The word "landmark" is fairly used in the case of Sybil: this 1976 TV movie brought new frankness to television; it raised the quality bar for the made-for-television movie; and it utterly changed the career of a future Oscar-winning actress. The film was based on the bestselling nonfiction book about a multiple-personality patient and her exhaustive therapy. It opens with a brilliant series of scenes that suggest how a young woman named Sybil (Sally Field) experiences unexplained blackouts; which brings her to the attention of a psychiatrist; Dr. Wilbur (Joanne Woodward). The film unfolds around the searching therapy sessions; laced with flashbacks to Sybil's toxic childhood. There's also a tentative romance between the lonely Sybil and a manchild (Brad Davis) who lives across the alley. Most notably; of course; there are the appearances of Sybil's alternate personalities; who express her strangled emotional life. Stewart Stern's sensitive script seems to flow organically from one scene to the next; and director Daniel Petrie frequently allows the camera to observe the acting acrobatics in long; challenging takes.

Woodward; who won an Oscar for playing a multiple-personality patient in The Three Faces of Eve; is all nurturing warmth as the steadfast doctor. But really this film was a sober coming-out party for Sally Field; who astonished viewers at the time by erasing all memories of Gidget and The Flying Nun; the bubblegum roles she'd mostly been known for. Field's work is anguished but non-actor-y; and despite the character's hidden personalities; she seems as clear as day in her performance. The production won four Emmys; not surprisingly including nods for Field; Stern; and Outstanding Special (Drama).

The 187-minute movie takes up one disc; the second disc has informative featurettes about the making of the film. Examining Sybil is an absorbing hour-long documentary with comments from Field and Woodward; as well as executive producer Peter Dunne. It is dominated by the spellbinding storytelling of Stewart Stern; who developed the screenplay by spending time with the real Dr. Wilbur and listening to tapes of her sessions with Sybil. His tale of Sally Field's unlikely audition triumph is a small movie in itself. The Paintings of Sybil presents a generous selection of paintings by the real Sybil (who became a professor of art); along with recollections by one of her friends. Something listed on the DVD cover as "Sybil Therapy Session" is misleadingly titled; suggesting some kind of actual footage or transcript of the real Sybil and her treatment; in fact; it's Stewart Stern describing the harrowing process of listening to the doctor's tapes. The real Sybil (now deceased) remains protected; as she should. --Robert Horton