Splash [20th Anniversary Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

"I'm in love with a mermaid!" read the opening line of Leonard Maltin's original review for Splash. And with the delightful Darryl Hannah in the lead, who could fault Maltin for his public declaration of ardor? The story begins in 1959, when a young boy is rescued from a watery grave by an adolescent mermaid. Twenty-five years later, the boy has grown up--and lo and behold, it's Tom Hanks. Meanwhile, the mermaid, likewise grown up, has surfaced in search of Hanks, her long-lost love. On dry land, the mermaid is able to walk about on legs; any contact with salt water, and she reverts to her half-fish form. Adopting the name of Madison from a New York street sign, the girl manages to win Hanks' heart. Alas, a secret government lab, populated by such smarmy types as Richard B. Shull and Eugene Levy, captures Madison for research purposes--and possible vivisection. Egged on by his brother John Candy, Hanks rescues his beloved, joining her in the ocean depths as a mer-man (mer-fellow? mer-guy?) A captivating confection from the peerless creative team of director Ron Howard and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, Splash was a winner all the way--especially at the box office, where the $11 million film racked up a huge profit. Historical sidebar: Splash was the first release from Disney's Touchstone Pictures division. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Features:
  • cc
  • "Making a Splash": Babaloo Mandel, Brain Grazer, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy, Lowell Ganz, Ron Howard, and Tom Hanks reminisce on making the film
  • Commentary by director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, and writers Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel (with introduction and closing by Ron Howard)
  • Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah audition tapes with introductions by Ron Howard

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1984 (Babaloo Mandel, Brian Grazer, Lowell Ganz, Bruce Jay Friedman)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 1984

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Tom Hanks - Allen Bauer
       Daryl Hannah - Madison
       John Candy - Freddie Bauer
       Eugene Levy - Walter Kornbluth
       Dody Goodman - Mrs. Stimler
       Shecky Green - Mr. Buyrite
       Richard B. Shull - Dr. Ross
       Amy Ingersoll - Reporter

• Director:

  Ron Howard

• Producer:

  Brian Grazer

• Screenwriter:

  Bruce Jay Friedman, Lowell Ganz

• Screen Story:

  Brian Grazer

• Screenwriter:

  Brian Grazer, Babaloo Mandel

• Songwriter:

  Rita Coolidge

• Composer (Music Score):

  Lee Holdridge

• Songwriter:

  Lee Holdridge, Will Jennings

• Editor:

  Daniel Hanley, Michael Hill

• Production Designer:

  Jack T. Collis, Louis Mann

• Art Director:

  John Mansbridge

• Set Designer:

  Norman Rockett, Phil Smith

• Costume Designer:

  May Routh

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Richard S. Church

• Stunts:

  Jesse Wayne

• Choreography:

  Mike Nomad

• Casting:

  Bill Shepard

• Sound Effects Editor:

  Wayne Allwine

• Short Story Author:

  Lowell Grazer

• Technical Advisor:

  Nick D'Elia

REVIEW:

• Splash, Ron Howard's bubbly romantic comedy fairy tale, marks Tom Hanks at his early screwball best, as light and buoyant then as he has since become serious and stately. In one of his first prominent film roles, Hanks effectively plays the loosey-goosey romantic idealist Allen Bauer. Darryl Hannah brings touching innocence to the role of the adult mermaid, hiding her identity from Bauer by never allowing her legs to get wet with saltwater -- which would transform them into her telltale fin. There are a lot of cute, (forgive the pun) fish-out-of-water set pieces in New York, the most farfetched of which is Hannah's character learning English after a day of watching TV at Bloomingdale's. While Hanks is quite funny, and sometimes as charmingly naive and hopeful as his best moments in Big, the film's considerable laughs belong mostly to John Candy and Eugene Levy. Candy plays his typical loveable lout, a jokester with soul, and Levy is riotous as the oft-injured scientist villain, whose apropos refrain ("What a week I'm having!") is supported by a chain of slapstick scenarios that only Levy could play with such goofy frustration. At the helm, Howard strikes a sweet balance between humor and sentiment in one of the earliest of a string of directorial successes. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi