Editing Norma Rae (section)

==Reception==
[[File:Sally Field (1990) crop.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sally Field]]'s performance received critical acclaim, earning her the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]].]]
''Norma Rae'' received positive reviews. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] it has an approval rating of 91% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Spearheaded by a galvanizing Sally Field, ''Norma Rae'' is a heartening and politically powerful drama about an ordinary woman taking an extraordinary stand."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/norma_rae |title=Norma Rae |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=April 28, 2023}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on reviews from 47 critics.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/norma-rae |title=Norma Rae |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=December 8, 2017 }}</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised Field's performance, declaring that "we are witnessing one of those unusual motion picture performances that seems to be in the process of taking off as we watch it ... Her triumph in ''Norma Rae'' is to have shucked off at long last all need to associate her with her TV beginnings, not because they are vulgar but because the performance she gives here is as big as the screen that presents it".<ref>{{cite web |date=11 March 1979 |last=Canby |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |title=FILM VIEW (Published 1979) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/11/archives/film-view-sally-fields-norma-rae-is-a-triumph.html |website=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref><ref>Canby, Vincent (March 11, 1979). "Sally Field's 'Norma Rae' Is A Triumph". ''[[The New York Times]]''. D19, D24.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "'Norma Rae' is a superb film. Paced by Sally Field's best performance to date in a rapidly accelerating career, and under Martin Ritt's firm but sensitive direction, the 20th Century-Fox release is that rare entity, an intelligent film with heart."<ref>{{cite web |date=1 January 1979 |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Norma Rae |url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117793579 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref><ref>"Film Reviews: Norma Rae". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. February 28, 1979. 20.</ref>

[[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave the film two and a half out of four, and praised Field for a "thoroughly winning performance", but thought that Leibman gave a "lousy, overbearing performance that, for me, wrecked the movie".<ref>Siskel, Gene (March 2, 1979). "'Norma Rae': A lot of heart, a lot of Field". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 4, p. 12.</ref> [[Charles Champlin]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called the film "a wonderful and—for want of a better word—judicious work".<ref>Champlin, Charles (February 25, 1979). "'Norma Rae': Two Threads Woven Through the Mill". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Calendar, p. 37.</ref>

[[Penelope Gilliatt]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote "This picture is historically fascinating in what it tells us of the labor movement, and it does honor to a particular sort of involved character who will not be intimidated. Well done."<ref>Gilliatt, Penelope (March 19, 1979). "The Current Cinema". ''[[The New York Times]]''. 128.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' stated that "Sally Field embodies the title character with considerable sincerity", but that the film "comes so unraveled that in retrospect the images of loose strands of fiber in the air seem more significant than the character of the heroine or the bleak factory environment. The screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. ... turns out to be a pile of loose thematic and emotional strands".<ref>Arnold, Gary (March 7, 1979). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/03/07/norma-raenorma-rae-haymaker-for-the-heartstrings/607a9f68-1916-4d50-8f10-6ab3cc1bb529/ "'Norma Rae': Haymaker for The Heartstrings".] ''[[The Washington Post]]''. B1, B5.</ref>

Tom Milne of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote "Heart-warming is probably the word for ''Norma Rae,'' a film which leaves no cliché unturned in its cosy efforts to demonstrate how a woman no better than she ought to be becomes better than most of us."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Milne |first=Tom |date=August 1979 |title=Norma Rae |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=46 |issue=547 |page=181 }}</ref>

===Retrospective lists===

''The New York Times'' placed the film on its ''Best 1000 Movies Ever'' list.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612032429/https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.] ''[[The New York Times]]'' via [[Internet Archive]]. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.</ref>