Broadcast News

"It’s the story of their lives."

1987 2h 13m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🔥

98%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 487🍅98%Rotten Tomatoes●84Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 35,553

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A high-strung news producer finds herself in a love triangle between a talented but self-doubting reporter and a charming news anchor who embodies the growing trivialization of news that she is determined to fight against.

“It’s the story of their lives.”

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Cast

Holly Hunter
Jane Craig
William Hurt
Tom Grunick
Albert Brooks
Aaron Altman
Robert Prosky
Ernie Merriman
Lois Chiles
Jennifer Mack
Joan Cusack
Blair Litton
Peter Hackes
Paul Moore
Christian Clemenson
Bobby

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James L. Brooks
Writers: James L. Brooks
Languages: English, French, Spanish, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, French, Spanish, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by James L. Brooks, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bill Conti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Marks shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Holly Hunter and William Hurt and Albert Brooks carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It’s the story of their lives.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James L. Brooks directs. Michael Ballhaus behind the camera. Bill Conti scores. Richard Marks cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Spanish, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, French, Spanish, German.
4Directed by James L. Brooks, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Bill Conti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Richard Marks shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Holly Hunter and William Hurt and Albert Brooks carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It’s the story of their lives.".
9IMDB entry: tt0092699 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "journalist", "washington dc, usa", "love triangle", "workaholic".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Original score: Bill Conti
Editing: Richard Marks
Production design: Charles Rosen
Costume design: Molly Maginnis
Makeup / hair: Carl Fullerton
Sound: Kevin O'Connell
Stunt coordinator: Jery Hewitt
Runtime: 133 min · 2h 13m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $67,330,500
Return: 337% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Broadcast News (1987)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 84/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 35,553 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 7 Oscars. 15 wins & 23 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

James L. Brooks

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-18
★ 7/10
Centred around the cut-throat environment of an American newsroom at a time when the focus of the bosses was switching from strong journalistic values to those more ratings-based, we are provided with this premiss. William Hurt ("Grunick") is certainly the more handsome man for the anchorman's chair, but he has nothing like the knowledge or gravitas of colleague and rival "Altman" (Albert Brooks) with his superior, borderline condescending on-screen style. Executive producer "Jane" (Holly Hunter) is charged with trying to keep things on an even keel, whilst unsure which, if either, of the two men she wants to date. At times there atmosphere here is electric, with quickly paced activity, acerbic wit and a wonderfully portrayed dog-eat-dog mentality that lends a great deal of authenticity to this most competitive of workplaces. Ocassionally, it is cluttered up by a romance that is simply not required - the triumvirate just didn't need it, but in the main Hunter is on super form. She effortlessly plays a multitude or roles as she tries to juggle her personal and professional feelings for these two men who offer us characterisations that we can laugh at and loathe in almost equal measure. I worked in live television for a great many years, and always admired the skills of those who can talk, listen, look and react all at the same time - the scene with poor old "Altman" losing half his bodyweight whilst on air still makes me squirm even now. It has lost some of its potency over the last 35 years, but recalling that this was amongst the first to illustrate just how tough these jobs are, it's still a great watch.
kevin20192024-02-25
★ 10/10
"Broadcast News" is desperately overlong and it stubbornly insists upon indulging in irrelevant mini-prologues of the three main characters at the beginning which has absolutely no bearing on them as adults, but other than this the film does successfully provide a fascinating insight into the pressurised and competitive world of television journalism and it must be applauded for highlighting the unfortunate trend of elevating news anchors to celebrity status and they are out to sell news to the public as if it were nothing more than another product. This is an alarming turn of events when the image of the news anchor supersedes the importance of global events simply because they are capable of bringing in substantial viewing audiences for a particular channel and furthering their own careers by doing so and established journalistic ethics be damned instead of their top priority always being the persistent pursuit of the truth.