The War of the Roses (1989)

Christmas Resents

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The War of the Roses on DVD

I was actually working at a movie theater at Christmastime when The War of the Roses (1989, Fox, $19.98) came out, so I have many fond holiday memories of it. Not to mention that it's a brilliantly nasty piece of work from director Danny DeVito. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner play the feuding couple who both want to hang on to their magnificent house. The film just keeps getting darker and more claustrophobic, like sliding down the center of a spiral. Of course, a few memorable scenes take place at Christmas, for what better time of year for some wicked jabs at your loved ones? This magnificent DVD actually includes all the extras from the laserdisc box set released about a decade ago, including a great DeVito commentary track. At the time I paid something like 80 bucks for it, and now it's all here in a much smaller package for a fraction of the price.

Starring: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Sean Astin, Marianne Sagebrecht, Heather Fairfield, G.D. Spradlin, Peter Donat, Dan Castellaneta
Written by: Michael Leeson, based on a novel by Warren Adler
Directed by: Danny DeVito
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 116 minutes
Date: December 21, 2001