Search - The Man in the Moon on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 1991 DVD Release: 01/09/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 40 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Drama, Romance, Romantic Drama, Teen Movie, Coming-of-Age

In its elegiac nostalgia for the days of childhood innocence, Robert Mulligan's The Man in the Moon recalls another of Mulligan's earlier films, To Kill A Mockingbird. Set in a Louisiana backwater town in the 1950s, the film chronicles the coming-of-age of a young teenage girl. Dani (Reese Witherspoon) is a fourteen-year-old girl who shares a room with her seventeen-year-old sister Maureen (Emily Warfield). During hot summer nights, they sleep on the screened-in back porch of their home, talking about romance, the future, and the meaning of life. Moving into the house next door is a handsome seventeen-year-old boy, Court Foster (Jason London). Court meets Dani at the local swimming hole and they are immediately attracted to each other; through Court, Dani experiences her first true and perfect love. But when Court meets Maureen, the sparks really fly and Maureen falls in love with him too. Now Maureen is torn between holding back her love for Court or accepting his love and betraying her sister. A tragic event makes Maureen's mind up for her. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Sam Waterston - Matthew Trant
Tess Harper - Abigail Trant
Gail Strickland - Marie Foster
Reese Witherspoon - Dani Trant
Jason London - Court Foster

Robert Mulligan's The Man in the Moon comes to DVD in a lovely basic DVD that captures the subtle beauty of Oscar-winner Freddie Francis's cinematography down to the last pixel of light; given its subject matter and setting, a lot of the movie was shot out-of-doors under natural light, and the results are all brought home on this disc far better than the laserdisc ever could. And the disc also offers good sound at a surprisingly healthy volume (usually the weak link on DVD). The mid-priced release offers no special features apart from the original trailer and optional French and Spanish audio tracks and subtitles, but the producers have taken what care the $15 list price allows -- the presence of 16 chapters show that someone took a little time on this release. The disc opens automatically to the menu, which is very easy to maneuver around. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide