Women Of Brewster Place, The (1988) Rating: Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Mary Alice, Olivia Cole, Robin Givens, Moses Gunn, Jackee, Paula Kelly, Leon, Lonette McKee, Barbara Montgomery, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Cicely Tyson, Lynn Whitfield Director: Donna Deitch Category: Drama, Classic Studio: Xenon Entertainment Subtitles: [None] Length: 180 mins     Seven Women, Seven Lives Hanging In The Balance Based on Gloria Naylor's best selling novel, The Women of Brewster Place examines a group of strong-willed women, neighbors in the same slum, who all have been adversely affected by misguided idealism. Luciela (Lynn Whitfield) can't emotionally detach herself from an untrustworthy husband; life in the fast lane has run aground for Etta Mae (Jackee) after the bright lights of New York City have turned dim; Kiswana (Robin Givens) has renounced her middle class roots, bringing her into conflict with her mother (Cicely Tyson). Serving as matriarch and providing the emotional glue for these women is Mattie Michael (Oprah Winfrey, who also executive produced), a woman with an unshakable resolve to create a better life for herself and those she loves.