Product Details

• Actors: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, David Paymer, Samantha Mathis
• Directors: Rob Reiner
• Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2012
• Run Time: 114 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (388 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00876PLNK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,042 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

What sounds like a high-concept romantic comedy pitch from hell--widower president falls for smart lobbyist while the world watches--is actually intelligent, charming, touching, and quite funny. Granted, it's wish fulfillment all the way (when was the last time you saw a president who was truly presidential?), but in the capable hands of writer Aaron Sorkin (TV's Sports Night) and director Rob Reiner, The American President is incredibly enjoyable entertainment with quite a few ideas about both romance and the government. Michael Douglas stars as the president, who after three years in office starts thinking about the possibility of dating. When he auspiciously encounters cutthroat environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), sparks begin to crackle and the two begin a tentative but heartfelt romance. Of course, his job gets in the way--their first kiss is interrupted by a Libyan bombing--but darn it if these two kids aren't going to try and make it work! However, they hadn't counted on the president's Republican antagonist (Richard Dreyfuss), who starts carping about family values. The predictable plot--Douglas finally goes to bat for his lady and his country--is leavened by Sorkin's wonderful, snappy dialogue and a light touch from the usually subtle-as-a-sledgehammer Reiner. Both manage to create a believable White House-office atmosphere (with a crack staff including Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Anna Deavere Smith, and Samantha Mathis) as well as a plausible and funny dating scenario. The true success of the movie, though, rides squarely on Douglas and Bening; this is unequivocally Douglas's best comedic performance (ergo his best performance, period) and Bening, usually such a good bad girl, takes a standard career-woman role and fleshes it out magnificently. You can see in an instant why Douglas would fall for her. One of the best unsung romantic comedies of the '90s. --Mark Englehart

Product Description

The world's most powerful man has met his match! Michael Douglas is the widower President wooing environmental lobbyist Annette Bening in this romantic hit by Rob Reiner.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great story......disappointing DVD! September 7, 1999

By A Customer

Format:DVD

Everyone knows this is a terrific movie! Those of us who are also DVD fans have waited a couple of years for this to appear on DVD. What a let down!! Rob, where are you man!!!

This a poor transfer with lots of artifacts and someone trying too hard to sharpen the image. To make matters worse this disc has very limited extras. Ok, it's out so let's move to the "collector's edition" so Warner can get a few more bucks and we can get a disc more worthy of this great movie!!

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Good movie. Horrendous DVD transfer - AVOID! July 14, 2003

By A Customer

Format:DVD

This is a charming film with good performances. It reads like a precursor to Aaron Sorkin's "West Wing," except Martin Sheen is the best friend in this one. Michael Douglas is president.

HOWEVER, the DVD transfer on this disc is fairly notorious on DVD review sites as being one of the worst ever created. You would be doing yourself a disservice by buying this disc. Get the VHS tape or wait for a new edition on DVD.

56 of 64 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I never get tired of watching this great movie June 23, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

"The American President" is a terrific movie about politics, romance, sex, and real life. Michael Douglas leads a terrific cast of characters that I love to hear talk to each other over and over again. I've seen this movie so many times, I nearly have it memorized. President Andy Sheppard (Douglas) is having problems pushing his crime bill through Congress, but those problems intensify when he finds himself falling for the beautiful environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening). The press is all over them from every angle, and Sheppard's 63% approval rating is dropping like a rock. The romance in this story is sweet, but it takes second place to the witty dialogue written by "Sports Night" creator Aaron Sorkin, which makes every character equally enjoyable. Martin Sheen should have won an Oscar for his performance as White House Chief of Staff A.J. Mackinerny, and Michael J. Fox is terrific as Louis Rothchild, who delivers a great speech in the film. The two leads, Douglas and Bening, are great together, and for every moment they are on the screen together, we forget that we're watching a movie. Rob Reiner does a terrific directing job, and turns out a movie that surpasses "When Harry Met Sally."

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars AFI's Greatest Love Stories: #75 The American President August 3, 2002

By Lawrance M. Bernabo HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Okay, to weigh in on the key points of discussion that keep popping up with regards to this particular romantic comedy. First, I would have liked "West Wing" if I had never seen "The American President" and I would have liked "The American President" even if it was not a test balloon for "The West Wing." Second, of course a romantic comedy about the President of the United States is going to have a liberal in the White House. Conservatives are either (a) not that funny or (b) do not like to be laughed at, take your pick. Third, the part that bugs me the most is the "character" issue everybody keeps alluding to. I know part of the premise of this movie is "What is Hillary died and Bill Clinton was all alone in the White House and Chelsea was giving him dating tips?", but does that automatically mean we have to give all his sexual foibles to the fictional Andrew Shepherd? The man says he has only loved two women in his life and that it has been a long time since he has done anything sexual, so what is this character issue? Somebody explain it to me...like I was a six year old.

