Product Details

• Actors: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Doug McKeon, Dabney Coleman
• Directors: Mark Rydell
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Lions Gate/Live Home Video
• VHS Release Date: March 17, 1998
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0784011621
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,411 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
Writer Ernest Thompson, who came up with the original stage play of On Golden Pond and adapted it for film, is lucky to have two giants of the screen give dignity and breadth to his sometimes trite dialogue. Henry Fonda, in his last role, plays a prickly English professor at the disagreeable age of 80. Visiting his summer house by a Maine lake with his wife (Katharine Hepburn), the old man forges an unlikely bond with a lonely boy, comes to terms with his daughter (Jane Fonda), and suffers disorienting effects of mild dementia. Even playing a tired old man, Fonda is an absolute lion of a movie star, and Hepburn brings her special spirit to the part of his worried bride. The onscreen relationship between Henry and Jane Fonda naturally makes one think about their much-discussed difficulties offscreen, but that's a side benefit in a movie that is really just a celebration of simple human decency. Directed by Mark Rydell (Harry and Walter Go to New York). The DVD release has widescreen presentation, director's commentary, documentary footage on the making of the film, theatrical trailer, notes and information about the production, and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Golden Treasure, November 8, 2002

By	L. Shirley "Laurie's Boomer Views" (fountain valley, ca United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: On Golden Pond [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This review refers to the VHS edition .....
Old age and all the problems that go with it, have turned Norman Thayer(Henry Fonda)into a curmudgeon.He is forgetful and thoughts of dieing are foremost in his mind. It doesn't seem to bother his wife Ethel much though(Katherine Hepburn).Always in high spirits and happy to be alive. Her biggest woe is worrying about him. The Thayers are spending their 48th year at their summer home On Golden Pond. It will be Norman's 80th birthday, and joining in the celebration will be their daughter Chelsea(Jane Fonda), who Norman has never been able to connect with emotionally.
Chelsea brings with her to the lake her fiance(Dabney Coleman) and his 13 year old son Billy(Doug McKeon)who has some emotional problems of his own. Billy is left to spend the summer with the older couple, which was not what the 13 year old had in mind for a fun vacation.Norman and Billy form an unusal bond over the summer as Ethel watches her husband's renewed zest for life.
The film is one of those that the expression "I laughed. I cried" really is true. The story is an emotional rollercoaster, that you'll want to watch over and over.Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn shine and both recieved best Acting awards in 1981 for their on screen magic. All I could see in the scenes with Henry and Jane together was love. Even when their characters were at odds they too loved each other, and managed to work through it.An incredible acting job by the young Doug McKeon, and Coleman excellent as he goes toe to toe with Henry Fonda.
The music and the scenery are as beautiful as the movie. The pond with the sun shining, the woodsy areas, the loons ever present, were a joy to watch. Directed by Mark Rydell, who seemed to find the beauty of life. Fonda's last film, he left us with one that we can treasure for years to come.
Kick back and enjoy.........Laurie

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and Magnificent, August 26, 2000

By	Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

I've seen On Golden Pond at least thirty times since its release and never get tired of it. Henry Fonda is brilliant as the crabby Norman Thayer and he shines in his last screen performance. His interplay with Katharine Hepburn reminds one of the rare chemistry she enjoyed with Spencer Tracy in all the magical movies they made together. Everything Fonda says in this movie is real and believable, you'll never catch him overacting or playing one false note. It would be difficult to imagine anyone else in this role.

Fonda's scenes with daughter Jane are particularly moving considering their strained real life relationship. Their last embrace at the conclusion of the film will tug at your heart strings. It's a poignant and wistful look at growing old and facing death, two unpleasant but unavoidable subjects. Fonda and Hepburn are literally perfect in this film, which is also enhanced by a beautiful, haunting soundtrack. This is a film you can watch again and again and never weary of it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Treasures Refuse to Tarnish, August 21, 2006

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: On Golden Pond (Special Edition) (DVD)

ON GOLDEN POND may be twenty-five years old but the film is of such high quality that it has retained the luminous quality that garnered so many awards when released. It not only has a fine script adapted by the playwright Ernest Thompson from his own play, but it benefits from the sensitive direction by Mark Rydell and a cast of superb actors.

The story is rather simple: Ethel (Katherine Hepburn) and Norman (Henry Fonda) Thayer have returned to their summer home beside Golden Pond and while they are elderly, their lives are still significant. They receive a rare visit from their distant daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) who stops by with her current boyfriend Bill (Dabney Coleman) to drop off Bill's ruffian teenage son Billy (Doug McKeon) to reluctantly stay with them while Chelsea and Bill are off to Europe. It is a battle of age differences: Billy sees no future in starting a relationship with the old turkeys and Norman is resentful at the youth's attitude (Ethel is the wise mediator). Slowly but surely the three bond, age differences diminish as negatives and Billy sees Norman as a wise teacher he has never had. Chelsea returns at summer's end with her now husband Bill and faces confrontation with Norman for never being the father she needed: Chelsea knows Norman has spent his life rejecting her because she was not the 'son' he wanted! Finally the family reconciles past differences and Ethel and Thayer face their aging and its effects as they listen to the loons on the lake.

Hepburn, both Fondas, Coleman and McKeon give outstanding performances, but it is the knowledge that this was H. Fonda's last film and for all intents and purposes Hepburn's last film AND the only time the Fonda father/daughter team acted together on the screen that makes the film even more meaningful. The awards were many and well deserved, not only for the picture, but also for the actors and the production crew. It is a shining example of Hollywood films rising to the standards of Indy movies that makes it such a treat. Grady Harp, August 06