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Leaburn O Like all William Hurt films, this was full of chat, whilst there was little gripping plot to keep me interested. Just a standard office politics drama. Found it well acted but boring. Watched on DVD. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/24/24 Full Review John K Why’d I go downstairs? Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/01/24 Full Review Jeff M I think this was the first time I really fell in love with a movie! I missed 18 months of high school because of a horrible case of mono at the time this movie came out on video. I was so smitten, I watched it at least once a day for probably a couple weeks. It was as perfect a movie as I had seen up to that point, and the three lead characters felt like part of my family. Hunter gives one of the great screen performances ever, in my opinion, and although the character was written for another actress (Debra Winger), you can't imagine anyone else in the part. The behind the scenes stuff is fascinating and seems authentic, the intelligent dialogue absolutely crackles, and this was the apex of James L. Brooks as a director, even superior to his Oscar winning TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. I still quote lines regularly from this film, and it will forever be etched in my movie-loving soul. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/24 Full Review Donald A The perfect mix between an art-house ending and an 80's romance, James L. Brooks' film "Broadcast News" is a true classic to behold. One could give Mr. Brooks an honorary film award simply for the ending, if one knew the backstory and controversy surrounding it. The three main stars, William Hurt, Holly Hunter, and Albert Brooks, contrive their performances into a surreal sort of being, acting out their roles to the utmost extent. Hunter's performance is the best in the picture, and deserves recognition for her hilarious ferocity. This film is brilliant. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/01/23 Full Review John E Broadcast News (1987) provided audiences with two impressive accomplishments. The most important being a tight, well written, finely directed, and superbly acted story. The second accomplishment was casting Holly Hunter in a role that would provide her with a break-out performance she was very deserving of. Jane Craig (Hunter) is a high-strung yet remarkably talented news director. She works closely with Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), a news correspondent whom she respects and trusts because of his knowledge, experience, and integrity. Aaron aspires to advance in his career but is held back because he's not as visually attractive as less qualified news employees and he lacks a confident demeaner. Enter Tom Grunick (William Hurt), a good-looking former sportscaster who is hired by the DC area network where Jane and Aaron work. Tom has been hired as a prime time news anchor based on his viewer appeal, not his experience or knowledge. Tom is everything that Jane fears and despises for the future of the broadcast news industry. As profits become more important than integrity, the network places more value on style than actual substance and it seeks to elevate the inexperienced who poll better with viewers. Tom admits that he often doesn't understand the topics he's covering, yet he succeeds because he has Jane and Aaron feeding him information and questions through an earpiece. Eventually the three learn to co-exist, but their relationships are complicated when Aaron admits that he has romantic feelings for Jane, while simultaneously Jane is beginning to have a relationship with Tom. The characters are well defined, and the plot digs deep into that period in young professional's lives when they are out to change the world and spend so much time at work that it muddies their personal lives as well, an experience that most viewers can relate to. This movie came out shortly after the first 24-hour news network (CNN) began airing. Jane's fear of the future of news seems more real today than when the film was first released. We now have several 24-hour channels that label themselves as news, yet their entire broadcast days are filled with nothing but opinionated commentary and there's not a single real journalist in sight. In just the last few weeks we've learned that one of them (Fox) deliberately fed its viewers information it knew to be false, solely to increase ratings by telling much of its audience what they wanted to hear rather than what was true. This is a much more egregious betrayal of journalistic ethics than the staged tears that Tom serves up in the film when interviewing a victim of rape. A tear that would end his complicated relationship with Jane. This film, its creators, and performers are all deserving of the many award nominations they received. It barely seems dated (ok, usage of VHS tapes aside!) and provides an extremely well crafted and satisfying ending. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/22/23 Full Review david f Intense scenes of television newsrooms are alternated with intense scenes of the romantic lives of the protagonists, making for an intense workplace comedy. I found it unique and interesting and I particularly enjoyed the coda where the main characters meet up a few years after the main action of the film. Also makes good use of the Washington D.C. setting-you really feel like you are in the political capital rubbing shoulders with its denizens. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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