Under the Tuscan Sun

Theatrical Release Date: 2003 09 26 (USA)

UPC: 786936238679

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Adult Language, Sexual Situations]

Summary: A woman starts her life over with a new home in a new land in this romantic comedy drama . Frances (Diane Lane) is a writer in her mid-'30s who feels emotionally derailed after her divorce. Unhappy and unable to write, she isn't sure what to do with her life, and her best friend Patti (Sandra Oh) decides she needs some time away from her problems. With that in mind, Patti gives Frances a ticket for a two-week tour of the Tuscany region of Italy; while there, Frances finds a dilapidated old villa. Charmed by the warmth, beauty, and charm of the small town of Cortona, Frances impulsively decides to buy the villa, thinking she can fix it up herself. The home proves to be more of a handyman's special than she imagined, but as she slowly gets the hang of household maintenance, Italian style, Frances develops a new confidence as she makes friends with her neighbors and finds love with a handsome local named Marcello (Raoul Bova). Under the Tuscan Sun is loosely adapted from the memoir by Frances Mayes, who (unlike the leading character of the film) remained happily married during her sojourn in Tuscany. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Deleted scenes, including "Discovering the Fresco"
"Tuscany 101" making-of featurette - cast and filmmaker interviews and an insider's look at filming in Italy
Audio commentary with director Audrey Wells

Under the Tuscan Sun

Format: DVD

Release Date: 02/03/2004

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 113 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Opening Credits/Book Signing [3:11]
2. Moving Out [5:23]
3. Freedom [9:37]
4. Buyer's Remorse [12:31]
5. Fixing Up the Villa [7:41]
6. Making Friends [11:43]
7. Cooking Italian [5:13]
8. Getting Out [13:19]
9. Missed Visit [10:50]
10. A Baby Is Born [3:53]
11. The White Dress [11:39]
12. Young Love [4:02]
13. The Wedding [3:30]
14. New Beginning/End Credits [9:52]

Brian J. Dillard

This overall thrust of this chick flick doesn't stray far from formula, but the filmmakers fill Under the Tuscan Sun with enough smart casting and unorthodox flourishes to keep things interesting far longer than they might have. Hollywood vet and Oscar nominee Diane Lane has earned the right to rest on her laurels; for her, that means letting her innate charm and screen charisma do most of the work and summoning up the odd moment of actual acting chops only on the rare occasion in which the script requires it. In smaller roles, Sandra Oh and Lindsay Duncan get to have lots more fun, Oh as a snarky lesbian sidekick and Duncan as an eccentric, over-50 actress with the appetite of a woman half her age. As far as the plot goes, the elliptical happy ending is implicit in the premise, but writer/director Audrey Wells makes sure her characters earn it -- even if that means the third act drags on into a fourth one. Luckily, cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson makes the most of every gorgeous moment even when the story begins to sag. A well-crafted, picturesque romantic comedy isn't exactly a hard sell in Hollywood, but Under the Tuscan Sun surpasses the genre's requirements more often than it settles for them. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Valentine Pelka  Actor 
Dan Bucatinsky  Actor 
Kate Walsh  Actor 
Kristoffer Ryan Winters  Actor 
Sandy Kroopf  Executive Producer 
Tom Sternberg  Producer 
Audrey Wells  Director 
Audrey Wells  Producer 
Audrey Wells  Screenwriter 
Christophe Beck  Composer (Music Score) 
Laura Fattori  Executive Producer 
Mark Gill  Executive Producer 
Diane Lane  Actor 
Sandra Oh  Actor 
Lindsay Duncan  Actor 
Raoul Bova  Actor 
Vincent Riotta  Actor 
Giulia Steigerwalt  Actor 
Pawel Szajda  Actor 

Country: USA