Criterion | 1987 | 132 mins. | R
Early in his career, director, producer and screenwriter James L. Brooks worked as a copywriter for CBS News, and then as a writer for the news broadcasts, where he wrote reports on events such as the assassination of President Kennedy. Given that, it should come as no surprise that he had a wealth of personal experience to draw on as a creator of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Hot on the heels of his multi-Oscar triumph Terms of Endearment, Brooks again visited the newsroom with 1987’s Broadcast News. More than twenty years after its release, it seems as though Brooks predicted a time when an entire generation would prefer a satirical news show over the real thing.
Broadcast News focuses on a group of men and women who work at a Washington, D.C. news station. Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) is a producer from Atlanta. She is tense, sarcastic, and smart. She is the ultimate perfectionist, she even sets aside time for crying jags. Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks) is a talented reporter who dreams of being an anchor. There’s one big problem—given his shot, he develops a serious case of the flop sweats. Tom Grunnick (William Hurt) is a tall good looking former sportscaster, who found himself on the fast track to anchor, despite his inexperience. In fact, he’s recently moved to Washington, having been hired to anchor the news.
Aaron and Jane have been best friends for years. While both are smart, Aaron calms Jane down occasionally and Jane gives Aaron pep talks whenever needed. The both share the same high journalistic standards. Aaron has long carried a torch for Jane, and now hopes their friendship can be something more. However, Tom’s arrival has put a wrench into things; he’s won everybody over with his charm and wit, and Jane is acting like she just might want to spend her life with this new guy. Broken hearted, Aaron can’t believe Jane could fall for such an airhead of man.
While Broadcast News does involve a romantic entanglement, it’s much more intelligent and decisive to be thought of as a simple romantic comedy. This is a film about three people struggling to maintain normal relationship in a decidedly abnormal environment. Brook’s shows us that working in a major newsroom takes dedication and means you’re never really off the clock. As a result, the people you work with become like family, and the lines between the personal and the professional often become blurred.
Beyond the relationships, we get to see how the news gets covered—the stresses, the triumphs and the failures—both in front and behind the camera. There have been several fine movies about the inner workings of television—Network, Quiz Show—but no film prior to Broadcast News really took viewers beyond the characters to explain the process of producing, delivering and when necessary, manipulating the news.
Broadcast News retains its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, enhanced for 16:9 displays. Some grain is found throughout and it’s a bit more than I’ve come to expect. Though for a film made in 1987, the colors are quite vibrant and the blacks remain within solid.
The Dolby Surround 2.0 soundtrack is fairly straightforward. The score spreads throughout, and dialogue is always crisp. Per Criterion’s standard practice, James L. Brooks himself supervised the transfer.
We get the following special features:
Commentary – an audio commentary with writer, director, and producer James L. Brooks and film editor Richard Marks. Brooks does most of the talking, recalling how Broadcast News came to be, his first meeting with Holly Hunter, the political convention that inspired him to shoot the film, Susan Zirinsky’s assistance, how various scenes in the film were shot, etc. Recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2010.
James L. Brooks – A Singular Voice – a documentary film, broken into three chapters, exploring the career and legacy of writer, director, and producer James L. Brooks. With special guests composer Hans Zimmer, actors Marilu Henner, and Julie Kavner, writer and producer Al Jean, ICM Chairman and CEO Jeff Berg, critic Ken Tucker. (37 min).
— Groundbreaking Television
— Moving into film
— The zeitgeist
Alternate Ending and Deleted Scenes – a group of scenes assembled for this release by editor Richard Marks and James L. Brooks. The alternate ending has an audio introduction by the director.
— Alternate Ending – (11 min).
— Deleted Scenes – (20 min).
Susan Zirinsky – a video interview with Susan Zirinsky, who was the model for the Jane Craig character in Broadcasting News. Conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2010. (18 min).
Featurette – a standard featurette, produced by 20th Century Fox, with raw footage from the shooting of the film, as well as interviews with James L. Brooks, Albert Brooks, and Holly Hunter.
— Featurette – (8 min).
— Interviews and on-set footage (19 min).
Trailer – the original theatrical trailer. (3 min).
Booklet – 18-page illustrated booklet containing Carrie Rickey’s essay “Lines and Deadlines”.
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