Product Details

• Actors: Vincent D'Onofrio, Renée Zellweger, Ann Wedgeworth, Harve Presnell, Benjamin Mouton
• Directors: Dan Ireland
• Writers: Michael Scott Myers, Novalyne Price Ellis
• Producers: Benjamin Mouton, Dan Ireland, Carl Colpaert, Donald Kushner, Gregory Cascante
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: March 16, 1999
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0800196333
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #311,027 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Director Dan Ireland shows a talent for authenticity with this heartbreaking love story based on Novalyne Price's 1988 account of her prickly romance with 1930s pulp-fiction writer Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian. She was a schoolteacher in a small Texas town; he was the odd-ball writer who lived at home and created comic-book characters that were sexier and more violent than was considered decent by the locals. Renée Zellweger's performance is a gem of sweet unconventionality matched by Vincent D'Onofrio's powerful show of eccentricity and increasing mental illness. Though smart and feisty, this leaves us wishing the filmmakers had dug deeper into Howard's unusual relationship with his manipulative mother. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Touchingly Realized Drama, April 16, 2001

By 

Reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whole Wide World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

After retiring from teaching, lifelong aspiring writer Novalyne Price wrote her first book at age 76, "One Who Walked Alone," a memoir dedicated to the memory of pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard, and upon which this film, "The Whole Wide World," directed by Dan Ireland, is based. The film paints a soul wrenching portrait of a man who was larger than life in the world of his own creation, but who was a socially inept, self-proclaimed "lummox" in the real world, who had an unhealthy devotion to his sickly mother and had trouble expressing his true feelings to the woman he obviously loved. To Novalyne Price-- as well as his legions of devoted readers-- Howard was the greatest pulp writer in the whole wide world. But to him, living in a small town in Texas in the `30s, that world was populated by "maggots of corruption," and was a dangerous place filled with outlaws, thieves and robbers. He masked his true poetic nature with an outwardly gregarious manner and bravura, which, along with his self-imposed exile from society made his on-again-off-again relationship with Price nearly insurmountable. To the world, he gave Conan the Barbarian and some of the greatest action adventures ever written; to Novalyne he gave the sunrise, the sunset and the moon, but was incapable of giving himself, telling her, "The road I walk, I walk alone." Not that it was what he wanted, but it was all he knew how to do in the "real" world, which he sadly never learned to negotiate.

Working from a sensitive, extremely well written screenplay by Michael Scott Myers, Ireland compassionately explores Howard's world through the eyes of Novalyne Price. What we see is an enigmatic, lonely man struggling with the demons of his soul, who escapes to the worlds of his fantasies in order to cope with life. He is most comfortable talking about his work, and the lands of his imagination. When relating one of his "yarns, as he called his stories, he is on his feet, swelling his chest and becoming Conan, sword in hand, battling beasts and enemies and rescuing scantily clad women from harm. He is transported by his own characters, and watching, the audience is taken along with him, swept away by the passion in his eyes and the sounds of clanking swords. When he writes, he speaks his words aloud, passionately losing himself in the story even as he is creating it. And these scenes, backed by the captivating score by Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams, are especially powerful and emotionally riveting, which underscores the action and heightens the emotional level and the viewers involvement with the characters and the story. Ireland juxtaposes the intimacy of the story with some stunning visuals and superb cinematography that will keep Howard and Price in your memory long after the film has ended. It's terrific work by Ireland, and deserving of the highest acclaim.

In a criminally unacclaimed and overlooked performance, Vincent D'Onofrio is absolutely astounding in the role of Bob Howard. The work he does here can stand alongside the best performances of the greatest actors. In this film, he IS Howard, physically and emotionally, from the inside out. He captures every emotion, vividly, with nuance and to perfection; the repressed feelings, the constant, inner turmoil of the man who had confidence in the one thing he knew how to do-- write-- but who also recognized that he was a misfit who lacked even the basic, everyday skills of survival. It's a painful portrait of a tortured individual to whom one can relate and empathize because of D'Onofrio's consummate skill as an actor. It's simply a staggeringly powerful and memorable performance.

