Bitter Harvest (1981 TV Movie) User Reviews

"A disaster of a thousand tiny cuts"

[elgordo15 · 8/10 · 17 April 2012]

I remember moving to Michigan in 1976 just three years after the event depicted in this movie began and the disaster was still very much a hot topic. Voices were being raised and fingers being pointed on both sides of the issue. There were people frightened of being poisoned by an insidious substance that was said to persist in the body and cause harm for the rest of one's life. On the other side were people from the government, industry, agribusiness and elsewhere claiming that there was no need to panic, that the contamination was under control, that the levels of PBB people had been exposed to were insignificant and there was no threat at all to public health. That last statement was rather hard to swallow since farmers and dairymen were losing their herds to quarantine and disposal and milk products had virtually disappeared from grocery store shelves in parts of the state. The loudest voices raised over the issue in my recollection were the farmers who were facing bankruptcy over the contamination and seen to be doing everything to hide themselves and their livelihoods from it. Mostly I remember fear, fear from the public who didn't know who to believe, fear from the agribusinesses facing career-ending losses, fear from government officials who by the time I came on the scene were scrambling in full-on cover-up mode, and, of course, the fear whipped up by the yellow media smelling blood and ratings in a juicy news story.

I thank the producers of the show for bringing it to our attention even if I only discovered this film just now 30 years after it was made and broadcast. I've wondered about the PBB contamination and what became of it but until watching this show I hadn't really ever followed up on it. After all, there was no Google in 1976, or 1981 for that matter when the film was made. I'd wondered if anyone was ever made to pay for the damage and if there was ever a tracking of people's health who were exposed. There was, on both counts, you can look it up with an internet search like I had to.

Excellently acted, excellently produced, easily watched, I'd recommend it to anyone who has ever felt as though there wasn't an adequate watchdog effort over what happens to people and the environment in the pursuit of profits.

about Bitter Harvest and Ron Howard

[kalmbabe · 7/10 · 31 October 2006]

Most movies I see I forget after a while. Others, like Pearl Harbor, or Star Wars, stay with a person. I saw Bitter Harvest as a TV movie in 1981. It left an emotional stamp on my soul that I carry to this day. I don't even know why. Maybe I just believed Ron Howard really cared about the subject of the movie, beyond the playing of a character, and it showed. Tried to buy but was almost seventy dollars on one site. Good job. The story is about a farm family, faced with the ruin of their way of life because of the poisoning of their dairy herd. Faced with a decision no farmer should have to make, the lead, played by Ron Howard, makes the most financially ruinous, but the most ethical one. He shows everyone what an honest man does; tells the truth, and does the right thing. Try to see if possible.

This was actually based on a true story

[rem1010 · 10/10 · 3 February 2006]

I was amazed at this film. The story takes place in a fictional area, but I know for a fact that it was in Michigan during the mid-late 60's My relatives were on farms affected by the poison in this movie and the events actually occurred. Some of my relatives died as a result of the tainted food supply and others came down with horrible cancer growths. To this day, the farmers are not to speak of this event and the government covered up this story very well. I have to give Ron Howard a lot of credit to bring this information to the public, even though most will not know the true story. I do not want to give away the plot, but you must see this for yourself and then see if you can actually believe that it really happened. By the way, do some more research on the foundry sands of Detroit and see what they did there! There is not a movie about that part yet.

Ron Howard gives an AWESOME performance!

[Monika-5 · 7 July 2000]

Ron Howard does a wonderful job as a dairy farmer whose cattle have become diseased, and because he uses the cows' milk to feed his newborn son, the baby also becomes very ill. Ron Howard runs the gamut of emotions and portrays each one beautifully. A compelling story, and Art Carney and Tarrah Nutter also do a great job in support.

The movie was based on a true story and one in which i lived in

[cbeetlelady · 10/10 · 24 June 2006]

I lived 20 miles from the town the mix up occurred. I was told the chemical that was mixed with feed would not harm me or my family and that it stayed in the body of humans in fat cells. I have 2 daughters that I believe suffer the effects of this chemical and can not get much help from government concerning what happened on those farms and the true effects it has on the body. Michigan did a great job of a cover-up and still does for that matter. My daughters have tried to get information concerning what happened to no avail. This movie is the only one made on the matter and I am going to try to get a copy to show to my daughters. I remember watching it and at the time did not know my daughters had reproductive problems that are extremely unusual and not something my ex husband and I ever had a family history of. Thank you Mr. Howard for making a movie that tells what really happened and not what the state of Michigan is covering up.

While still an actor, Ron Howard brought great passion in his role as a farmer in "Bitter Harvest"

[tavm · 9/10 · 15 June 2023]

This was one of Ron Howard's last acting jobs before devoting himself full-time to directing. Based on a true story, he plays a farmer who discovers that his herd of cows had been contaminated somewhat and that his baby had been quite sickly. So he decides to find out why but he keeps running into obstacles until he meets someone (Richard Dysart) who tells him what's been going on. Mr. Howard brings passion in his role as a farmer who feels at his wits end of not being told of why his farm as well as those of his neighbors like his friend played by Art Carney are being affected. Had he continued acting, he probably could have broached quite a list of accomplishments in the profession he had started at since his toddler days from before his big break in "The Andy Griffith Show". But he had accomplished quite well at the job he really wanted to this very day...

