Product Details

• Actors: Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton, Dom DeLuise, Charles Durning, Jim Nabors
• Directors: Colin Higgins
• Writers: Colin Higgins, Larry L. King, Peter Masterson
• Producers: Edward K. Milkis, Peter Macgregor-Scott, Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: March 1, 1992
• Run Time: 114 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300182908
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,527 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is an energetic, but ultimately mediocre adaptation of the play, directed on Broadway by Tommy Tune. Burt Reynolds is the town sheriff and a regular patron of a local bordello. He wages a public battle to keep it open after it is targeted as the devil's den by a television minister. Charles Durning was nominated for a Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and there are some lively song and dance numbers featuring Dolly Parton as the madame of the Chicken Ranch. However, this becomes bogged down in too many serious moments for it to be more than a lightweight musical comedy. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Product Description

Item Name: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; Studio: Universal Studios

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delight!!!, January 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (DVD)

I was in college when this movie came out and I missed it back then. I didn't think it was going to be any good.

I ended up buying it, as I'm collecting every movie that's ever been nominated or has won an Oscar, that's available on DVD. I was reluctant to purchase this one, but the price was excellent, and grabbed it.

What made this movie such a treat is the quality of the photography by William Fraker, the musical numbers, especially "Hard Candy Christmas" (fabulous!)and "I'll Always Love You" (which I cannot understand why it wasn't nominated for an Oscar as best song, since Dolly Parton wrote it, to my knowledge, for this film and it is great!); the dancing, superb; the whole tongue-in-cheek approach (albeit for adults--this is not a movie for kids) works; and they way they got away with all the whole thing, is astonishing. Granted, it's based on a very popular Broadway musical, but they seldom translate well to the screen...and with Burt and Dolly in the leading roles? Well, they're fabulous! Dolly is simply magical, and everything about her is perfect for her role as the madam Miss Mona.

Charles Durning as the governor of Texas does a brief but smashing job--it's a brilliant sequence, and now I understand why he was nominated as best supporting actor for this movie.

Overall, if you want to have a good time, light fun, listen to some good tunes, and ultimately feel strangely satisfied and happy, I recommend this film. It's actually excellent and hasn't aged a bit in 20 years...it's more fresh today than probably back when I was in college and thought it was "trash".

Now I think it's a pleasure. Not for kids, however. But adults who aren't as snobbish as some college students can be at times, will get a kick out of this surprising delight!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes an excellent social commentary, November 29, 2003

By 

Matthew Elliott (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (DVD)

This movie is incredibly entertaining from beginning to end and goes through a wide range of emotions and human trials and tribulations - humor & sadness, triumph and failure, loyalty and hypocrisy, etc.

I think that most people watching this movie miss, what is to me, the most important point of the entire movie.

You have a small town with a whorehouse that has been in existence for over 100 years. The people in the town have no problem whatsoever with the whorehouse. In fact, many of residents talk about why they support it.

It's the people elsewhere that have a problem with the whorehouse. It's something that they don't condone and they want to force their beliefs on the people in the town, disregarding completely how the people in the town itself feel.

It's a problem that exists in America and is one that I personally think is brought to light in this cleverly written musical. People are busy worrying about what their neighbors are doing rather than focusing on their own lives. Most of it comes from religious wackos like the one portrayed by Dom Deluise.

The serious commentary is cleverly hidden within the dancing, singing and action, but it's still there. Taking this into consideration adds a new dimension to the film and the viewing experience.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Little DVD One Could Wish For!, January 8, 2003

By 

Kyle (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (DVD)

I have been waiting for The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas to be released on DVD for a few years now and finally it has arrived! It sure was worth the wait! The picture transfer is fantastic. Great clear images and a remastered soundtrack. The widescreen opens the picture up and gives audiences glimpses of things that were never able to be seen on the video. But the most exciting part of the DVD are the great bonus features: a short behind the scenes documentry (featuring interviews with Parton, Reynolds, Higgins and even Edna Milton, whom the character of Mona is based upon), outakes (hilarious bloopers from the set), and the original theatrical trailer (using an original song sung by Dolly about the premise of the movie). I only wish that Burt Reynolds deleted musical number had been included but I guess we can't have everything! I consider this DVD a MUST HAVE for any of the following people: Theater lovers, Dolly fans, Texans, Whores.... EVERYONE! Do yourself a favor and buy, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas... Its a howling good time!