Product Details

• Actors: John Heard Geraldine Page, Richard Bradford, Rebecca DeMornay Carlin Glynn
• Directors: Peter Masterson
• Producers: Sterling Vanwagenen
• Format: NTSC, Color, HiFi Sound, Digital Video Transfer, Closed-captioned
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: PolyGram Video
• Run Time: 107.0 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FBOYYM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,925 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Carrie Watts is living the twilight of her life trapped in an apartment in 1940's Houston, Texas with a controlling daughter-in-law and a hen-pecked son. Her fondest wish -- just once before she dies -- is to revisit Bountiful, the small Texas town of her youth which she still refers to as "home." The trouble is her son, Ludie, is too concerned for her health to allow her to travel alone and her petty daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae, insists they don't have money to squander on bus tickets. This prompts "escape" attempts each month which coincide with the arrival of Mrs. Watts' Social Security check. With writing by Horton Foote ("To Kill a Mockingbird," "Tender Mercies"), this is the touching story of Mrs. Watts successful escape and last trip home. Geraldine Chaplain died only months after finally winning the Best Actress Oscar for her 1985 performance in the TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL and this, her swan song, is among her very finest performances.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American treasure... on an excellent DVD, April 23, 2005

By 

dooby - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trip to Bountiful (DVD)

This wonderfully heart-warming movie is finally on DVD. Based on the 50 year old play by Horton Foote, it tells of an elderly woman's quest to return one last time to her childhood home. Knowing her life is coming to a close, she gets on a Greyhound bus heading for a town (Bountiful, Texas) that no longer exists. Chased by her weakling of a son (John Heard) and his shrewish wife (Carlin Glynn), accompanied along the way by a gentle and kindly young lady (the lovely Rebecca De Mornay), who acts almost like her guardian angel, and framed at beginning and end by Cynthia Clawson's rendition of the hymn "Softly and Tenderly", "Trip to Bountiful" is truly an American classic. Geraldine Page deservedly won an Academy Award for this at the end of a long and illustrious career.

MGM has released this on a double-sided DVD with the original 1.85:1 theatrical version (anamorphic) on one side and a fullscreen version (either open-matte or extracted from a super35) on the other. Picture quality is excellent with rich, natural colors and good black levels. There is very little dirt, the picture looks quite immaculate. Sound is the original 2.0 Mono but with excellent fidelity. My only disappointment is that this would have been the perfect opportunity to release a Special 20th Anniversary Edition. But I suppose MGM figured there would be no market for that. Shame. Still, we do have a 22 minute, brand new documentary entitled "Return to Bountiful" and the original theatrical trailer. All in all, no regrets buying this one. A true American treasure.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars listen to the MEMORIES, March 4, 2002

By 

James J. Barry (chicago, il United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Trip to Bountiful [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Geraldine Paige creates a masterful memory of her home and
all the joys , activities and sadness that made it a house
full of love...In my work as a hospital chaplain I daily see
how important it is for seniors to share their memories with
friends and especially younger family members. Trip to bountful
gives us a symbolic understanting of the life review which
normally takes place as we age...and these memories are important and life-giving to all of us....That is why she sings the old
songs and hymns because they carry with them the group memory of who she is and what she means to other people...The son does not understand this in the beginning but then he catches on and the relationship between mother and son completely changes..This happens in nursing homes, and in home care when seniors are listened to and their stories are told and reverenced they begin to own their new surroundings and more easily make new friends
as they go on with their long lives...we all will have to face
something like this in our own families , so why not see the
movie and study it, and it will bring you to BOUNTIFUL.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FIVE STARS AND MORE PLEASE!!!, July 30, 2004

By 

a viewer "a viewer" (antioch, tn United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trip to Bountiful [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Add me to those that find this truly, beautifully inspiring film so moving that it is timeless! A true classic film, made at a time when most movies being made are trash and garbage. This film deserves more than five stars. The story, the acting, the cinematography and the haunting musical score are all worthy of awards. This little known film is what is known as a 'sleeper'...meaning that it is extraordinary in every sense of the word, but that many do not know about it. The first time I saw this film, I wept many tears at the end. Geraldine Page truly deserved the Oscar for this performance and for a wonderful career. She died not long after she received her Oscar but I'll never forget night she at long last won!

I also join on the bandwagon for those who want this film to be released on DVD to be kept forever. This one is a true classic that stands out from all of the wicked, evil that is being turned out by Hollywood today.