NORMA RAE. Martin Ritt’s NORMA RAE is justly famous for its powerhouse performance by Sally Field as a trashy textile factory worker who gets caught up in a struggle to unionize. Field won her first Best Actress Oscar for this role, and for my money it’s one of the most deserved statuettes ever awarded in this category. Her work in this film is some of the best, most natural, and most heartbreaking I’ve ever seen in any film. What people forget about NORMA RAE, however, is that the whole MOVIE is first rate, with superb performances by Pat Hingle, Beau Bridges, Rob Leibman, Barbara Baxley and Grace Zabriskie. Don’t miss this one!

By the way, the film opens with the heartbreakingly beautiful song "It Goes Like It Goes," written by David Shire and Normal Gimbell and sung by Jennifer Warnes.  The song also won an Oscar.