Sleepless in Seattle (Special Edition)

Sleepless in Seattle (Special Edition)

Sleepless in Seattle (Special Edition)
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $3.99
You Save: $10.96 (73%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.09 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details


(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD details

Actor: Bill Pullman, Meg Ryan, Rosie O'Donnell, Ross Malinger, Tom Hanks
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Georgian (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-09-03
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

DVD Reviews of Sleepless in Seattle (Special Edition)

DVD Review: Pure Romance
Summary: 5 Stars

Regardless of how cyberspace has seemingly diminished it's size, the world is still an awfully big place, and it's impossible for any one person to occupy more than a minuscule portion of it at any given time. So it's imperative that individuals find that special niche for themselves, that little piece of the world that becomes their own, where they can live and love and engage in the pursuit of happiness. And once that "perfect" world is created, it's devastating when something upsets the balance, as in the case of this film, the death of a spouse. When the love of a lifetime is abruptly taken away, how does one recover? Can one recover? How do you go on when your heart has been removed? All valid questions that are explored and addressed in Nora Ephron's touching and romantic "Sleepless In Seattle," starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. The film begins on a somber note, with the funeral of Maggie Baldwin (Carey Lowell), respectively the wife and mother of Sam Baldwin (Hanks) and his son, Jonah (Ross Malinger). Maggie was the love of Sam's life, and inconsolable after her passing, he decides the best thing for himself and his son is to move to another city and try for a fresh start. So they head west as far as possible, to Seattle, where Sam remains unable to emerge from the funk of his loss.

Christmas and New Year's is especially tough on Sam and Jonah, and around this time Jonah happens to tune into a late night talk show featuring Dr. Marcia Fieldstone (Caroline Aaron), whose job is to help her listeners with their problems. Jonah calls her and tells their story, then takes the phone to his dad in the next room, and in deference to his son, Sam consents to talk about his situation on National radio. In the Baltimore area, writer Annie Reed (Ryan) is listening, and touched by the sincerity in Sam's voice, she cajoles an assignment that subsequently takes her to Seattle, where she attempts to hook up with Sam, a man she knows only as a needful, disembodied voice from the radio.

So begins a romantic odyssey that probably could only happen in the movies, but it makes no difference because in Ephron's capable hands, this story works, and it works beautifully. There's a line in the movie, in fact, that kind of sums it all up: Becky (played by Rosie O'Donnell) says something to the effect to Annie that, "You don't want love, you want "movie" love. And maybe that's why this movie is so endearing and enduring; it's about the kind of love you find in a perfect world, the kind of love everybody wants and needs (though few will admit it, even to themselves) but rarely finds, and Ephron knows exactly how to make it connect with her audience. It has to do with understanding basic human needs and knowing how to translate it all into a cinematic art form that will effectively reach those who see it. And Nora Ephron does it as well-- or possibly better-- than any director before or since, and as she proved later with "You've Got Mail," this film was no fluke; she knows her stuff, and she knows how to deliver it. It's intentionally and shamelessly sentimental, but rather than maudlin, Ephron hits just the right emotional tone, and it's perfect, from the romance to the humor she injects at just the right moment to offset the drama, to the music-- using just the right song at just the right time-- that does so much to enhance the story.

Having a great cast, of course, certainly helped her in her endeavor, beginning with Tom Hanks who, with his portrayal of Sam, demonstrates once again what a consummate actor he is. Few actors can step into any given genre of film and create a character that is so complete and believable every time out the way Hanks can. Some of his characters may share some traits and have similarities, but he manages to make each one unique, which is quite a feat. When you can watch Hanks and forget that you're watching "Hanks," you know he's accomplished something. As an actor he is remarkably giving, and so undaunted when it comes to using and exposing what he has inside. And his ability to circumvent any natural inhibitions makes him great at what he does, and it's what makes a character like Sam so memorable.

Meg Ryan, as well, is an accomplished actor who can play drama as well as comedy (check out her performance in "When A Man Loves A Woman"), but she really sparkles in romantic comedies like this one, and she is absolutely perfect for the role of Annie (just as she was for her role in "You've Got Mail"). She makes Annie a very real person, and through her we can empathize with Sam's situation, as she enables and allows the audience to experience what she is feeling right along with her. Ryan, through her character, makes that emotional involvement possible, and it's one of the strengths of the film. And like Hanks with Sam, Ryan makes Annie a character you're going to remember.

