Product Description

Dustin Hoffman presents Diane Lane (MURDER AT 1600, JACK), Liev Schreiber (SPHERE, SCREAM I&II), and Viggo Mortensen (A PERFECT MURDER, THE LORD OF THE RINGS) in a provocative and sensual story about one woman's personal sexual revolution! It's the summer of 1969 and Pearl (Lane) is spending yet another vacation with her family when she realizes that the freedom of the times is passing her by. Following a chance meeting with a sexy, free-spirited young man (Mortensen), Pearl is soon doing the unthinkable: having a daring, passionate affair! Also starring Academy Award(R)-winner Anna Paquin (Best Supporting Actress, THE PIANO, 1993; SHE'S ALL THAT) in a powerful motion picture that's been called one of the year's best -- Pearl must ultimately decide between the love of her husband and children ... or the lure of her newfound desires!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7392 in DVD
• Brand: Miramax
• Released on: 1999-10-12
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Amazon.com
Although its tale of marital crisis unfolds a bit too cleanly, A Walk on the Moon--which was coproduced by Dustin Hoffman--offers a welcome relief from the juvenile assault of skull-throbbing blockbusters. The story is gently involving, the characters are authentic, and, best of all, Diane Lane is given a chance to show why she's one of the most genuine and underrated actresses of her generation. Here she plays Pearl Kantrowitz, a devoted housewife on a routine vacation in the Catskills with her TV repairman husband Marty (Liev Schreiber), 14-year-old daughter (Anna Paquin), and rambunctious younger son (Tovah Feldshuh).

It's the summer of 1969. Neil Armstrong has made his "one small step for man," Woodstock is about to happen nearby (leading to a barely plausible dramatic coincidence), and while her husband is away on business, Pearl is cautiously receptive to the seductions of "the blouse man" (Viggo Mortensen), a hippie salesman who offers the adventure and passion that Pearl sacrificed to young pregnancy and marriage. Once the stage for infidelity is set, A Walk on the Moon progresses predictably, but first-time screenwriter Pamela Gray stays true to the emotions of her characters, and actor Tony Goldwyn (making a smooth directorial debut) maintains precisely the right tone to downplay most of the movie's dramatic clichés. Add to this a sharp dynamic between Lane and Paquin, whose performances create a substantial mother-daughter relationship. Graced by stolen moments and fleeting expressions that speak volumes, this unassuming little film is eminently worthwhile. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
In a clannish Catskills bungalow colony, in the summer of 1969-Woodstock summer-Pearl (Diane Lane), a bored young housewife and mother, becomes convinced that she's lost a decade to mah-jongg and Waldbaum's and begins an affair with a handsome Gentile stranger (Viggo Mortensen) who's passing through. Her hardworking husband (Liev Schreiber), who was never told that sensuality should be part of a man's equipment, is appalled and fights back. In form, the movie is perhaps no more than a conventional triangle drama, but the milieu lends the material a special charm and interest. The actor Tony Goldwyn, directing his first movie, and working from a fine screenplay by Pamela Gray, beautifully captures a moment in which the straitened moral world of the lower-middle-class Jewish characters is beginning to open up-with necessarily painful results. Anna Paquin is Diane Lane's teen-age daughter, and Tovah Feldshuh is her astoundingly prescient mother-in-law. The voice on the camp loudspeaker announcing an endless number of health hazards and shopping opportunities belongs to Julie Kavner. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy
This is one movie that is misnamed. Ask anybody if they've seen it and they always say, Oh yeah, you mean the one with The Blouse Man. I learned from a friend of the woman who wrote the original that THAT was the original name. They should have kept it. But otherwise, I can't think of a negative thing to say about this movie. It's a coming-of-age (the daughter, played by Anna Paquin) story; it's a tale of a marriage turning boring and of temptation knocking at the door (The Blouse Man himself, SO well played by Viggo Mortensen; it's the exploration of the responsibilities that vie with the passions of the mom who sacrificed her youth and dreams to unplanned pregnancy and early marriage (so perfectly played by the lovely Diane Lane); the rage of the mostly clueless but loving and dutiful husband (Liev Schreiber), and the incomparable Tovah Feldshuh as the wise and sassy mother-in-law who literally and figuratively smacks sense into everyone's heads. The whole drama plays out during the summer of 1969 at a Jewish `camp' in the Catskills. Woodstock's `happening' occurs, and then Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.
Plus, omigod, such a great soundtrack, all the terrific music from that unbelievable and surreal era. This is one of those videos you just might want to purchase.

One of My Favorites!
My husband and I own this movie and think it's fabulous on every level. We've watched it many times since it was first released. Diane Lane and Liev Schrieber are both marvelous actors and are able to convey so much about their emotions with small moments. Tovah Feldshuh, as the wise mother-in-law, is perfect. The changing times are believably portrayed in this story about a couple who married young in a different time and now find their world changing. (I was 18 at the time of the moon landing and Woodstock so witnessed the era firsthand.) One of the things that is so good about this movie is that all the characters are good, well-intentioned people - there is no "bad" guy here, even the gorgeous "blouse man," played by Viggo Mortensen, is a decent guy. I love it that both Pearl and Marty, after they realize some new things about each other, are willing to try and find their way back to each other in this new world. The final scene of them dancing on the porch couldn't be better.
Despite the fact that three years after this movie, Diane Lane was in "Unfaithful," they are very different movies and "A Walk on the Moon" is superior because it has so much heart. I can very strongly recommend this movie.

An ode to family values
Such high-quality movies like A Walk On The Moon rarely get released . It's a film about the stormy turns a family's daily life takes when wife Pearl ( Lane ) meets a charming blouse man ( Mortensen ) . Although it's clear that she does love her husband ( Schreiber ) , she fails to remain faithfull to him . At the same time her daughter ( Anna Paquin ) is slowly becoming a woman . Her first flirt with a boy takes place and the girl , full of doubts and questions tries to come in terms with her puberty . The film's biggest strength is it's cast . Lane gives a quiet , carefull perfomance as the young wife while Mortensen displays once more his poisonous charms . The heart of the film though is Liev Schreiber who gives to his character the human sensitivity he needs to seem believable . He's one of these gifted , underrated actors ( see also Don Cheadle , Ben Chaplin ) who we would never like to see leading an expensive , supernatural blockbuster movie . What makes A Walk On The Moon so special is that it talks about things and situations which could easily be true . Frightengly naturall are also the supporting actors who have been casted perfectly as everyday-people of that time . The family's unity is in danger and the viewer almost feels Pearl's frustration and agony about the future . Will her acts torn her home apart ? Director Goldwyn dezerves congratulations for risk losing the teenage audience by making a film about family values . If you ask me though , when a movie is as well written and well acted as this one , age is not a factor . As for the ending is one of the smartest , most impulsive and touching ones you'll ever get the chance to see .