SuperHeroBooks - The Whole Wide World
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List Price: $14.94
Our Price: $3.45
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Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Starring: Vincent D'Onofrio, Renée Zellweger, Ann Wedgeworth, Harve Presnell, Benjamin Mouton
Directed By: Dan Ireland
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Sony
EAN: 9781404905573
Format: Anamorphic
ISBN: 140490557X
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Region Code: 99
Release Date: 2003-07-29
Running Time: 106
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 1996-12-20
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: A stunning look into one of pulp fiction's greats
Comment: Getting back into reading Robert E. Howard's pulp stories, and being impressed again with his visceral, if a little overblown, energy permeating through every page, I decided to learn more about the man. I knew he lived in a small town with his folks, and really did't get out much, but had very little idea as to his personality.
Now, it goes without saying this movie is a mix of fact and fiction, even thouh it is based on a biographical work of the woman second closest to him before his tragic end, the first being his mother. Usually these types of movies delve into sentimental fluff as opposed to the hard conflicting emotions that permeate through every relationship, but this movie is certainly an exception. It seemed Robert had his side that was constantly looking to be acknowledged and respected, and the other side that enjoyed being a misfit in the world, and a terrible fear of what would happen to his writing his he started walking with "civilized" society.
Anyone familiar with Robert's works knows the type of man he looked up to. He loved the loner who had a thirst for life regardless of how vicious the world around him one. He loved the hero who saw the world as nothing but barbarism masked under civilization that the hero always saw through for what it truly was. His heroes loved life all the same. He seemed to see the world as petty, sadistic, and empty, but lacked the will for life that his characters had.
His lack of trust of the outside world is what doomed his relationship with the school teacher, and caused him to latch on to a kind if overbearing mother. I found it amusing how his female characters acted at certain points when he was writing while dating her. While they were at tough times they were vicious and heartless while when things were going well they were innocent and fragile.
Overall, this was an excellent movie, and one of the few romances I really managed to enjoy. The acting was excellent, the scenery of Texas was sublime, and the script was excellent. There were maybe two scenes that seemed a little unbelievable, especially the last five minutes of the movie, though only a hard cynic could not see the treasure that these two shared.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Renee's First Great Role.
Comment: A fine little movie from an interesting book about a too little known author, Robert Howard, creator of Conan the barbarian, and the sword and sorcery theme. The humor, romance, and tragedy are very well done, and Renee Zellweger and Vincent D'Onofrio are near-perfectly cast. Those interested should check Ellis's book "One Who Walked Alone" for more subtleties lost from the movie.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best Movie, Best Kiss in any movie, ever
Comment: This is the best most heart wrenching movie with the best kiss in any movie I have ever seen. How it did not get the academy award or at least a nod is beyond me. Vincent D'Onofrio shoud have been awarded the oscar and he was over-looked and this movie was over-looked. Anyone who has not seen it, does not know what they are missing.
If ever there was a love story, this is it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: In Defense of Robert E. Howard...
Comment: I have not read Novalyne Price's book, on which this movie is based--but if the movie is any indication, I would say that her point in writing the book was not so much to detail a "love story" as to give insight--insofar as she could provide it--into the personality, the writer that was Robert E. Howard. In some respects, it seems like the relationship between Price and Howard is actually more a friendship than actual love affair--a device by which Price was able to show, at least on a certain level, what made Howard "tick." As a writer and artist myself, I believe I can likewise offer a few words of wisdom regarding "what made Howard tick"--in ways that a non-artistic person may not truly understand. Having perused some of the reviews here, I was not surprised to see descriptions of Robert Howard (and the actor who portrays him) as "over-the top", as someone who was too immature to cut the apron strings with his mother and have a "healthy" relationship with a real woman (one who was not his mother). Someone who had problems relating to others in his community, and so in fact eschewed their company when he was not alarming them with his eccentric behavior. Some reviewers obviously are more sympathetic to Price than to Howard--and that is understandable to an extent, because most people can relate more readily to Price's need for a more conventional lifestyle than Howard's decidedly unconventional ways of needing to relate. The movie made it quite clear that if there was one factor that ultimately destroyed the "romantic" relationship between Price and Howard, it was that when all was said and done, Price was just too conventional for Robert Howard. While it may be true that he had "bonding issues" regarding his mother that developed in childhood, yet I think there was a more important reason Howard could not break the tie to his mother that Novalyne Price (and others) saw as "smothering"--his mother UNDERSTOOD him. There is a reason why he clung to her, and it wasn't all to do with unhealthy psychological clinging. (Consider also the fact that--had he not had that nurturing relationship with someone, anyone--in his case his mother--isn't it possible, and maybe even probable, that he would not have been able to accomplish his writing at all? So couldn't their relationship be seen as, while perhaps not "healthy"--at least a necessary evil?) His mother was his best friend and confidant, someone who 100% supported him in his writing, who understood he had genius. In the biography of Howard's life, "Dark Valley Destiny," it is stated that Bob's mother brought him food while he worked, she waited on him and pampered him--and then, when she became ill, he returned the favor--out of love and loyalty. Novalyne Price apparently resented that, but probably just because she simply did not see it for what it was: returned loyalty for loyalty. If there is a reason that Howard would not meet Novalyne "half-way" in their relationship, that he told her things like "the road I walk, I walk alone"--I think it is because she could not give him the things he really needed, and that his mother alone provided. Novalyne was intelligent, she was able to converse with him in ways others could not, and she tried hard to understand him--but she was too conventional, she refused to be the "subservient" woman Howard needed in a significant other, and she was not the kind of writer that Howard could really relate to. I feel that if Howard had met someone who was more like him, that things might have been different. She would have to be someone who understood his obligations to his mother, who did not care what the townspeople thought, (i.e. someone unconventional), and she would have to have the same sort of talent Howard did, or at least not be offended by the fact that he wrote for the socially unacceptable "pulps," by the sexuality in his writing, etc. Howard did have famous friendships with other writers, but as far as a life partner--he simply had no peers. There was no internet in his time, and he must have felt--not surprisingly--very isolated in his little world. It is any wonder then, that once the only person in his life who could truly fathom him was dying--his response was to take his own life? A tragedy, yes...but also, I think, a very predictable one (he'd been telling people for years that when his mother died, he would have no more reason to live). I think this movie was quite good, but it is Novalyne Price's story--and she was only one part of Robert Howard's life. Anyone interested in Robert E. Howard should try reading his biographies, which delve a lot deeper than this movie was able to. Still, I would recommend "The Whole Wide World," because it is a well told story, with great acting, and very poignant at that...and at least it is a starting point on the road to understanding this very gifted--and troubled--writer who was Robert E. Howard...
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Renee is a gem!
Comment: The Whole Wide World is a sad and lovely film starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellweger. D'Onofrio always tends to overact and in this movie he does quite desperately. Zellweger on the other hand, is a quiet, serene, and regal actress, she holds this indie love story from drowning. Good film, give it a try sometime.
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Editorial Reviews:
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In Texas in the 1930s, young school teacher Novalyne Price meets a handsome, eccentric and interesting young man named Robert Howard. He's a successful writer of the pulp stories of 'Conan the Barbarian'; she's an aspiring author. A friendship develops into a sort of courtship. Based on a memoir by Novalyne Price. Stars Academy Award® nominee Vincent D’Onofrio and Renée Zellweger (Chicago).
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