Deedee resolves like a bad Lifetime movie - illogical, maudlin, and wracked with a bond between women that nobody could understand or believe. Overall, if you like ballet, skip the poor excuse for a plot between the dance scenes.

A nice flick~amazing Mikail...