Product Details

• Actors: Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates
• Directors: Luis Mandoki
• Writers: Ted Tally, Alvin Sargent
• Producers: Mark Rosenberg, Amy Robinson, Griffin Dunne
• Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: March 1, 2005
• Run Time: 103 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0006IIPLM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,785 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "White Palace" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Glenn Savan's depressing and self-loathing novel about a 27-year-old upper-class Jewish widower mired in self-pity after his beloved wife dies, and who finds love and sexual rebirth with a trailer-trash older woman, was brought to the big screen by the competent director Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman, Message in a Bottle). But the savage irony in Savan's book has been face-lifted by screenwriters Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs) and Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People) into something else entirely: what passes for low-rent "slumming" in Hollywood means hiring sexy Susan Sarandon to play Nora Baker, the poor, uneducated 43-year-old waitress in a White Palace burger joint who strikes up an unlikely relationship with sad Max Baron (James Spader). Widower Max attends a bachelor party for best pal Neil (Jason Alexander) and discovers that the local White Palace has stiffed the boys a whopping six burgers. Max barges into the joint, bent on getting his money back, and meets a testy Nora, who is bemused at the young man's insolence. While driving home, Max stops abruptly at a bar for a drink. Inside, Nora is nursing a vodka and takes a shine to the tuxedo-clad, handsome, and morose younger man. He gives her a lift, she seduces him, and the rest of the movie examines how two such opposites in manners and morals can find happiness. The only common bond they have is great sex and a private tragedy. White Palace nudges at the dark journey and the smashing of illusion that was at the heart of the novel, but there is still a fairy-tale element to the film that negates the earthy essence that distinguished the book. In Mandoki's vision, White Palace is about overcoming class, family, and outside opinion to find true love. In Savan's book, Max wastes into decline while Nora ultimately thrives in the quest for truth, redemption, and self-forgiveness. She becomes his salvation only after he stops hating himself. But mainstream Hollywood shuns making "protagonists" so mad, bad, or sad, and as such, too much glitter is tossed on Spader, while Sarandon, as usual, is the only one who seems to embody and understand her character's angst. She deserved her Oscar for Nora, not the nun in Dead Man Walking. --Paula Nechak

Product Description

Susan Sarandon, James Spader. After he's seduced by a beautiful older woman, a yuppie is troubled by the vast social and cultural differences between them. 1990/color/103 min/R/widescreen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sarandon and Spader Sizzle....DVD Fizzles... November 10, 2003

By L. Shirley TOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This review refers to the DVD edition(Goodtimes Video) of "White Palace".....

There couldn't be two people at more opposite ends of the poles than Nora Baker and Max Baron. He's a 27 year old upwardly mobile executive,obsessive and compulsive, he's neat as a pin, and Jewish. She's 43, is in the "food preparation business"(serves up greasy hamburgers) ,lives in the low rent district, in a house that doesn't get cleaned and has never even met anyone Jewish. They meet twice by happenstance and although it seems all they really have in common is that they are both from St.Louis, they discover they are really not all together different.

Max is grieving for his young and beautiful wife, and Nora her child. And although they handle their grief in very different ways, they take solace in each others arms. Their whirlwind affair, brings a renewed spirit to each of them, but when the relationship steps up to a new level, they wonder how they will fit into each other's world.

It's a believable, beautiful, and at times a funny love story.Susan Sarandon lights up the screen with her portrayal of the fiesty Nora. Spader shines in a role that seems to be made for him. Other notables in the cast include Jason Alexander,Eileen Brennan, and Kathy Bates.

The DVD could have a better transfer. Although there's nothing that will impair your viewing, it didn't seem as sharp and clear as it could be.The sound in Dolby Dig surround was very good, but the film has been "Formatted from it's original version to fit your screen"(pan and scan), and I didn't see a widescreen edition available, so we don't have a choice of how we would like to view it. There are however captions in English and subtitiles in Spanish and French and may be viewed in those languages as well....There are no other special features included.

The film is rated R and even that is pushing the envelope somewhat. The loves scenes are very steamy(this one is definately not for the kiddies), but you'll also find a beautiful story of fate stepping in and lending a hand. A romantic film that is worth the view in any format.

