Product Details

• Actors: Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close, John Lithgow, Hume Cronyn
• Directors: George Roy Hill
• Writers: John Irving, Steve Tesich
• Producers: George Roy Hill, Patrick Kelley, Robert Crawford Jr.
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 28, 1998
• Run Time: 136 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0790734621
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,076 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Aside from being a warmly enjoyable movie, and the best screen adaptation of any John Irving novel, The World According to Garp features several young actors who went on to be among the best in the business. Oscar nominee John Lithgow is the sweetest transsexual ex-pro football player you'd ever hope to meet; Oscar nominee Glenn Close is a sensible, utterly sexless nurse and mother; Amanda Plummer is a mute crime victim; Mary Beth Hurt is a schoolgirl turned wife and mother, the love of T.S. Garp's life and the personification of the idea of Home. And Robin Williams, in his first starring role, has never been better cast--in the role of a human being, that is. This most unusual life story--written by Steve Tesich (Breaking Away) and directed by George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)--perfectly captures the tragi-comic, absurdist/humanist worldview of Irving's novel. The opening credits, with a wide-eyed baby floating about the screen to the tune of the Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four," sums up the movie's scope and tone. After watching The World According to Garp, you may find yourself marveling anew at the world around you, a strange and wonderful place indeed. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unusual but Wonderful Look at Life, August 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The World According to Garp [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first saw this movie when I was 12 years old. When the movie was over with, I felt depressed. I thought to myself, "What a horrible life this man led. His life was full of tragedies. I hate this movie. It is too depressing for words." Two years later my dad asked me if I had ever seen "The World According to Garp" just out of the blue. I said yes and my dad said "Wasn't it great?" "No," I replied," it was the most depressing movie I've ever seen in my life." My dad said, "No it wasn't. It was an uplifting movie. He had tragedies happen in his life but he kept on going and he led a full life. A life he loved and appreciated. It was a feel-good movie." I still didn't agree. Two years later, my dad died. A year after that "The World According to Garp" came on tv. I decided to watch it since I was sure it couldn't depress me more than I already was from the loss of my father. I laughed and I cried. Then I laughed and cried some more. At the end of the movie I started to sob again, but not because the movie had depressed me. In fact, I felt better at the end of the movie than I had at the beginning of the movie and that was not only because I realized my dad was right about the movie but because I realized how much like Garp my dad was. Despite all the hardships and tragedies my dad had encountered in his own life, he kept a good sense of humor and he always appreciated his life and his family. I now watch the movie on regular basis, usually when I'm feeling down because the movie reminds me of my father and inspires me to make the best of my life. It is indeed an uplifting film.

52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie - Awful DVD, July 26, 2001

By 

Geoffrey Kleinman (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World According to Garp (DVD)

I've always been a big fan of The World According to Garp, so when it came out on DVD I picked it right up. As with many films The World According to Garp sat on my DVD shelf until I had a chance to watch it. Well, that night came this week and I gave The World According to Garp DVD a spin. I was shocked at how poorly this movie was treated on DVD. The audio is simply awful - I had to crank my receiver WAY up and even then I could hear a hiss in the audio track. The video is equally poor with scenes so riddled with edge enhancement that it looks like this DVD was mastered from the video tape! Also the DVD has zero special features.

I know every release can't get Special Edition treatment, but The World According to Garp is so rich with possibilities - why not get John Irving to do a commentary (he did one for The Cider House Rules)? Robin Williams who could talk about the role that really launched him as a serious actor. Even director George Roy Hill (who also did The Sting, Slap Shot and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) is still around and has done commentaries! It's too bad that The World According to Garp was treated so poorly on DVD, and it's hard to tell people to skip the DVD of such a phenomenal film. [Geoffrey Kleinman DVDTalk.com]

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riyach, June 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The World According to Garp (DVD)

I saw this movie by mistake when I was ten years old. I did not truely understand it. My parents didnt care because it featured Robin Williams, you know Mork. They had no idea of all the sexual content, bewilderment followed and 15 years later were almost forgotten, until I read the book in college. I felt affected by this movie then and when I viewed it recenly, the same feelings were conjured up. I highly recommend this film, its tragic, funny and at times you will laugh at times that seem very very inappropriate. The characters are rich and off-wall.