Search - Same Time, Next Year (1978) on DVD

Shandra P.
Reviewed on 12/31/2011...

Even though my husband and I don't like the idea of infidelities, we find this movie to be funny and oddly romantic. I like watching the couple grow and mature over time and it is interesting to see how "dedicated" they are to their spouses even as they carry on this decades long, annual affair. Intesting concept.

Tender and touching

amintra | taranto Italy | 02/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Same time,next year" is a very good movie with outstanding performances and a solid script. It tells about the story of an adultereous couple, George & Doris,who have a reunion every year at the same day and the same place, a lovely hotel in California,and everytime we discover a new part of their characters and their own lives. The picture has been represented by six meetings over 26 years. The first one shows us their first meeting in 1951:they both hit by passion at first sight; the second portrayed is in 1956: while they're celebrateing their 5th anniversary they must face their first quarrel;then we move into 1961 when George helps Doris to give birth to her baby;in 1966 Doris has changed her life-style attending the university and becoming an hippie woman while George is getting more and more serious...;in 1972 things change again with Doris as an incredible business woman and finally in 1977 the couple must face for the very first time the meaning of being in love with each other.Among the several meetings there are touching clips representing the symbols of those years.Alan Alda is excellent but Ellen Burstyn takes the cake with a stunning performance.This is a picture who deals topics like regret, love, passion and nostalgia of lost time with sensitivity and good taste.Nominated for 4 Academy Awards:Actress(Burstyn),Adapted script,Cinematography and Original song."

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORIES EVER PUT ON FILM

amintra | 01/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Poignant and powerful, this incredible bittersweet love story will bring tears to the eyes of anyone who has an understanding of what life is really about. It is virtually flawless and shows what can be done with a good story premise, good acting, and a simple set. No special effects or computerized videographics are needed.The subject of adultry is treated in a way that is bound to raise conflict in those who are morally sensitive. At the end one can only sympathise with the couple who, in their own way, were soulmates for 26 years, yet also in their own way remained loyal and devoted to their spouses and families. Impossible? See this film before drawing any conclusions. I am not an Alda fan, but for this one I make a strong exception. He is very convincing. And Ellen Burstyn is the girl next door that any man who breathes would fall in love with. Their chemistry in the film is electric.This story is about morality that transcends the tawdry urges of the flesh. In this respect it is both a love story and a morality play. I am sure that variations of the plot have actually occurred in real life but have been taken to the grave to avoid hurting loved ones. This is about average people caught up in a situation they could neither resist, understand, or control.Don't pass this one up."

Heartbreaking

amintra | 09/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After I watched this film, I felt like someone had ripped my heart out, stomped on it and then put it back. The acting is excellent, especially on the part of Ellen Burstyn, who is always just fabulous in everything she does. She and Alan Alda managed to make even the silly lines seem natural and appropriate. After playing the character on stage, Ms. Burstyn obviously embodied Doris by the time she made the film.While I found both George and Doris irritating at first, they grew on me, and by the time it was over, I found myself liking and even respecting them. I don't think adultery is ever acceptable, but somehow they made you forget what they were doing was wrong because of their chemistry and bond.I saw Same Time, Next Year for the first time this year and it does seem a little dated in some ways. However, I believe that the core message is basically timeless. Both actors do a great job of conveying the personal and physical changes that the characters were supposed to be undergoing over the course of 26 years. I think I read somewhere that Ellen Burstyn only has one adopted child, but she was completely natural in the part where Doris was pregnant. You would have thought SHE really was pregnant at the time.Overall, though, I don't think I could put myself through the emotional distress of watching this film very often. Yes, it is sweet, touching and even funny at times. But, I also found it gut-wrenching. The whole concept that two people who are soul-mates could find one another by chance in the great big world but can't really be together is one of the saddest things I can conceive. Perhaps what made the love Doris and George had for each other so special WAS the fact that they spent only one weekend a year together. What they had never became mundane or tired because of how little time they had together. It makes you wonder if they would have made it as a couple on a day-to day basis. If you really love someone as much as they seemed to love each other, 2 days a year together is simply not enough. You want to share everything with them. While I admire their devotion to their families, these two characters just broke my heart. I probably don't appreciate film for film's sake enough, but I've accepted that I like traditional happy endings. This one was a little too bittersweet for me. I bawled like I had lost a loved one when it was over. In fact, if I want to cry on cue, all I have to do is think about Same Time, Next Year.It would be interesting to see someone make a film of the sequel. I think both Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn (especially Burstyn, who is even more stunning now at nearly 70) could believably play George and Doris again from the ages of early 50s to late 60s. I'll probably just have to picture that one in my mind's eye."