Thanks and enjoy.....Laurie Read more ›

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for the film, 1 star for the dvd March 17, 2005

By black*mamba

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having drooled over the Goodtimes dvd for years now, I did a flip and a half when I saw Universal was releasing a widescreen dvd of this superhot love story. I refrained from doing two flips when I remembered it was Universal and then saw no mention of special features. What? Look at the potential for bonuses! There was an alternate ending, there were deleted scenes, how about a featurette?! Argh! I just wept and wept. And then months later the release date comes, I tear the dvd open and the movie starts automatically - I hit menu and get the nagging old "operation prohibited by disc" usually reserved for fast forwarding through those tired old FBI warnings. There's not even a menu! No scene selection. Geez. Do these corporate monoliths now require movies to be no older than 5 days old to have simple menus? I'd like to sit down and analyze the brilliance of Sarandon and Spader, note how Spader's hair changes near the end because of reshoots, but I'm just too raving mad at Universal right now.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars why the bare bones version May 28, 2005

By ecurb

Format:DVD

I had been searching for this dvd for about 3 years now and had no luck as it was out of print. Then finally I found it and at only 9.99 But then again this is Universal were talking bout here, so why have such a goregous movie and do a bare bones version. There was no menu what so ever and nothing extra at all. I would be willing to pay more for a special edition. The movie itself wal extra sharp looking and the audio was outstanding the big plus is that it was wide screen. Universal people dont care for cheap dvds when they are bare boned versions

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex, Lies and a Hamburger Joint January 26, 2001

By S. Schell VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Luis Mandoki seems to be akin to dour and depressing pieces (Message In A Bottle, When A Man Loves A Woman) but works his somber mystique to greater effect in this undervalued ditty of opposites attracting. This improbable tale of true love begins with 27-year-old Max Baron (Spader) wallowing in self-pity over the recent death of his wife and suffering the annoyance of bad service from a scanty burger joint called White Palace (think White Castle and you have a good idea of how scanty they are). Retreating from a friend's bachelor party to haggle over six missing burgers, he harries a tired gal named Nora Baker and receives a gruff riposte from the steely waitress. Later that night after the party favors and burgers have run out, Max solemnly retreats to a local bar for a drink and finds Nora hunched over the counter swigging vodka tonics and eyeing him like a scrumptious prize. He rebuffs her every blatant sexual advance, but all the same she follows him outside begging him for a ride home. They arrive at her cluttered domicile and Max is immediately sickened by the filth that surrounds him, insisting that he is okay to drive himself home. Nora is adamant about him staying the night and the minute he is asleep, her lusty impulses take over and she seduces her inebriated guest right on her couch.

Thus begins the unlikely and somewhat clichéd rapport between a wealthy Jewish widower and a 40-something gal from the wrong side of the tracks with a closet full of skeletons. The two main characters don't really have any compatibility other than their sympathies for the others' personal tragedy (of Nora's, you will find the truth about later on in the movie). Little else draws them to one another besides their ravenous sexual appetites.... Sarandon and Spader certainly have the chemistry needed to make their debatable affair authentic, but when I discovered the original conclusion of the novel the film was based upon, it made more sense to me. The finale chosen for this adaptation is the more favored because it is the typical happy ending that most people crave; it's just not realistic. It evokes the warm fuzzy feelings we all like to get from our entertainment, but it mocks the truth and the author's hard work. I admired it for its playfulness but when I think of how it could've ended, I would've valued it more as a work of art.

Sarandon, though far past the age most film czars would consider the closing stages of an actress' wondrous opportunities, still has the ability to carry a movie all by herself, no matter whether she is the story's victor or casualty. It is here that she proves it the most, no matter how celebrated other roles may be (Bull Durham, Dead Man Walking, etc.). As an over-the-hill, working-class sexpot, Sarandon displays more of an understanding and connection to her character than any she has portrayed previously, due greatly to the fact that she IS a seasoned actress. Because of this, she is the strongest, worthiest and most memorable performance in this film, rising above Spader's almost unbearable morbidity and angst-ridden deportment. Eileen Brennan is of mild interest as Nora's roving clairvoyant sibling Judy. Jason Alexander barely shows any sign of the spunk he would create for his character on "Seinfeld" as Neil, Max's betrothed buddy. Kathy Bates has a small but enjoyable cameo as Max's friendly colleague and Rachel Chagall is so ebullient it hurts us to watch.

Overall, "White Palace" is an enjoyable film despite its faults and has a great rewatchability factor because of Spader's and Sarandon's overt and plausible lustiness towards each other and the smart interpretation of their characters. Fans looking to get a glimpse of either Spader or Sarandon in the buff, this is the film to watch. There's a valiant but dignified show of skin in selected scenes and you will see why Sarandon is considered such an admirable role model for women her age. Read more ›