What's Love Got to Do with It

"Who Needs A Heart When A Heart Can Be Broken?"

1993 1h 58m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 385

DramaMusicHistory

Synopsis

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Singer Tina Turner rises to stardom while mustering the courage to break free from her abusive husband Ike.

“Who Needs A Heart When A Heart Can Be Broken?”

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Cast

Angela Bassett
Anna Mae Bullock / Tina Turner
Laurence Fishburne
Ike Turner
Vanessa Bell Calloway
Jackie
Jenifer Lewis
Zelma Bullock
Khandi Alexander
Darlene
Richard T. Jones
Ike Turner Jr.
Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly
Young Anna Mae Bullock
Chi McBride
Fross

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brian Gibson
Writers: Kate Lanier
Languages: English
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 / 7

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brian Gibson, shot by Jamie Anderson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne and Vanessa Bell Calloway carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Who Needs A Heart When A Heart Can Be Broken?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0108551 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brian Gibson directs. Jamie Anderson behind the camera. Stanley Clarke scores. Stuart H. Pappé cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

133 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Brian Gibson, shot by Jamie Anderson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Stanley Clarke. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Stuart H. Pappé shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne and Vanessa Bell Calloway carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Who Needs A Heart When A Heart Can Be Broken?".
7IMDB entry: tt0108551 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 29 themes, including "1970s", "affectation", "record producer", "biography".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jamie Anderson
Original score: Stanley Clarke
Editing: Stuart H. Pappé
Production design: Stephen Altman
Costume design: Ruth E. Carter
Makeup / hair: Bernadine M. Anderson
Stunt coordinator: William Washington
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $39,100,000
Return: 261% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)

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Brian Gibson

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2022-11-22
★ 5/10
A discreet biographical film, that seems to me to fulfill its role. Even those who don't like her, I think, have the honesty to recognize the impact and relevance of Tina Turner's music. She doesn't please everyone (nobody pleases everyone) but it is still a reference in 20th century music. Owner of a record that is hard to match, she has several awards, several Grammys and two stars on the Walk of Fame, among other honors. The film we have here, heavily based on the singer's autobiography, shows us a little of her personal life, how she became famous and her difficult marriage to Ike Turner. I never read the original book, but I believe the movie omits a lot of information and data to try to focus on the main thing. Brian Gibson ensures an efficient direction and the script is quite good, mainly because of the way it sticks to the story and facts, avoiding melodramas and cloying sentimentality. Of course, not everything goes smoothly: the film is quite predictable, and its pace, although pleasant, goes through several bumps that are basically musical pauses. The most relevant point in favor of this film is the excellent choice of the cast and the impeccable way in which it acts. Lawrence Fishburne has the difficult task of bringing the truculent Ike to life (and there aren't many characters more disgusting than an abusive husband), but he put in such effort that he manages to capture our attention with magnificent charisma. Beside her, the great Angela Bassett never seemed so powerful and electrifying. Incidentally, the resemblance of the two actors to the real figures they embody is truly remarkable. The film has excellent cinematography and good scenery. The costumes, props and even automobiles play an important role in building the atmosphere of the time in which things are happening (between the 50s and the beginning of the 80s). The soundtrack is also good and, predictably, it's basically based on songs by Tina Turner and Ike Turner.
CinemaSerf2024-12-30
★ 7/10
Andrea Bassett provides quite a compelling interpretation of the early life of Tina Turner here and Laurence Fishburne is also on good form as the brutish Ike. Born Annie Mae Bullock, she grows up in a community where singing is important and where her voice helps her to stand out. Pretty swiftly she attracts the notice of local band leader Ike Turner who gives her a start fronting his music before she becomes his wife and a mother. Success begins to follow but as that happens he turns into a monster. She is beaten regularly and feels more and more intimidated and fearful within her own marriage. Her society just wasn't geared up for a woman to leave her husband, however violent, and so with their business and family lives so completely intertwined any chance to break free was always going to be dangerous for this woman. Peppered with some well staged performances of their songs, and concluding with the birth of a legend, this is one of the more honest biopics that spares us little of the detail of a relationship riddled with turmoil and little respect. Fishburne presents us with a man who is odious in the extreme, but also one who exudes a degree of vulnerability as he clearly takes to drink and drugs to compensate for her success and his perception on how that impacted on his manhood to some extent. Not to excuse the behaviour - it seems commonplace for many African American women to have been the victims of domestic violence, but it does humanise the man a little and that does help to illustrate both the boldness and determination of an hugely talented and strong woman to do what she had to to break free of his magnetically toxic influence. It's based on her own book, and that adds a considerable degree of authenticity and richness to a depiction that's tough to watch at times, but well worth it.