Product Details

• Actors: Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, Jane Alexander, Alan King
• Directors: John Sayles
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.0)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: November 19, 2002
• Run Time: 141 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006L926
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,913 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Sunshine State" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Writer-director John Sayles weaves together the beauty, grime, and history of Florida in Sunshine State. The rumbling approach of real estate developers on a sleepy island sets the leisurely paced plot in motion. Sayles takes his time introducing his characters, gradually revealing how their lives intertwine, and, as always, teases magnificent performances out of his actors. Edie Falco is quietly brilliant as Marly, running an old-guard motel as progress marches on, and regarding the men in her life with a wry practicality. Mary Steenburgen gifts a small role with marvelous, spoiled humanity in a deft comic turn, and Angela Bassett slowly unfurls her character's depth with the elegance of a true pro. Sunshine State is a simple story, but never clichéd, possessing a glow worth basking in. --Ali Davis

From The New Yorker

The writer-director John Sayles will never be a natural filmmaker: he doesn't love and trust the camera enough. But this leisurely, ruminative movie about real-estate mischief and transiency in Florida has some of the most witty and large-spirited writing he's ever done for the movies and some of the best acting he's ever coaxed out of his performers. The movie chronicles the attempt of developers to take over a couple of decrepit beach towns north of Jacksonville and the ambiguous response of the locals-some fighting, some selling out. Edie Falco has the best role of her career as Marly, one of those Americans who possess more intelligence than they can use in an unsatisfactory job. Marly looks for men and makes bitter jokes that her listeners don't always understand. Angela Bassett is a failed actress who returns to the black middle-class beach town she left when she became pregnant at fifteen. The good talk swirls around these two, and the talkers include Alan King, Ralph Waite, Jane Alexander, Bill Cobbs, Mary Alice, Timothy Hutton, and Mary Steenburgen. It's a shrugging, life-goes-on movie about a state in which people pull things up by the roots, including themselves, and move forward. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sayles produces another winner, November 23, 2002

By 

Dale Rhines (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sunshine State (DVD)

John Sayles, who wrote, directed, and edited Sunshine State, is one of the finest directors working today. He is able to take seemingly unrelated stories and create a wonderful film. His work, including Limbo, Eight Men Out, Lone Star, and Matewan are all movies that make you think. I would have liked more extras on this DVD, but Sayles commentary is interesting and does provide some insight into the movie making process. The movie, about developers moving into a little town in Florida and the effect on the town, looks at class and race differences and provides a different look at Florida, much like Limbo did for Alaska. The cast is really good, led by Edie Falco, who provides a Oscar worthy performance as a "motelier" who wants more out of life but doesn't seem to want it enough to leave, and by Angela Bassett, who did leave and maybe is wondering what she got of life by leaving. Bill Cobbs and TYimothy Hutton also provide solid performances in this movie. As I indictaed, the lack of extras is disappointing, but the movie itself is a gem. John Sayles, whose body of work stands with any director working today, has produced another film that will leave you thinking about it long after you view it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than It Seems, January 28, 2003

By 

BeachReader (Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sunshine State [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is so much more than a movie about real-estate developers moving into a sleepy coastal community in Florida, despite how it appears at the beginning. It is about the lives and dreams of those who live there; about those who have left and returned; and those who have never left, but want to. It is about dreams: dreams of individuals and dreams held by parents for their children. "Sunshine State" has a unique perspective.

Sayles examines each of his characters with great affection, it seems. No one is all-good or all-bad.....there is a lot of "middle of the road" here, mostly decent people. He lovingly develops his characters slowly and thoughtfully, and never judges these folks, no matter what they decide to do or not do.

The slow, but never boring, pace of this movie allows the viewer to get involved in the lives of its characters, all of whom are played to perfection by fairly high-profile actors (Angela Bassett, Edir Falco, Timothy Hutton, Mary Steenburgen, and Alan King, among others). The narrative is told in ovelapping stories with an intersection of most of its characters as conflicts unfold in the community.

This movie left me with a lot to think about.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dead on film for grown folks, December 2, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sunshine State [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you know anything about the beach towns east of Jacksonville, Florida, this film will resonate to your toes. The place, the people, and the politics are captured with amazing insight. And besides all that, there is just plain good filmmaking, great writing, and great acting. This is the best movie I have seen in many a year!