Broadcast News

Theatrical Release Date: 1987 12 16 (USA)

UPC: 715515066716

Studio: Criterion

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Adult Situations, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Writer/director/producer James L. Brooks scores on all counts with this clear-eyed look at the television news business and the dysfunctional types who work in it. Brooks' intelligent script introduces us to Jane Craig (Holly Hunter), an ambitious producer at the network news division's Washington D.C. branch, who is calm under fire yet has a good cry at her desk every morning over her empty personal life. Jane works well with Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), an excellent reporter who lacks the visual charisma to make him a star. Into their lives comes Tom Grunick (William Hurt), a regional newscaster who admits he can't write news and doesn't understand many of the events he's covering, but has the presence and physical appeal that the increasingly entertainment-oriented network wants for its news programs. Jane is also physically attracted to him, which drives her crazy, because Grunick stands for everything she's fighting against in the news business, while Altman is devastated by her attraction because he secretly yearns for Jane. As Grunick becomes a rising star at the network, and layoffs of the old guard loom, the three leads deal with their feelings for each other, their careers, and their values. Hunter, Hurt, and Brooks are all superb, as is the excellent supporting cast (including an unbilled turn by Jack Nicholson as the network's smarmy national anchor). Brooks' script is funny, poignant, gritty, and brutally honest in its examinations of the television industry and the ways in which professionals interact on and off the job. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Actress – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Silver Bear for Best Actress – Berlin International Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actress – National Board of Review Best Picture – New York Film Critics Circle Best Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Best Actress – New York Film Critics Circle Best Director – New York Film Critics Circle Best Screenplay – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Disc One:
New Audio Commentary Featuring Brooks and Marks
Original Theatrical Trailer

Disc Two: James L. Brooks - A Singular Voice, a new Documentary on Brooks's career in television and film, featuring Actresses Marilu Henner and Julie Kavner, among other collaborators
Alternate Ending and Deleted Scenes, with Commentary by Brooks
New Video Interview with Veteran CBS News Producer Susan Zirinsky, one of the mondel for Actress Holly Hunter's character and an Associate Producer on the film
Featurette containing on-set footage and Interviews with Brooks, Hunter, and Actor Albert Brooks

Plus: a Booklet Featuring an Essay by Film Critic Carrie Rickey

Broadcast News

Format: DVD

Release Date: 01/25/2011

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 132 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Broadcast News
1. Prologue [5:10]
2. "Meet Me In The Lobby" [2:58]
3. A Candid Subject [1:07]
4. No Q&A [4:13]
5. Jane and Tom [4:27]
6. "Call If You Get Weird" [1:30]
7. On Deadline [5:33]
8. "This Isn't Personal" [1:54]
9. Under Fire [2:55]
10. Bill Rorish [2:38]
11. Tom's Story [4:18]
12. Breaking News [7:02]
13. Big Break [4:10]
14. "I Say It Here, It Comes Out There" [4:28]
15. A Job Well Done [3:05]
16. Honest Aaron [4:21]
17. Tom and Jennifer [3:19]
18. Aaron and Tom [2:31]
19. An Idea and An Invitation [3:13]
20. Tom's Story [4:03]
21. Aaron's Plea [1:40]
22. Teacher and Pupil [2:31]
23. Preparations [4:15]
24. Aaron on the Air [4:15]
25. Pulled Away [4:12]
26. Burying The Lead [6:43]
27. Missed Opportunities [3:16]
28. Awkward Encounters [3:55]
29. Twenty-Seven People [2:54]
30. A Promotion [3:27]
31. "More Than Yes" [2:09]
32. Good-Byes and a Revelation [3:35]
33. Change of Heart [6:56]
34. Three Lives [9:28]
1. Color Bars [:00]
1. Following Terms Of Endearment [5:10]
2. Jane and Her Story [2:58]
3. Albert Brooks [1:07]
4. Trained Actors [4:13]
5. Staging/ An Underdog [4:27]
6. Phone Friends [1:30]
7. A Pivotal Time [5:33]
8. Heart and Head/ Network [1:54]
9. She Was There [2:55]
10. Jack Nicholson [2:38]
11. Susan Zirinsky [4:18]
12. Editing [7:02]
13. A Firing/ Key Moment [4:10]
14. Practical Location [4:28]
15. Marc Shaiman [3:05]
16. Albert And The Oscars [4:21]
17. A Memorable Scene [3:19]
18. Something Resembling Friendship [2:31]
19. Private Moments [3:13]
20. What Could Have Led To Love [4:03]
21. Bureau Chiefs [1:40]
22. Research Pays Off [2:31]
23. Michael Ballhaus [4:15]
24. An Homage To The Editing Process [4:15]
25. A Great Movie Kiss [4:12]
26. The Heart Of The Film [6:43]
27. We're All There For The Actors [3:16]
28. Playing The Question [3:55]
29. The Layoffs [2:54]
30. A Modest Success [3:27]
31. A Soul-Baring Moment [2:09]
32. Effortless [3:35]
33. Different Value Systems [6:56]
34. A Mishap [9:28]
1. Color Bars [:00]
Disc #2 -- Broadcast News: The Supplements
1. Groundbreaking Television [16:38]
2. Moving Into Film [:22]
3. The Zeigeist [:00]

