Product Details

• Actors: Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, Maureen Stapleton, Stockard Channing
• Directors: Mike Nichols
• Writers: Nora Ephron
• Producers: Mike Nichols, Joel Tuber, Robert Greenhut
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: January 25, 1995
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300214532
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,699 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

You'd have thought that Nora Ephron and Mike Nichols had remade Heaven's Gate: that was the critical reaction to this film version of Ephron's semiautobiographical novel about her own marital woes. The fact that they had Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep playing thinly disguised versions of Carl Bernstein and Ephron probably made them bigger, fatter targets. In fact, the film was a genuinely funny and painful look at the effects of marital infidelity and divorce, in the story of two married writers and what happens when the pregnant wife finds out the husband has been fooling around behind her back. The film is more dramatic and less quip-filled than Ephron's novel, which made the Ephron character a food writer and was peppered with recipes. Nicholson stepped into his role at the last minute, when Nichols fired Mandy Patinkin for being too intense and not funny enough. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much Better Than I Expected, October 2, 2004

By 

H. F. Corbin "Foster Corbin" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart Burn (DVD)

I avoided this movie when it was released because I couldn't imagine that a film based on the marital breakup of Nora Ephron and Carl Bernstein would interest me. Although I am an admirer of both these folks for their talents as writers, I had always agreed with Richard Burton when he said, when asked if he would be writing about his marriage and breakup with Elizabeth Taylor, that even though love might be dead, that it wasn't for sale. Be that as it may, this movie is certainly worth seeing. Although the plot is a little thin, there are some very funny moments. (Whether some of the events actually happened in the Bernstein/Ephron saga doesn't matter.) Any film directed by Mike Nichols, starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson, with cinematography by Nestor Amendros is well worth seeing.

Both Ms. Ephron and the viewer have the last laugh.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Thrash!, October 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Heartburn [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie is one of the most phenomenal pitures I have ever seen! It is highly ignored and often looked over, which I have never understood. My confusion is due mostly in part to genius performances by both Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. The writing and acting are superb.
Heartburn must come out on DVD.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really, my all-time favorite., March 31, 2005

By 

B. Sheets "mom of many" (Hampton Roads, Va) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heart Burn (DVD)

My husbands laughs when I say a movie is my favorite(I have many favorites), but this one really is. I also love to read and what sets this adaptation apart is the way the two complement eachother,truly brilliant. The movie adds elements that the book didn't dwell on and the book covers all the details that movies just can't. Some movies can touch your heart in such a way that they leave you a bit raw. For me, this is one of those movies. No, it may not be a cinematic event for all, but for those who have loved with their whole heart and have been (or even risked) being hurt, you will find a good laugh and a few tears here. Only Nora Ephron herself could have wrote a screenplay that complemented her novel so well, and thankfully Mike Nichols brought it to life in such a way. Meryl Streep really is at her best here and the whole cast is excellent. I really do love this movie, it always amazes me that it is so underrated. Give it a try.