
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, December 26, 1994                   TAG: 9412290065
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

`LITTLE WOMEN' SOARS WITH GREAT ACTING, DIRECTING

Girls who love to read are unlikely to get through childhood without encountering "Little Women," the 1868 Louisa May Alcott novel about four sisters growing up in hard times. It is a sentimental work, but a classic of women's literature.

Gillian Armstrong's film adaptation of the novel is a thing of beauty, somehow miraculously sidestepping the hazards that the work presents. Through a combination of superb, understated performances - especially by Winona Ryder as Jo and Claire Danes as Beth - a strong screenplay by Robin Swicord and lovely, languid cinematograhy (Geoffrey Simpson), "Little Women" moves along on cat feet, never once pushing too hard for that which it does not honestly earn.

Memo: NOTE: Please see microfilm for text.

by CNB