Terms of Endearment (1983)

Director:

James L. Brooks

Writers:

Larry McMurtry (novel)
James L. Brooks (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Come to Laugh, Come to Cry, Come to Care, Come to Terms.

Plot:

Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma's marriage...

Plot Keywords:

Neighbor | Marriage | Astronaut | Love | Prologue

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 25 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Shirley MacLaine	...	Aurora Greenway
Debra Winger	...	Emma Horton
Jack Nicholson	...	Garrett Breedlove
Danny DeVito	...	Vernon Dahlart
Jeff Daniels	...	Flap Horton
John Lithgow	...	Sam Burns
Lisa Hart Carroll	...	Patsy Clark
Betty King	...	Rosie Dunlop (as Betty R. King)
Huckleberry Fox	...	Teddy Horton
Troy Bishop	...	Tommy Horton
Shane Serwin	...	Younger Tommy Horton
Megan Morris	...	Melanie Horton
Tara Yeakey	...	Baby Melanie
Norman Bennett	...	Edward Johnson
Jennifer Josey	...	Young Emma
Kate Charleson	...	Janice
Tom Wees	...	Dr. Budge
Paul Menzel	...	Dr. Maise
F. William Parker	...	Doctor
Amanda Watkins	...	Meg
Buddy Gilbert	...	Dr. Ratcher
David Wohl	...	Phil
Shelley K. Nielsen	...	Nurse (as Shelley K. Nielsen R.N.)
Bette Croissant	...	Nurse
Charles Beall	...	Rudyard's Employer
Lelise Folse	...	Doris
Sharisse Baker-Bernard	...	Lee Anne (as Sharisse Baker)
Judy Dickerson	...	Checkout Girl (as Judith A. Dickerson)
Devon O'Brien	...	Lizbeth
Dana Vance	...	Victoria
Alexandra O'Karma	...	Jane
Nancy Mette	...	Woman at Party (as Nancy E. Mette)
Holly Holmberg Brooks	...	T.J. (as Holly Beth Holmberg)
Lear Levin	...	Jack Stern
Albert Brooks	...	Rudyard's Voice (voice) (as A. Brooks)
Lanier Whilden	...	Patsy's Mother
Helen Stauffer	...	Flap's Secretary
Barbara Balik	...	Woman
Michelle Watkins	...	Woman
John C. Conger	...	Moving Man
Sandra Newkirk	...	Mrs. Johnson
Elaine McGown	...	Elaine McGown
Mary Kay Place	...	Doris (voice)

Directed by
James L. Brooks

Writing credits
Larry McMurtry		(novel)
James L. Brooks		(screenplay)

Produced by
James L. Brooks	....	producer
Penney Finkelman Cox	....	co-producer (as Penney Finkelman)
Martin Jurow	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Michael Gore

Cinematography by
Andrzej Bartkowiak		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Richard Marks

Casting by
Ellen Chenoweth
Juliet Taylor

Production Design by
Polly Platt

Art Direction by
Harold Michelson

Set Decoration by
Anthony Mondell
Tom Pedigo

Costume Design by
Kristi Zea

Makeup Department
Gerry Leetch	....	hair stylist (as Gerry Becker Leetch)
Ben Nye Jr.	....	makeup artist
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist
Bron Roylance	....	makeup artist
Julie C. Steffes	....	body makeup artist

Production Management
Austen Jewell	....	unit production manager
Ira Marvin	....	unit production supervisor: New York

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marty P. Ewing	....	second assistant director
Joel Segal	....	dga trainee (as Joel B. Segal)
Albert M. Shapiro	....	first assistant director (as Albert Shapiro)

Art Department
Terry E. Lewis	....	property master
David Q. Quick	....	assistant props
John J. Rutchland Jr.	....	construction coordinator (as John J. Rutchland)
Sandy Veneziano	....	set designer
Richard A. Villalobos	....	leadman
Thomas Wright	....	storyboard illustrator