The exemplary supporting cast includes Bill Pullman (Walter), Rita Wilson (Suzy), Victor Gerber (Greg), Tom Riis Farrell (Rob), David Hyde Pierce (Dennis), Dana Ivey (Claire), Gaby Hoffman (Jessica) and Rob Reiner (Jay). Essentially a poignant and heart-felt treatise by Nora Ephron on life and love, "Sleepless In Seattle" is a film that offers a multitude of rewards if you are simply willing to reach out and open yourself up to it. All you have to do is let it in. Do it, and you'll be glad you did, guaranteed. It's the magic of the movies.

More Sleepless in Seattle (Special Edition) reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Description of Sleepless in Seattle (Special Edition)

The director and stars of 1998's You've Got Mail scoreda breakthrough hit with this hugely popular romantic comedy from 1993, about a recently engaged woman (Meg Ryan) who hears the sad story of a grieving widower (Tom Hanks) on the radio and believes that they're destined to be together. She's single in New York, he lives in Seattle with a young son, but the cross-country attraction proves irresistible, and pretty soon Meg's on a westbound flight. What happens from there is ... well, you must have been living in a cave to have let this sweet-hearted comedy slip below your pop-cultural radar. There's little complexity or depth to writer-director Nora Ephron's cheesy tale of a romantic fait accompli, and more than a little contrivance to the subplots that threaten to keep Hanks and Ryan from actually meeting. But the purity of star chemistry here is hard to deny, and this may be the first film to indicate the more serious and sympathetic side of Hanks that is revealed in later roles. With its clever jokes about "chick movies" and repeated homage to the classic weeper An Affair to Remember, this may not be everybody's brand of amorous entertainment, but it's got an old-Hollywood charm that appeals to many a movie fan. --Jeff Shannon
Bestsellers in DVD
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] ImageThe Story of Jeremiah [VHS]
Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS] ImageWresting With God [VHS]
by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops: $19.99
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS] ImageStudy Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]
Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops: $44.00
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS] ImageTempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]
HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops: $9.98
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/Party Video [VHS] ImageTempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]
HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Strike the Original Match [VHS] ImageStrike the Original Match [VHS]
New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops: $14.95
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] ImageMedjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]
JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008 ImageMayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008
by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops: $1,463.24
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single User ImagePediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single User
by Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops: $1,463.24
Cost Accounting [VHS] ImageCost Accounting [VHS]
by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Ghost ImageGhost
Paramount; Release date: 2009-01-20; DVD
Best price: $5.56
Price in other shops: $10.99
Notting Hill (Collector's Edition) ImageNotting Hill (Collector's Edition)
Universal Studios; Release date: 1999-11-09; DVD
Best price: $5.10
Price in other shops: $12.98
The American President ImageThe American President
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-10-28; DVD
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops: $12.97
French Kiss ImageFrench Kiss
Twentieth Century Fox; Published: 2003-01-14; DVD
Best price: $4.57
Price in other shops: $9.98
Romantic Comedy: 4 Film Favorites (Must Love Dogs / You've Got Mail / Two Weeks Notice / Laws of Attraction) ImageRomantic Comedy: 4 Film Favorites (Must Love Dogs / You've Got Mail / Two Weeks Notice / Laws of Attraction)
WHV; Release date: 2010-05-18; DVD
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: $14.99
The American President / Dave ImageThe American President / Dave
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-01-02; DVD
Best price: $4.88
Price in other shops: $14.97
One Fine Day ImageOne Fine Day
Fox; Release date: 2003-01-14; DVD
Best price: $3.47
Price in other shops: $9.98
An Affair to Remember ImageAn Affair to Remember
GRANT,CARY; Release date: 2003-02-04; DVD
Best price: $6.80
Price in other shops: $14.98
While You Were Sleeping ImageWhile You Were Sleeping
Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 1998-02-04; Published: 1998-02-01; DVD
Best price: $2.86
Price in other shops: $6.25
You've Got Mail (Deluxe Edition) ImageYou've Got Mail (Deluxe Edition)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-02-05; DVD
Best price: $3.40
Price in other shops: $5.97
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners