Konterr Brilliant and touching

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

galileosmth I saw the movie at the theater when it was first released. I was in my early 20s at the time. I remember that there was a blind guy sitting across the isle from me. I got to wondering if he knew that the actor playing the blind guy in the film was actually not blind. It seemed to bother me then, and even now, that a blind guy in a movie who was supposedly independent despite his blindness, was played by a guy who had 20/20 vision. I guess that's not a crime but I doubt it would be okay for a black man to be played by a white actor. Okay, I am preaching and I will stop.Butterflies Are Free is a decent movie. It is harmless and has a "feel good" quality to it. It is basically a boy-meets-girl movie with an extra ingredient or two, namely the blind character, and the culture of the 60s. I would suggest giving it a look and if after 15 minutes you mumble to yourself, "geez, this is really lame", then hopefully you will have the option of forgoing the film and doing something else.

dougdoepke At first I thought the movie was about Don (Albert) freeing himself with the help of free- spirited, hippie chick (Hawn) from an oppressive establishment, exemplified by his tyrannical mother. In short, I thought the film was another facile exercise in '60's counter-culture. But no. Because beneath the hip '60's trappings, lies a deeply humane message, valid for any time or place.The movie has its faults, mostly those endemic to any stage play adapted to the screen. There's basically only one set, and lots of talk, talk, talk. But fortunately the dialog is crisp, witty, and often highly intelligent, particularly Don's perceptive nuanced distinctions, e.g. 'want to' vs. 'have to'. And if Don often seems too good to be true, actor Albert manages to make him believable without preying on the audience's sympathetic instincts. Hawn is Hawn, a lovably flighty extension of Rowan & Martin's 'Sock it to me' girl. In fact, at times here, she resembles a cuddly bunny peering out from under a mop of blonde hair.At the same time, interest really picks up in the second half (as others have noted) with Mother's (Heckart) arrival. Her raspy voice and domineering manner inject needed drama and comedy into what has been a mounting one-note love fest. Right away Mom seems ripe for audience dislike, but that's part of the movie's overall moral, which I take to be about overcoming internal barriers to happiness.Anyway, the movie's a tad over-long in the first part. Still, a difficult topic is well-handled by an intelligent script, and a fine three-person cast of players. As I recall, the film was quite popular when released, and I'm glad to have finally caught up with it.

dsuggitt I just finished watching this movie. I woke up this morning believing I saw this movie years ago, and decided to give it a chance to see if it jogged any memories. Turns out I did see it years ago but now with me being much older, it held much greater significance for me. This film was not dated at all and it would be relative to almost any period in time. The issues dealt with in the movie are the same issues that people deal with all the time, except of course for the role brilliantly played by Edward Albert in which he plays a blind man. One of the beautiful aspects of this film is that the script tries, and succeeds at eliminating the stereotypes and limitations of the handicap to instead focus on the real emotional ups and downs of the human soul. Absolutetly brilliant film.

marshallf3 I first saw the play, then the movie, then a play put on at a local University. Now I watch the movie anytime I notice it on and have the time.This movie will be hard to comprehend unless you can devote full attention to it as it moves fast and just gets better as it goes along - in other words if you don't have a copy of it make sure you've got your popcorn and a quiet house. It's mostly happy, with a few sad points but has a happy ending. This one gets all the stars and we did have one Oscar winning performer in it, I'll let you guess who.A movie not to be missed, and if you can see it in a local play don't hesitate as it performs well even on the small stage.