Writer/director Nora Ephron hit a high point with this delightful 1993 film, perhaps the epitome of the modern romantic comedy to which many a movie of the past decade has aspired and few have even approached in its warmth, naturalness, and genuine spirit of amour.
The new 10th-anniversary edition DVD is the perfect excuse to revisit a rare masterpiece of a genre not known for great films. Tom Hanks, as widowed Seattle architect Sam Baldwin, and Meg Ryan, as unhappily engaged Baltimore journalist Annie Reed, are two romantic lost souls who barely appear onscreen together and yet, thanks to a nationwide radio talk show in which Sam pours out his broken heart, the two create a palpable sense of yearning that only the other, a continent away, can satisfy.
Matters of destiny are usually only this magical in the classic tearjerkers of Hollywood past, to which Ephron alludes with a wonderfully deft hand. Extras include Ephron’s commentary track, a beautiful digital remaster, and the option to watch in widescreen or full-screen.
