Product Details

• Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Annette O'Toole, M. Emmet Walsh, Milo O'Shea, David Groh
• Directors: Jud Taylor
• Writers: Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Ivan Davis
• Producers: Bill Brademan, Edwin Self, Peter Zinner, Pieter Kroonenburg, Robert C. Thompson
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Lions Gate
• VHS Release Date: March 12, 1996
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303937497
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,282 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent early Tommy Lee Jones effort., December 9, 2001

By 

skunktrain (So. California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Broken Vows [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I liked this film. However, I can see why it might offend some devout Catholics. So - if you are a devout Catholic, you have been warned.

It has a quiet way about it, as it leisurely goes through the story of this gentle priest, coming to a crossroads of his life. It is more character oriented - it's not an "action" film, or really even a "mystery" film (even though the murder mystery is what moves the plot along).

Supporting actors are great - and there is a wonderful jazz score by Charles Gross. Check out actor David Straithairn (sp?) in a small part (as the murder victim) in the beginning of the film. Other familiar faces will crop up as well, like Frances Fisher, (the mom in "Titanic").

This is a definite departure from the Tommy Lee Jones we have all become used to (in the '90s and beyond). If you are a big Jones fan (like I am) you might want to see this film.

I also wanted to point out: a previous reviewer was confused about many facets to this story. The murder mystery *is* solved, there is nothing ambiguous about it. (...)

Just enjoy the movie - all will be revealed.

4.0 out of 5 stars Temptation, January 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Broken Vows [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Although not Catholic, my faith is very strong and I was very hesitant to view a video dealing with such a sensitive subject. However, being a great TLJ fan, I took a chance and my only regret is that I rented the video and did not purchase it to add to my collection.

The ages-old story of faith versus lust is depicted here with such tenderness and such an unusual understanding of human feeling that it draws the viewer into the mind and heart of each character, supurbly portrayed, allowing one to actually feel the anguish of acceptance and the joy of denial in this circumstance.

The ending was surprisingly unexpected leaving the viewer with feelings of joy and sorrow and a lingering sense of "what if. . ."

An entertaining video worth anyone's time.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars too many loose ends, October 10, 2001

By 

Lichelle R Martinosky (Kearney, NE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Vows [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I am a fanatical TLJ fan so I bought the DVD. I found the story to be broken and the acting to be forced. TLJ is holding himself back trying not to be a stronger character. There are many loose ends, is the murderer caught? Do the lovers get together? What does the accused murderers homosexuality have to do with the story, and does he get off? I think the stories subject matter is very strong but needed to be more focused on temptation and guilt of a wayward priest and less on solving a seemingly simple murder
which the cop couldn't figure out, but only took the priest and ex-girlfriend 2 scenes to solve. Good to watch if your a TLJ fan but not a very good story overall.