Sound Department
James R. Alexander	....	sound mixer (as James Alexander)
Terry Lynn Allen	....	sound editor
Cheryl Bloch	....	sound assistant
Irene Bowers	....	sound assistant
Norval D. Crutcher	....	supervising sound editor
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound editor
Joanne D'Antonio	....	sound editor
Bruce Fortune	....	sound assistant (as Bruce D. Fortune)
Cecelia Hall	....	sound editor
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Barbara Fallick Marks	....	dialogue looping editor
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andrew Patterson	....	sound editor
Jerry Rosenthal	....	sound editor
James Sabat	....	sound mixer: New York
Larry Singer	....	dialogue looping editor
Stephen Stalheim	....	sound apprentice (as Stephen M. Stalheim)
Clive Taylor	....	sound recordist
George Watters II	....	sound editor
Greg Agalsoff	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Mark Server	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts
Alan Gibbs	....	stunts (as Alan R. Gibbs)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dustin Blauvelt	....	first assistant camera
Maggie Fox	....	second assistant camera
Steven Hiller	....	second assistant camera (as Steve Hiller)
Billy Miller	....	key grip
Dick Mingalone	....	camera operator: New York
Don Reddy	....	camera operator
Zade Rosenthal	....	still photographer
Dusty Wallace	....	gaffer
Doug Willis	....	dolly grip (as Douglas Willis)
Jack E. McLean Jr.	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jackie Beavers	....	location casting: Nebraska
Sylvia Fay	....	casting: bits and extras, New York
Paula Herold	....	casting associate
Liz Keigley	....	location casting: Texas
Shari Rhodes	....	location casting: Texas

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tony Faso	....	costumer: men (as Anthony J. Faso)
Oda Groeschel	....	costumer: women
Jennifer L. Parsons	....	costumer: women
Mark Burchard	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Albert Coleman	....	assistant editor
Larry Fallick	....	apprentice editor
Jeff Freeman	....	assistant editor
Jane Schwartz Jaffe	....	first assistant editor
Lee Rasson	....	apprentice editor
Sidney Wolinsky	....	additional film editor

Music Department
Bob Badami	....	music editor (as Robert Badami)
Richard Hazard	....	conductor
Richard Hazard	....	orchestrator
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Michael McDuffee	....	transportation coordinator
Dan Marrow	....	transportation captain (uncredited)
Marti Wells	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Kimberly Allen	....	support personnel
Lea Andrews	....	secretary to Austen Jewell
Brian Brosnan	....	location manager: Nebraska
David Davis	....	special advisor
Rosemary Dorsey	....	script supervisor
Barbara Duncan	....	assistant: James L. Brooks
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Harold Fowler	....	first aid
Paul Germain	....	support personnel
Mark Gutierrez	....	support personnel
Mark Harrah	....	technical advisor
Sandra Rabins	....	location auditor
Anne Thompson	....	unit publicist
Susan Vogelfang	....	location manager: Texas
Meta Wilde	....	script supervisor (as Meta D. Wilde)

Thanks
Sheila Exstrom	....	the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions (as Sheila Exstrom R.N. C.N.A.A.)
Timothy S. Gee	....	the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions (as Timothy S. Gee M.D.)
Holly Holmberg Brooks	....	special thanks (as Holly Brooks)
Richard Sakai	....	the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions
Guy Serwin	....	the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions (as Mr. Guy Serwin)
Mrs. Guy Serwin	....	the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1986) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Argentina) (re-release)

Other Companies

• City of Lincoln, Nebraska  the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Doster, Keigley & Rhodes  location casting: Texas (as Doster-Keigley and Rhodes)
• Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Council, The  the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)
• Lincoln General Hospital  the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions
• Meredith Long & Company  selected paintings loaned by
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• Nebraska Film Office  the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions (as The Nebraska Film Office, Department Of Economic Development)
• New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theater & Broadcasting, The  the producers would like to thank the following for their contributions (as New York City Mayor's Office Of Film, Theatre And Broadcasting)
• Record Plant Scoring  scoring

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Brazil:14 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Peru:14 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:PG (#27173) (re-rating on appeal) | USA:R (original rating) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

1148 Heights Blvd., Houston, Texas, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The role of Emma was originally written for Sissy Spacek.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Emma and Patsy are speaking to each other in the hospital and Patsy is applying make-up to Emma's eye, a close-up shows Emma is wearing a lot of concealer under the right eye. Then another close-up and the make up is gone.