The actual plot of "The American President" is as old as the hills: boy becomes President, boy meets girl, boys falls for girl, girl falls for boy, and the entire country has an opinion. But ultimately the story does not matter because we stop flipping through the channels when we come to this movie on television because of the snappy dialogue and the excellent acting performances. Somehow screenwriter Aaron Sorkin got from "A Few Good Men" and "Malice," to this choice piece of political drama.... Michael Douglas turns in his best romantic comedy performance as President Andrew Shepherd while Annette Bening plays Sydney Ellen Wade, a paid political lobbyist who discovers she has more of the President of the United States than his ear.

But ultimately "The American President" features one of those ensemble casts that makes you sit and shake your head in wonder. Actually, it is rather depressing to think that the actual occupants of the West Wing are no where as smart or as glib as this crew: Martin Sheen ("Come, friends, let us away"), Anna Deavere Smith ("I think the important thing is not to make it look like we're panicking"), Samantha Mathis ("Sir, I don't understan?"), and David Paymer ("Well, I could explain it better, but I'd need charts, and graphs, and an easel"), and in my choice for the best performance of his career, Michael J. Fox ("Can I just state very clearly I can't be part of anything illegal").

Did I mention the dialogue is really good in this film? However, the film's only Oscar nomination was for Original Musical score. Go figure.

Personally, I do not think the American people would turn upon a widowed President who started dating. But then I have this pesky idealistic streak that refuses to go away. This is a witty, literate romantic-comedy that harkens back to Hollywood's golden age. Ultimately the film's political leanings have little to do with our enjoyment because we know nothing ever happens with issues like gun control and fuel emissions in the real world and Bob Rumson's problem is not that he is running for President but that he is trying to break up the romance between these two kids.

Most Romantic Lines: (1) "Well, first of all, the two hundred pairs of eyes aren't focused on me. They're focused on you. And the answers are Sydney Ellen Wade, and because she said yes." (2) "Perhaps I didn't properly explain the fundamentals of the slowdown plan." (3) "I've loved two women in my life. I lost one to cancer and I lost the other because I was too busy keeping my job to do my job. Well, that ends right now." Of course, these are not the best lines in the movie because those are all about politics more than romance.

If you like "The American President," then check out these other films on the AFI's list: #74 "Woman of the Year" and #31 "The King and I." Why? Well, because in the former you find how hard it is to mix politics and love and in the latter you have a leader whose position does not allow him to fall in love. Read more ›

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad DVD Transfer Ruins This Film October 28, 2003

By Michael Dalton

Format:DVD

I have over 150 DVDs in my collection. This film, which is one of my Wife's favorite films, has been ruined by a bad transfer to DVD. This release is the worst DVD transfer of any film in my collection. Warner Home Video should be ashamed of themselves and re-call this DVD.

There is no doubt that a re-mastered edition of this movie will someday become available. Don't waste your money on this edition.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fantasy That Transcends Politics July 22, 2005

By John W. Kennedy

Format:DVD

This movie has long been my favorite. By the way if you're scanning this to figure out why I only gave this film four stars, it's because of the DVD format. No special features whatsoever. Hey Rob! Climb down off your wallet and do a commentary with Aaron. Annette, Michael, hows about a little interview or perhaps another commentary. Delete Scenes? Outtakes? I want to see Michael Douglas trip over the phrase "Upper Bi-cuspid Region." ::Climbs down off his soap box::

The title of my review says it all in a nutshell. If you're looking for Air Force One, Executive Decision or Thirteen Days, the buck does not stop here. This movie is a fairy tale. Think Ivan Reitman's "Dave." That movie starts with the Subtitle "Once Upon a Time." Exactly. It's Boy meets girl on a grand scale. It doesn't matter that President Andrew Shepherd is a Democrat, and Bob Rumsom (By the way, can you imagine "President Rumson?" Ick.) is a Republican. Rumson is the Antagonist (all good movies have one) period.

Richard Dreyfuss plays an exquisitely delicious villan, using President Shephard's new found love of Sydney Ellen Wade, for his own political gain.

Martin Sheen as Chief of Staff AJ MacInerney, now best known as President Josiah Bartlet on the West Wing, seems to be a fore-runner for the President Bartlet's own COS Leo McGarry (After all Aaron Sorkin [who is GOD] did write this movie and the series West Wing). Sheen is brilliant as Douglas' conscience and confidant.

Michael J Fox' character, Lewis Rothschild, and David Paymer's Leon Kodak, are Shephard's Prism. They show Shephard in Black and White, with no punches pulled, where he's at, where he's going and how to get there....

The other characters, while having lessor roles, are written and performed flawlessly, especially Wendie Mallick, Samantha Mathis, Josh Malina, and Anna Deavere Smith-- the last two of whom are also West Wing Alums. Lastly John Mahoney, always the consumate actor round out this amazing cast with a stellar performance of the secondary or quasi-antagonist.

Buy this movie with no political Axe to grind. Buy this movie without your reality blinders on-- Yes, I know it's a ridiculous premise, but so is the guy in a white suit with the crewcut sitting on a bench, and look what Zemekis got out of that one. It's a FAIRY TALE. It's FICTION. IT'S A MOVIE. Relax. Enjoy the film. Read more ›