| | | It's the story of their lives.
Features: DVD, Interactive Menu, Theatrical Version, Trailers
In James L. Brooks' quirky, romantic comedy, three ambitious workaholics are set loose in a network TV newsroom where their professional and personal lives become hopelessly cross-wired. Tom (William Hurt) is the modern anchorman, smooth, handsome and a bit dumb. Jane (Holly Hunter) is his driven, brilliant producer, determined to turn Tom into a real newsman. And Aaron (Albert Brooks) is a seasoned, totally uncharismatic reporter who can't stand Tom's instant success on-camera, or with Jane. It all adds up to one explosively-funny romantic triangle.
"Very funny... three smashing star performances." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Appealing and intelligent comedy... [Albert] Brooks is a special standout." Leonard Maltin
Editor's Note
A handsome if hollow anchorman, a sexy, overachieving producer and a stolid, camera-shy reporter make for a chaotic lovers triangle in this smart and sensitive comedy about misplaced love. Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best Picture, Best Actor--William Hurt, Best Actress--Holly Hunter, Best Supporting Actor--Albert Brooks, Best (Original) Screenplay.
Plot Summary
James Brooks directs William Hurt, Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks in this satirical comedy about three ambitious newscasters.| Tom Grunick, a rising anchorman, has plenty of on-camera savvy, personality and good looks but little in the way of brains. He may be dumb as a doornail but Tom's got the star presence his network needs. Then there's Aaron Altman, a less than good-looking newsman, who's dedicated, diligent and down-to-earth. Aaron would love to be an anchor but he freezes up the moment he's in front of the camera. Spunky, smart news producer Jane Craig is excellent at her job but has difficulty handling the pressure. Can these workaholics mask their personal quirks long enough to jump-start their professional lives?
| Features | English Subtitles | | Spanish Subtitles | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | English Dolby Surround | | French Mono | | Widescreen Version | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 11/14/2006 |
| Running Time: 132 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1987 | | Catalog ID: 2258948 | | UPC: 00086162128936 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1988) | | | William Hurt, Nominee, Best Actor | | | Holly Hunter, Nominee, Best Actress | | | Michael Ballhaus, Nominee, Best Cinematography | | | Richard Marks, Nominee, Best Film Editing | | | James L. Brooks, Nominee, Best Picture | | | Albert Brooks, Nominee, Best Supporting Actor | | | James L. Brooks, Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen | |
Golden Globe (1988) | | | James L. Brooks, Nominee, Best Director - Motion Picture | | | William Hurt, Nominee, Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical | | | Holly Hunter, Nominee, Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical | | | James L. Brooks, Nominee, Best Screenplay |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...One of the most enjoyable and literate romantic comedies ever filmed..." 12/14/1989 p.23New York Times
"...Three smashing star performances by [Hunter, Hurt and Brooks]....Its wit is decently humane..." 12/16/1987 p.C21 Variety
"...Enormously entertaining....The bustling Washington newsroom is a colorful and fascinating stage..." 12/09/1987 Los Angeles Times
"...Diabolically clever....Brooks' talent for observation and for truthful, careful writing borders on the eerie..." 12/16/1987 p.C1 Premiere
"[With] one of cinema's most delightfully complex and obsessive heroines....It's impossible to imagine anyone other than Hunter as this winning, though never winsome, working girl." 04/01/2004 p.65 Washington Post 0 of 10
In Broadcast News, writer-producer-director James L. Brooks takes us inside what looks to be the most exciting world ever. The film is about the private lives of the men and women in front of and behind the cameras at a network news bureau in Washington, and it gives us the exhilarating feeling that in getting to peek backstage, we're being let in on big secrets, that the tricks of the trade are being revealed. As it turns out, big secrets aren't revealed in Broadcast News, but the film is so ingratiatingly high-spirited, and the performances so full of sass and vigor, that in the long run it doesn't really matter much. The movie never comes close to being a great, penetrating work about television news. It's not a scathing satire like Network, nor is it to broadcast journalism what All the President's Men was to print. But Brooks' ambitions for his second film -- his first was Terms of Endearment -- appear to have been far less exalted. Brooks, who used to work for CBS News before moving on to such breakthrough shows as Mary Tyler Moore and Taxi, has crafted a teasing, affectionately critical satire of his former profession. In the process, he's created a spunky romantic comedy with some of the snappiest lines heard onscreen in a long while... James Brooks has a tricky kind of talent. He's smart about little things -- about the jokey shorthand that high-strung, competitive people use in place of conversation, about the way sex and ambition get scrambled up at the work place, about how questions of professional ethics are worked out under everyday circumstances, when the heat's on and split-second decisions have to be made... - Hal Hinson
Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 0 of 10
Appealing and intelligent comedy about a highly charged, neurotic woman who's a successful TV news producer, and her attraction to a pretty-boy anchorman who joins her network--and represents everything she hates about TV news. All three stars are fine, but Brooks is a special standout as an ace reporter, and Hunter's best friend, who's really in love with her. Nicholson (who won an Oscar for director Brooks' Terms Of Endearment) contributes a funny unbilled performance as the network's star anchorman. - Leonard Maltin
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