Rebecca Flint Marx

A film as much about the nature of relationships as the world of television journalism, Broadcast News was one of the most timely films of the 1980s. Released during a decade notorious for its emphasis on making money, it provided a gently satiric commentary on people whose lives are driven by their jobs. That said, Broadcast News is far from being a cautionary tale: instead, it is a funny, touching portrait of three people in the midst of an often turbulent love affair with their work and, less occasionally, with each other. As the film's leads, Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Albert Brooks give some of the most satisfying performances of their careers. Hunter brings poignancy to her tightly-wound, deeply conflicted, and often hilarious career woman, while Brooks is deeply likeable as a brilliant but lovelorn journalist. Hurt, meanwhile, oozes the potent but befuddled charm of a perpetual big man on campus; rather than make Gunric into a dim bulb caricature, he manages to give him an unburdened complexity. And in his brief, unbilled cameo as the network's unctuous national anchor, Jack Nicholson displays the sort of sharklike charm of which only he is capable. As a director, James L. Brooks is at his best here, injecting his film with warmth and insight. His take on relationships is a novel one--unlike many filmmakers, he is brave enough to show his audience that for some people, love is less of a priority in life than one of its unavoidable byproducts. True passion, he says with frank confidence, is as much the province of the newsroom as the bedroom. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Amy Brooks  Actor 
David Long  Actor 
Jonathan Benya  Actor 
Frank Doubleday  Actor 
Stephen Mendillo  Actor 
Maura Moynihan  Actor 
Martha Smith  Actor 
Raoul Rizik  Actor 
Robert Walsh  Actor 
Luis Valderrama  Actor 
Nat Benchley  Actor 
John Cusack  Actor 
Dwayne Markee  Actor 
Jane Welch  Actor 
Ellen Chenoweth  Actor 
Gennie James  Actor 
Steve Smith  Actor 
John Badila  Actor 
Joshua Billings  Actor 
Marita Geraghty  Actor 
Stuart Pankin  Actor 
Richard Thomsen  Actor 
Leo Burmeister  Actor 
Kimber Shoop  Actor 
Marc Shaiman  Actor 
James L. Brooks  Director 
James L. Brooks  Producer 
James L. Brooks  Screenwriter 
Bill Conti  Composer (Music Score) 
Michael Gore  Composer (Music Score) 
Polly Platt  Executive Producer 
William Hurt  Actor 
Albert Brooks  Actor 
Holly Hunter  Actor 
Robert Prosky  Actor 
Lois Chiles  Actor 
Joan Cusack  Actor 
Jack Nicholson  Actor 
Peter Hackes  Actor 
Christian Clemenson  Actor 
Robert Katims  Actor 
Ed Wheeler  Actor 

Country: USA