I have always enjoyed this film.

What made the film for me were the characters & performance BOTHER OSCAR WINNERS FOR Shirley as Aurora & Jack as Garrett.

Winger & Daniels characters I just hated. Why did she stay with him after the cheating? His cheating made it OK for her to cheat with John Lithgow's character? 2 wrongs do NOT make a right.

The oldest son Tommy. It took till near the end with him walking out of the hospital with his grandmother till an adult stood up to him for his behavior. Parents NEVER did a thing about it.

Danny De Vito & his small part. Never did figure out why he was with the family when Emma was in the hospital near the end of the film. His character did NOTHING.

Still a good film after the passage of time. Although, does not have the impact it did when released.

As for the DVD package.
SO LACKING & BAD. A CD with 4 songs-2 I know & like the others I have never heard of before do NOT make up for what else is NOT included.
There is NO brochure/pamphlet inside, any sort of information on the film. Film makers, this was a big hit & Best Picture winner for 1983. NO DELETED SCENES OR BLOOPERS. Nothing. No chapter search list.

AND, THESE HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE DVD CASES WITH THE 2 UNNECESSARY LITTLE FLAPS.

I generally leave this type of tear-jerker to my mother, and I honestly had no real desire to ever watch it. So, when I was roped into seeing this film and found myself actually caring about what happens to the characters, I was pleasantly surprised. The performances, especially Shirley MacLaine's, are very emotionally charged, yet believable. I found myself really liking and really disliking each character in turn, but that's what makes them real. The plot bounces right along and the film is all-together very watchable (even for a seasoned chick-flick hater such as myself). Larry McMurtry always had a penchant for entertaining story-telling, and this movie is no exception. The only character I had trouble believing was Garrett Breedlove. As much as I respect Jack Nicholson's ability, not even he could make his corny antics work. Garrett the astronaut stuck out like a sore--albeit sometimes amusing--thumb among all the other "ordinary" people. Nicholson did what he could with it, but the subplot itself just seemed like it belonged in a different movie. All in all, a good flick, even if you typically don't go in for movies that try to evoke the full gamut of human emotion in two hours flat.

One of the top grossing films of 1983, including sweeping away 5 Oscars, Terms of Endearment, not only is a heart-felt relationship between a sensitive and compassionate daughter (Debra Winger) and her over bearing mother, (Shirley MacLaine) but also what it means to get caught-up in the day to day: and faced with the really tough things in life like seeing one's child go through unnecessary torment and hardship- but most of all, the film shows us about living in the moment, having fun in the moment, because life is fleeting, and often times, tragic.

Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson), a retired astronaut, lives next door to Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and as middle age can be very lonely sometimes, reveals to Aurora a selfish man, but also one who enjoys life and she sets out to meet him, that ends in a strange but beautiful relationship. Taking away, at least, a little attention from her suffering daughter miles and states away.

This film is certainly a character driven film rather than plot driven because the story is a simple one. It is the dialouge, acting and the great direction of James L. Brooks, (Broadcast News, As Good as it Gets, to name a few) known in the industry as the 'actors director' which makes this film one of the best of 1883.

A beautiful film: loving, caring, moving, emotional, revealing the joys and the tragedy of life, leaving a glimmer of Hope for us all.

Outstanding.

This is a wonderful film. The acting, the characters, the story, the music, the writing, the film is wonderful. You feel for the characters, the story is interesting and realistic. I highly recommend this film.

I saw this movie in a theater in January of 1984, and if I never see it again for the rest of my life, I'll be a happy man. My loathing for this film knows no bounds. It's perhaps the most un-worthy film to ever be awarded the "Best Picture" Oscar, beating out much better candidates like "The Right Stuff" and "The Big Chill" that were nominated that year. As I was watching it, I kept saying to myself "When does this get better?" It never did, not once over its achingly long 131 minute running time. My former co-worker called this "the movie where the mother and daughter talk on the telephone all the time." Which it is. Throw in some infidelity and an incurable disease, and that summarizes this piece of garbage on celluloid. Avoid this movie at all costs.