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| Warm Springs | 
 enlarge | Director: Joseph Sargent
Actors: Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon, David Paymer, Tim Blake Nelson, Matt O'leary
Studio: HBO
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $3.95
You Save: $11.03 (74%)
New (37) Used (23) Collectible (1) from $3.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 4838
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 121
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: HBOD92752D
ISBN: 0783134886
UPC: 026359275227
EAN: 9780783134888
ASIN: B0009UVBI6
Theatrical Release Date: April 30, 2005
Release Date: August 30, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Following an early & promising political career franklin delano roosevelt is stricken with polio at 39 years of age. This follows his struggle with paralysis & the family pressure to return to public life & politics. Perhaps the biggest battle he fought was not in the eyes of others but in his own mind. Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 09/23/2008 Starring: Kenneth Branagh Kathy Bates Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com
Warm Springs is a riveting, deeply moving film about a lesser-known chapter in the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the American president who saw his country through the dark, terrible times of the Great Depression and most of World War II. Before those epochal events, however, Roosevelt spent time in a political wilderness, groomed for high office but struck down by polio at age 39. Warm Springs is the fascinating story of Roosevelt's painful journey from despair back to wisdom and leadership. Kenneth Branagh gives an emotionally raw, courageous performance as FDR, estranged from his wife, Eleanor (a near-luminous Cynthia Nixon), and his political guru (David Paymer) while ambivalently seeking rehabilitation at Warm Springs, a broken-down spa in the backwoods of Georgia. Mired in misery, misanthropy, and drink, Roosevelt is coaxed back to civilized behavior and a glimmer of altruism by the spa's ailing, folksy manager, Tom Loyless (a remarkable Tim Blake Nelson), and the ministrations of a progressive-minded, physical therapist (solid work by Kathy Bates). Word of Roosevelt's improvement in the buoyant, mineral-rich waters of Warm Springs draws other polio victims--some of whom endure terrible discrimination and misery while traveling—to the spa. In time, these hopeful, all-ages paraplegics form a community that inspires a sense of mission in Roosevelt, setting the stage for his return to the political arena. Surehanded, 80-year-old veteran director Joseph Sargent (on a roll following his lovely, 2004 cable movie Something the Lord Made) has made a pitch-perfect and intimate, historical drama one never wants to see end. --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 An excellent insight into FDR'S metamorphosis. November 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Warm Springs" is a masterpiece of story-telling about the changes FDR experienced through his struggles with polio and his other demons. It shows his very human side and his transformation from a vain, egotistical alcoholic and womanizer into the much-loved and admired president that he eventually became. This movie is a masterpiece of acting and story-telling. I enjoyed it very much and am so happy to add it to my movie library.
A arrogant man humbled by Polio to lead a Great Nation July 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Warm Springs portrays President Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Kenneth Branagh and his Wife Eleanor by Cynthia Nixon in what his struggle was having Polio bringing him to his knees to unsuccesfully return him to the man he was, and becoming sensitive to the needs of others! An emotional and thought provoking presententation of a man who became one of our greatest presidents!
Who knew? June 22, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
He was already rich, but before he became famous, FDR, at the start of his political career, was struck with polio. This is common knowledge today. What is not known, and truly should be, is the struggle he undertook first to cope with, then to master, the disability that would ordinarily have torpedoed his career. Generally underappreciated as an actor, Kenneth Branagh, turns in a brilliant performance in his portrayal of an FDR never really glimpsed before - broken, bitter, depressed, then increasingly hopeful and courageous, and finally, triumphant. Toward the end of this movie, when asked if polio has changed her husband, Eleanor as acted by Cynthia Nixon smiles and says emphatically, "Oh yes... it has."
An argument can be made that polio made Roosevelt. His quest to walk again brought him into contact with people he would never have otherwise met. Good people of all races, classes, and age. It opened his eyes to the needs of his countrymen, and made him as compassionate as any wildly successful politician can be. Franklin and Eleanor, though their marriage was far from perfect, grew together into America's first power couple. No longer the arrogant, detached rich boy, he went on to become one of America's greatest presidents in one of America's most trying eras, and she one of America's most influential women. Nearly 60 years later, their legacy is generally ignored. Watch this inspiring, beautifully made movie and you will never forget them.
 warm springs June 13, 2008
i watched only part of warm springs, and was amazed at the protrayal and insight into FDR's gradual acceptance of his disability. especially so in the depiction of his dreams of normalcy. i'm crippled too(although not as much as he)and i thought i was the only one who dreamed of walking with a bounce in my step again, or running alongside my daughter. i thought it was my typical denial again. the writers and kenneth banaugh however deoicted the feelings of despair and some hope so accurately that i don't feel so alone or strange anymore.
 Credible Portrayal June 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This production was excellent from the standpoint of exploring the little known period of rehabilitation of FDR from the affliction of polio. Branagh is (as ever) spell-binding in his portrayal of FDR. The roles for Eleanor and FDR's mother, Sara, were either not well written or not well directed (I'm not sure which). The story seemed to play a bit footloose with a few facts of which I am aware. These being:
1.Ms Mercer's affair with the former president is portrayed as being a 'passing' dalience when in truth it lasted clear until his death with Ms Mercer at his side. So it was a significant factor in FDR and Eleanor's marital relationship.
2. Eleanor learned of the affair when unpacking FDR's suitcase and came across several letters from Ms Mercer. At that time, Eleanor demanded that FDR either end the affair or leave, which is a more contentious interaction than what the HBO presentation provides. The script has self-sacrificing Eleanor offering FDR his freedom.
3. The domineering aspect of FDR's mother, Sara, is alluded to, but not substantially portrayed. Again, going back to the affair, Sara threatened her son with disinheritance if he did not end the affair, while the presentation showed her to be disapproving, but not seemingly too distressed by the interaction.
I realize that the movie was focusing on the convalescence, however, in glossing over these familial interactions and their subsequent wounds and scars, it does a disservice to the marital relationship. At times, the film gets a bit of a 'Little House on the Prairie' feel to it. The script was obviously written as a centerpiece for Branagh, but the women's roles come off as way too flat and uninteresting. I think that more could have been done.
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