Product Details

• Actors: Kate Capshaw, Blythe Danner, Ellen DeGeneres, Julianne Nicholson, Tom Everett Scott
• Directors: Peter Chan
• Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Dreamworks Video
• DVD Release Date: November 23, 1999
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783239416
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,623 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Love Letter" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Its ads portrayed it as a wacky farce, while critics largely ignored it, presuming it to be a vanity project from Kate Capshaw (better known as Mrs. Steven Spielberg). But The Love Letter is neither; on the contrary, it's a low-key but surprisingly rich and touching film about love, illusions, and regret. Helen (Capshaw), a bookseller in a small seashore town, discovers an unsigned love letter that's fallen into the cushions of a couch in her store. The letter doesn't say who it's for, but Helen assumes it's for her and starts wondering who sent it. One would expect this to lead to a whirling comedy of mistaken identities, but after some amusing daydream moments, the movie follows its story with subtlety and nuance. The characters behave according to their own needs and desires, rather than the demands of standard Hollywood goofiness. The performances--from a cast including Tom Selleck (In and Out), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do), Ellen DeGeneres (EDtv), newcomer Julianne Nicholson, and others--are uniformly unforced and natural. Viewers weary of the hyped-up, absurd emotional climaxes of most so-called romantic comedies will find a respite here. The Love Letter is a genuinely charming film. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

A romantic comedy about a mysterious love letter that turns a sleepy new england town upside down. Bonus features: talent bios production notes theatrical trailer and deleted scenes. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/06/2004 Starring: Kate Capshaw Tom Everett Scott Run time: 89 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Peter Ho-sun Chan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Follow Your Heart, October 20, 2005

By	Ciaramine "ciaramine" (Barrington Hills, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This quirky romantic comedy is filled with surprises. The entire cast is wonderful and the small town seaside setting with all the entanglements of small town life makes this a fun movie.
I've watched this several times and never tire of the unique storylines of lost loves and the people who find happiness when they follow their hearts.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Want to learn what epistolary means?, July 12, 2004

By	C Ruiz-Esparza "lisasuarez" (San Francisco, left of Albuquerque) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Guys, who will grow up to be great men, would call The Love Letter a "chick movie." That warning out of the way, for more open-minded guys and the expected predominantly female audience for this movie, it is a summer-time joy that tangos around a New England seaside town definitely in the mood for love and a comedy of errors. It takes one letter to resuscitate dreams and shake the atrophy out of emotions bogged down by time and self-consciousness. When people are missing something in their emotional life, an anonymous letter can set all sorts of possibilities into action.

I am always suspicious when a story involves a young man wooing an older woman. Kate Capshaw makes me like Helen, the emotionally alienating/alienated female lead, more than I want. Tom Everett Scott makes Johnny's gangly romantic pursuits clumsy and earnest that is that much more romantic and sexy. Ellen DeGeneres knows where the funny is in simple things like book titles and condiments. Tom Selleck does it for me in this movie by being a vulnerable, funny, handsome fireman experiencing a rough patch but not afraid to go after his dreams later in life. The Louis Armstrong and tango music set the mood, with a short burst of Tosca to contrast it and scare a character or two into action. Personally, there is one poetic little moment where the Capshaw's voice is reading how the writer "burns" with love and the fireman is coming up the bookstore staircase seeming to give off smoke as an image continues to charm me. Peter Ho-Sun Chan directed a really fun film.

So, have a summer/chick film fest with this and a few other fun films on the subject of love like Branaugh's Much Ado About Nothing, 4 Weddings & a Funeral, Roxanne, or Philadelphia Story.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally a romantic comedy that doesn't conform to the same old Hollywood mold!!, July 15, 2006

By	Kimberly Hartman (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Don't get me wrong...I'm as likely as anyone else looking for a "chick flick" to watch the latest Meg Ryan movie with the cute leading man....but this movie adds something extra. Instead of just dishing out the same old blather that most romantic comedies spout (girl & guy meet, girl & guy go through some conflict, but eventually guy & girl get together and live happily ever after) this movie actually takes the time to explore what makes a relationship between two people special and unique, whether that relationship is between two friends, lovers, or family members.

This movie is also great because it expounds upon the HUGE role that a person's mind plays when it comes to love and sex.

Kate Capshaw's character, Helen, is great for audience members who still haven't figured out that women are sexual beings and that it's OKAY for them to enjoy sex! (Even with a much younger man!)

All the characters remind us that even though we may not have everything figured out, you can always learn some new tricks, no matter what your age.

If you're in the mood for mindless entertainment, I wouldn't recommend this movie. However, if you're ready for a touching and romantic but still lighthearted flick, this is a good one!!