- Actors: Jennifer O'Neill, Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, Oliver Conant, Katherine Allentuck
- Directors: Robert Mulligan
- Writers: Herman Raucher
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English, French
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Georgian, Chinese, Thai
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- Release Date: Feb 5 2002
- Run Time: 103 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005U2KD
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#12,974 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #18 in DVD > Drama > Love & Romance > Young Love
- #91 in DVD > En français > Drame > Drames romantiques
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
Herman Raucher's autobiographical (or first person, anyway) coming-of-age tale is set, as the title suggests, among sand dunes and departing GIs. Hermie (Gary Grimes) and his two buddies Oscar (Jerry Hauser) and the nerdy Benjie (Oliver Conant) are spending the summer doing the things preadolescents do: hanging out, eating ice cream, stealing "dirty" books from their parents, and trying unsuccessfully to act manly around the gawky girls they take to the movies. Then Hermie spoils everything by really falling in love, this time with the adorable older woman Dorothy, played by Jennifer O'Neill. Dorothy's husband conveniently leaves for duty overseas, and then, even more conveniently, becomes one of those "we regret" telegrams. Dorothy, desperate for comfort and sweetness, turns to Hermie--and surely makes his summer. The setting and the date give this movie a double helping of nostalgia for anyone who was once an adolescent boy desperately trying to get rid of both his callowness and his virginity. But the slow pace and dreamy atmosphere, courtesy of Robert Mulligan's direction and Michael Legrand's famous score, may give it less appeal to anyone who is still in that situation. --Richard Farr
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Sentimental, funny film will make you laugh, cry....
Oct 1 2003
Format:DVD
In everyone's life, I often think, there is a Summer of '42 (or '52, or '62, and so on....), a time in which we discover the joys and sorrows of growing up...and falling in love. There are hijinks and pranks, jokes and playful insults...and always the bonds of friendship. But sometimes, in those days of discovery and self-awareness, we feel the angst of that first attraction, the bittersweet highs and lows of falling seriously in love for the first time -- sometimes with the right person, sometimes not. And of course, we feel the heartbreak of losing that cherished love...wondering what on Earth happened.
Based on Herman Raucher's autobiographical novel, Robert Mulligan's 1971 classic is one of those rare coming-of-age movies that stands heads and shoulders above those sex-obsessed, raunchy teen-oriented films (Private Lessons, Meatballs)that were released in later years. Starring Gary Grimes as Hermie, Jerry Hauser as Oscar, Oliver Conant as Benjie, and featuring the luminous Jennifer O'Neill as Dorothy, this lyrical, hysterically funny and heartbreakingly poignant film will ellicit both laughter and tears from all but the most stone-hearted viewer.
Summer of '42's plot revolves around the Terrible Trio of Hermie, Oscy, and Benjie, who live on a small island off the East Coast of the United States. It's the summer after Pearl Harbor, and all the men of military age are going off to the various fronts to fight the Axis powers. One of these is Dorothy's husband, Pete.
For Hermie, this opens up a whole world of possibilities. For in between all the usual boyish things he's done with Oscy and Benjie (among them, sneaking looks at "dirty books"), he's also fallen deeply in love with Dorothy. He spends time at her house, making himself useful by bringing in the groceries or helping her fix things...the "how do you like your coffee?" scene is a gem, evoking all those memories of how far we young guys would go to impress that "special" girl.
But before this movie fades to black to the strains of Michel Legrand's "The Summer Knows/Theme from Summer of '42," Hermie will learn that even heaven-sent (in this case, Pete's demise) opportunities come with a heavy price. Even though Hermie's fondest dream does come true (and the scenes of the preliminaries are among the funniest, particularly the purchase of a condom!), the results are somewhat sobering....and heartbreaking.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Nine stars, please?
Jun 13 2003
Format:DVD
Damn, this is such a great movie, timeless, beautiful, heartbreaking, funny as all get out... It's got everything, including wonderful acting.
Semi-autobiographical, Summer of '42 is an elegiac coming-of-age tale set amid the sand dunes at a small coastal town. Hermie, the protagonist, is just a kid trying to figure out what it means to grow up, how to act around girls, how to lose his virginity (which requires, first, a condom, and gives rise to one of the movie's many hilarious scenes). Then the beautiful woman in one of the summer cottages receives a 'We regret to inform you' letter and seeks comfort in her grief with....Hermie.
Beautiful setting, beautiful drama, beautiful movie. Watch it with your teenage son, watch it alone, watch it with a life-long lover. It's a winner and will stand the test of time.
Semi-autobiographical, Summer of '42 is an elegiac coming-of-age tale set amid the sand dunes at a small coastal town. Hermie, the protagonist, is just a kid trying to figure out what it means to grow up, how to act around girls, how to lose his virginity (which requires, first, a condom, and gives rise to one of the movie's many hilarious scenes). Then the beautiful woman in one of the summer cottages receives a 'We regret to inform you' letter and seeks comfort in her grief with....Hermie.
Beautiful setting, beautiful drama, beautiful movie. Watch it with your teenage son, watch it alone, watch it with a life-long lover. It's a winner and will stand the test of time.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A classic "guys" coming of age film
Jun 12 2003
Format:DVD
A great, under-appreciated film. I put this dvd in and my wife, who'd never even heard of the film, loved it. They truly do not make films like this anymore.
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Most recent customer reviews
Nice movie, worth watching!
DVD received on time, brand new condition.
I enjoyed watching this movie after years, brought me back wonderful
memories. Jennifer O'Neil is perfect!
I enjoyed watching this movie after years, brought me back wonderful
memories. Jennifer O'Neil is perfect!
Published 6 months ago by Dilip Daswani
Classic
A great love story that passes the test of time. Jennifer o'niell is absolutely beautiful in this. This is one of her best performances.
Published 8 months ago by Dare
Hauntingly beautiful
The story opens in 1942, as Hermie (Gary Grimes) and his pals are spending a lazy summer on Nantucket. Read more
Published on Oct 30 2009 by Kona
Nine stars? You've got to be joking.
After reading all the rave reviews here, I expected to love this film. No such luck.
The Summer of '42 has its moments. Read more
Published on Jun 4 2004 by TreeTop
Summer of '42 is a timeless, haunting love story........
It is the summer after Pearl Harbor. The world is at war, and America is sending her best, strongest and healthiest men to fight overseas. Read more
Published on Jan 5 2004 by Betty June Moore
One of the Great Romantic Films of the 1970's
When your asked to name the great romantic films of the '70s inevitably titles such as the "The Way We Were" and the much maligned "Love Story" come to mind. Read more
Published on Nov 3 2003 by Kenneth M. Gelwasser
summer of 42: a revisit
I first saw this movie in the mid-1970s. I was like most young men who thought that being with an older woman would bring about a sense of excitment, fantasy, maturity, and to some... Read more
Published on Mar 2 2003 by D. R. Rodriguez
I am back to being a Hermie....
I saw this movie for the first time at age 14. I remember going back to the theater six consecutive days - coming out of the show each time with a sense of aching longing in my... Read more
Published on Dec 17 2002
A Touching Story With A Wider Deeper Look In To A Teens Mind
I loved this for many reasons and major thing is the way it looked in to the minds of three teens... it is superb. Read more
Published on Nov 10 2002 by "dreamvampire"
Is there a 6 (or more) star rating?
The story line is timeless for any guy 15 and up. I don't think women really get into it. The reviews above sketch the plot. Read more
Published on Aug 7 2002 by david kirbach
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