The War of the Roses

"Once in a lifetime comes a motion picture that makes you feel like falling in love all over again. This is not that movie."

1989 1h 56m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 1,297

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Barbara and Oliver Rose live happily as a married couple. When Barbara starts to wonder what life would be like without Oliver and likes what she sees, the two begin a campaign to force each other to leave their house, with their divorce lawyer D'Amato caught in the middle.

“Once in a lifetime comes a motion picture that makes you feel like falling in love all over again. This is not that movie.”

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Cast

Michael Douglas
Oliver Rose
Kathleen Turner
Barbara Rose
Danny DeVito
Gavin D'Amato
Marianne Sägebrecht
Susan
Sean Astin
Josh at 17
Heather Fairfield
Carolyn at 17
G.D. Spradlin
Harry Thurmont
Peter Donat
Jason Larrabee

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Danny DeVito
Writers: Michael J. Leeson
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 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Danny DeVito, shot by Stephen H. Burum. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Once in a lifetime comes a motion picture that makes you feel like falling in love all over again. This is not that movie.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0098621 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Danny DeVito directs. Stephen H. Burum behind the camera. David Newman scores. Lynzee Klingman cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.2× over at the box office.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Danny DeVito, shot by Stephen H. Burum. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by David Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Lynzee Klingman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Once in a lifetime comes a motion picture that makes you feel like falling in love all over again. This is not that movie.".
8IMDB entry: tt0098621 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "marriage", "romance", "love-hate relationship", "lawyer".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen H. Burum
Original score: David Newman
Editing: Lynzee Klingman
Production design: Ida Random
Costume design: Gloria Gresham
Makeup / hair: Kathryn Blondell
Sound: Michael J. Kohut
Stunt coordinator: Michael Runyard
Runtime: 116 min · 1h 56m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $26,000,000
Box office: $160,188,546
Return: 616% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The War of the Roses (1989)

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Danny DeVito

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What people are saying

kevin20192025-05-16
★ 10/10
"The War of the Roses" is an uncompromising film based upon the eternally topical subject of divorce. It fits neatly into the same category as "When Harry Met Sally..." (1989), but where that yawn fest ruminated upon the boring notion that a man can never be just good friends with an attractive woman without sex becoming an inevitable issue and getting in the way of a beautiful friendship this film ponders the notion is there any such thing as an amicable divorce? The film which results from this preponderance is a brilliantly bitter and ugly one that takes the issue to the absolute extremes of human behaviour like never before as the luxurious marital home is gradually reduced to a shadowy and dangerous battlefield. Danny DeVito excels magnificently behind the camera as director and he achieves the admirable feat of producing eye catching visuals which don't dominate or derail the entire film.

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