Quotes:

Aurora Greenway: It's past ten. My daughter is in pain. I don't understand why she has to have this pain. All she has to do is hold out until ten, and IT'S PAST TEN! My daughter is in pain, can't you understand that! GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE SHOT!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Still Standing: Still Spending (#1.11)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

I Feel the Earth Move

James Brooks can do the almost-impossible!

I have to wonder why I like this movie so much, and so much more than other movies that maybe have similar plots. Some people have accused it of being a drawn-out TV-movie of the week tearjerker, Pauline Kael said its calculated humanity was infuriating... I don't think that this is true. James Brooks, who wrote and directed this great film, was also responsible for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and, for this alone, I would trust him completely. "Terms of Endearment" is a movie where the energy absolutely comes from the characters and not from ideas, or from ideas about how the characters are going to necessarily react. Brooks is as expressive about emotions as any other director might be, but he is generous in a way that a lot of others couldn't possibly be, and this is a very valuable quality for him. Maybe it's because no one scene is weighted any differently than another: Brooks is as eager about the "little" things as he is the big emotions; furthermore, he is respectful about the discretion in handling the highly emotional scenes. I remember equally vividly the scene at the Holiday Inn pool as I do the dinner party as I do the deathbed scene as I do the argument at the supermarket. In most "life-affirming" movie what gets remembered are the scenes where the characters tell each other how life has passed them by, or how beautiful life is, or else there is some fake-ironic ending to demonstrate one of these points. There is such a complete lack of this in "Terms of Endearment". The only observation we get is Aurora's, right after her daughter has died, and its means in the ways it makes me cry are unique to almost all other deathbed scenes: her acknowledgment that the idea of Emma's death being a relief was nothing compared to the reality of being so devastatingly unprepared for it. This is not an emotion that you can think out while sketching on paper... It's such a complexly unexpected thing for someone to say. And Brooks doesn't let us intrude on these two any longer than Emma's doctor does when he talks to her about her kids. Someone once said that life is what happens to you while you are planning for it. Well, this is an attitude that Brooks shares here. Because he is not a director driven by ideas, he can actually have characterization happen by itself, rather than imposing it, plot incidents alike. I think Brooks was attracted to Larry McMurtry's novel because it actually was life-affirming, even in Emma's death. I suppose I spent about 2-3 minutes crying at this movie - and every time, it's a watershed... Proportionately, that's pretty accurate. Out of 132 minutes, 2-3 spent crying might scale pretty closely to how much sadness we could encounter in our real lives. And the rest of the movie is every bit as vital. Of course, the acting contributes largely to the accomplishment. I can't visualize one of the main actors in a role without quickly thinking of "Terms...". Partly that's because the quality of the way the characters were drawn... And feeling each scene out on its own terms, the actors can feel boundless, and there's joy in that. Even when Debra Winger was dying, she gets some variety. There have been parts in this character that Jack Nicholson, whose charisma is both charming and funny, hasn't been able to shake. And Shirley MacLaine, whose scene by the nurses' station can effortlessly make you laugh and cry at the same time. This kind of scene sort of goes along with the idea that "I guess you had to be there"; how else could you feel such different things unless you felt like you got to know the characters at your own pace. After I saw "As Good As It Gets", which I thought was very good, I just think that James Brooks feels very abundantly and that he never uses his judgment against people, but rather for a special dispensation of his deep wisdom. The reputation of "Terms of Endearment" has gone downhill since it won all those Oscars in 1984, and that, combined with a desire to point out that it is no way typical, is why I think it deserves special mention.