Renee Zellweger gives an excellent performance, as well, as Novalyne Price, this somewhat progressive, though rather straight-laced young woman frustrated time and again in her attempts to break through the complexities of this man to whom she is ready to devote her life. It's an endearing portrait of a strong, yet vulnerable woman willing to forego many of the conventions of the times for the man she loves, if only he would meet her halfway. She creates a character with whom you can readily sympathize and identify, making Novalyne very real and her relationship with Howard believable. It's a beautiful piece of work, for which-- like D'Onofrio-- she did not receive the attention she deserved.

The supporting cast includes Ann Wedgeworth (Mrs. Howard), Harve Presnell (Dr. Howard), Benjamin Mouton (Clyde), Michael Corbett (Booth), Helen Cates (Enid), Leslie Berger (Ethel) and Chris Shearer (Truett). There's life as we'd like it to be, and life as it really is, and "The Whole Wide World" is a masterfully presented character study that succinctly examines that situation. It's an insightful and emotionally gripping film that explores human nature and the often incomprehensible workings of the mind that compel individuals to do what they must do. In the end, it's a film that will touch you in many ways, and will linger in your thoughts for more than just a little while.

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A haunting gem -- don't miss it, May 12, 2002

By 

CT (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whole Wide World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film should be used as example of independent filmmaking at its finest. Made on a shoestring budget with then unknown actors, director Dan Ireland creates a film that is by turns sweeping, intimate, funny and tragic. He takes the viewers into 1930s smalltown Texas and makes you feel like you are there -- you can see how he trusts his actors to portray their characters, and they in turn don't disappoint

Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellweger both give unique and memorable performances in this haunting love story. One never feels that they are "acting", even for a minute. One senses the tragedy in the relationship between pulp fiction writer Bob Howard and teacher Novalyne Price, but also the sweetness that led her to write the memoir on which this film was based, many years later.

View this film, it will not disappoint. I think it is one of the top ten films I've ever seen. It's a crime that it was not more widely released, or recognized by the Academy Awards. Both actors were deserving of Best Actor/Actress recognition for their work, but I guess small non-moneymaking films don't stand much of a chance in that arena! In my book, Vincent D'Onofrio bested the Best Actor award for that year, Nicholas Cage, by several degrees. This film introduced me to his work, and he is an actor who never fails to give a memorable performance, no matter how small or offbeat the part.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The marriage of film, literarture and art ~ A masterpiece!, October 26, 2000

By 

Nicholas Beatty - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whole Wide World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Never has a film made such an impact on my life as did the Whole Wide World. The film's message to me was that one should not waste their natural artistic abilities. After watching an insecure character like Robert E. Howard shrivel under the pressure of his life, I realized that a true mark of success is the ability to overcome the pressures and obligations that stand in the way.

The creative talent responsible for the film is something that should not be overlooked. The breathtaking film is adapted from the Price-Ellis memoir The One Who Walked Alone. Price-Ellis wanted nothing more throughout her entire life than to write a novel. Her god-given talent of teaching kept her from fulfilling her dream until she was in her 70's. The book hasn't made it to national best-seller lists, but how often does a truly worthy book make it anyway?

The director Dan Ireland researched the story thoroughly before bringing it to film. His compassion exhibited towards the elderly author was very commendable. It is my opinion that he truly wanted to represent the story in its exact and incredible form. Keep an eye out for his fantastic work in the future. He is currently working on another period love story called The Beauty of Jane. Also on video is the Velocity of Gary.

The acting in The Whole Wide World is so awesome it is frightening, almost as if they left their bodies during the filming process. D'Onofrio is in a class by himself and Zellweger should have never moved on to films like Me, Myself and Irene. They are so far below her talent level it is tragic.

The film is among my top ten of all time. I have shamelessly promoted it through my business and circle of friends. How many times can you watch a video before it starts to fall apart?