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 | 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:

Debra Winger behaved erratically on the set of this film because she was trying to get over a severe cocaine addiction. At one point, she and Shirley MacLaine got into a shoving match.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: As the young Horton family crosses the Texas border driving to Iowa, there is merely a plain road sign, located amidst open flat fields of waiving grain, indicating that they are leaving Texas. Any highway trek from Texas to Iowa would find a roadway dip into the distinctive basin of the Red River and would require crossing the river over a substantial bridge joining Texas and Oklahoma.

Quotes:

Aurora Greenway: Would you like to come in?
Garrett Breedlove: I'd rather stick needles in my eyes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Roseanne: Terms of Estrangement: Part 1 (#5.1)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody

Wow

Wow was my first reaction to seeing the film back in February 2003. I had bought it on a whim and watched it one night when I was bored. The rest is history. Terms remains one of my favorite films and I really can't say why. Reputation has made this out to be "the ultimate chick flick" upon which every other tear-jerker is judged. But it's definitely more of a character study than a weepy mushy movie. In fact, it's anything but mushy. Where it could of been over-sentimental, it was poignant. Where it could of been boring, it was insightful. And where it could of been corny, it was tongue-in-cheek.

Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger give career performances as mother and daughter. Both characters are polar opposites and in real life the actresses despised each other, but on screen their chemistry sizzles. Jack Nicholson is his usual suave self and John Lithgow is perfect as the wimpy banker. Danny Devito also has a quirky cameo.

James L. Brooks is definitely an "actor's director". To him, the performances are clearly more important than set pieces or flashy camera work. Each of the three main performances are brilliant (especially MacLaine's). It has been decades since a movie about illness has been made like this that is so achingly real. Two scenes to look for: Aurora walking across a seedy hotel (heat-breaking) and Emma telling her mother that she's pregnant (hilarious).

Terms of Endearment is a triumph!