Fine film

[vet1jim · 12 November 2003]

Ron Howard and cast present the best modern depiction of a United States farm and the demands of modern farming. Facing a unknown peril that has him losing his dairy herd a young farmer faces disparagement and questions about his farming ability while his children also become ill. The movie is based on the true story of PCB's entering the food chain in the mid 1970's. Great acting, drama and suspense plus a great mix of home, work and family in the grasp of technology. One of Ron Howard's most underappreciated works.

Ron Howard, Thank You For The Great Memory & Movie

[debgdr · 17 April 2004]

I can't say enough about this movie especially since much of it was filmed in my home town of Healdsburg, California. The production studio rented the "Iceberg Cafe" where I worked as a young man and I had the opportunity not only to meet Ron and the rest of the cast but also we catered their lunches while they filmed there over several days. I was only 16 but Ron being the genuinely Nice person treated me like a good, good friend.

I baked apple pies, (Just Like Shirley Taught me) for the crew and offered Ron a fresh hot slice in between shootings. We set at the counter and talked about mostly me, (Go Figure)

He was very personable and was/is a great guy....

I hope this movie comes out in DVD and when it does, I highly Recommend it! I give it 10 STARS & 2 THUMBS UP...

Summary of Bitter Harvest

[mwebley · 21 March 2005]

In this movie, this young dairy farmer starts to have problems with herd and doesn't know the problem. He calls the state Ag. board and the state sent two guys to come and look at his animals and feed. The men took samples from the feed and took it to the lab. While the samples were in the lab, the herd was getting sicker, along with other the neighbors herds. Final, once they got the lab test back, it said there was nothing wrong with the food, that it was Male-nutrition problem due to lack management. But the dairy farmer was not giving in on that and found out that the feed had poison in it, and that it didn't leave the cow and could be given to people if they ate the cow or drank their milk. The Ag industry went to court but after it was all said and done the court said it was minor problem and not to worry about it. So the farmers took it in their own hand and killed all their cows to show that it was a big deal that needed to be taken care of.

I did a search on AF 10 and found this website while watching

[jim-miller-572-867368 · 4 October 2011]

I did a search on AF 10 while watching this movie, found this website, and I don't know how it ends. I just wanted everyone to know that this movie is available to watch 24/7 on Netflix. For those who haven't seen it or want to watch it again, it's available on the internet. It is based on a true story and I knew there had to be something on the internet that explained what the substance AF 10 was all about. In the movie the farmer, played by Ron Howard, can't get any help from the state when his dairy cattle begin getting sick and begins making a list of things that could go wrong. The AF 10 was not only making cattle sick it was also making humans exposed to it sick also.

Summary of Movie

[luv_2_shop_06 · 21 March 2005]

This movie was about a dairy farmer who bought some new feed to increase the production of milk from the cows. Cows were getting sick and producing less milk. This mysterious disease started to effect the humans. The farmer got extremely worried because these cows were his life, so he did all he could to save them. At first no one would help him, but then he came upon a Doctor who agreed to help. Numerous tests were run and at first they thought it was "malnutrition." Later it ended up being the chemical PBB. This was causing the cows to have bald-spots of cows, pink-eye, defects in birth, and eventually death. Humans had some of the same symptoms including a rash. This disease was spreading everywhere. The only way in order to get rid of the chemical, all the infected cows had to be terminated.

Bitter Harvest

[mandie77fishe · 21 March 2005]

Bitter Harvest is about a farmer that owns a dairy cow farm, and his cows are mysteriously getting sick. They go to the state agricultural people for help and all they say is that the baby calf is pretty much not being fed. But when all of the other cows start to get sick, they realize that something up and it turns out that there is PBB in the AF-10 that they are feeding there cows. It affects not only animals but humans as well.In the movie the main characters baby boy ends up being contaminated with the PBB and develops a really bad rash on him. The AF-10 leaves all of these weird defects on the cows and some died, some have gotten really weak. At the end of this movie they dig a massive hole in the ground and herd all of the cows into the hole. and one by one they kill each and every one of them. There was nothing that the humans could do to save them, and they were of no use so they had to shot and kill them all. So they buried them. At the very very end of the movie it said about 30,000 cows that were slaughtered of killed and buried in massive graves. Many farmers and farms were put out of business or shut down and never allowed to reopen it again. That is the basic outline of the movie from what i have seen.

My reaction was a surprise to me!

[liliebud · 16 July 2005]

This is a gentle, even sweet, movie of honest folks, farmers and dairymen. Watching the young couple struggle to live up to their ideals of running a dairy, honestly, gave me an entry into a world this city gal could never know. In this rural Americana film, neighbors actually help one another. So, I was devastated when the character played by Art Carney becomes so ill; I was heart broken. But more was in store for me. I was stunned to find myself weeping when the diary cows were driven into the pit! I had never thought of dairy cows as being gentle, and sweet, and doe eyed! And so now, Ron is insulting my religion with the da Vinci code crap. Why, Ron? You were nicer to cattle than to my whole Church: Mother Theresa, JP II, et alia. Mother and JP don't deserve this.