RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Shipping News
The Shipping News

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Shipping News (2001)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
37 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:24

Fresh:9

Rotten:15

Average Rating:2.6/10

Consensus: Though solidly made and acted, The Shipping News is rather heavy-handed and dull, especially given the nature of its protagonist.

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 25, 2001 Limited

Box Office: $11,405,825

Synopsis: Lasse Hallstrom (CHOCOLAT, MY LIFE AS A DOG) presents this strong, quiet, chillingly deep adaptation of the popular novel by E. Annie Proulx. In a fishing port set in the Canadian province of... Lasse Hallstrom (CHOCOLAT, MY LIFE AS A DOG) presents this strong, quiet, chillingly deep adaptation of the popular novel by E. Annie Proulx. In a fishing port set in the Canadian province of Newfoundland, newspaper journalist Quoyle (Kevin Spacey), his young daughter Bunny (Alyssa Gainer), and his stern aunt Agnis Hamm (Dame Judi Dench) have reclaimed their ancestral home, which stood vacant for 40 years perched over the raging sea on the edge of a cliff. The fresh air and the mundane routine of the sleepy village act as a balm for Quoyle's wounds. Having grown up with unhappy parents who cautioned him that he'd never amount to anything, Quoyle thought he'd finally found a stroke of luck when he fell in love with Petal (a surprisingly slutty but no less beautiful Cate Blanchett), Bunny's mother. However, after Petal's sudden death, and the simultaneous passing of his loveless parents, Quoyle's migration from downtrodden Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to coastal Canada is his salvation. As Quoyle gains confidence and pride daily through his coworkers at the tiny newspaper the Gammy Bird, through his friendship with Wavey (a lovely Julianne Moore), and through his reconciliation with some spooky family secrets from the distant past, Quoyle, Bunny, and Agnis slowly find new direction, new hope, and the beginnings of a new life. [More]

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Scott Glenn, Rhys Ifans, Gordon Pinsent, Jason Behr, Larry Pine, Jeannetta Arnette, Robert Joy, Alyssa Gainer, Lauren Gainer, Kaitlyn Gainer, Will MCallister

Director: Lasse Hallström

Director: Lasse Hallström
Screenwriter: Robert Nelson Jacobs
Producer: Irwin Winkler, Leslie Holleran, Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Composer: Christopher Young
Studio: Miramax Films

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 8

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jun 18, 2002

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The Shipping News
  • Academy Award(R)-winning stars Kevin Spacey (AMERICAN BEAUTY, Best Actor, 1998) and Judi Dench (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, Best Supporting Actress, 1998) join talents with Julianne Moore (HANNIBAL) and Cate Blanchett (THE LORD OF THE RINGS) in this deeply moving motion picture from the director of CHOCOLAT and THE CIDER HOUSE RULES. After tragedy strikes, Quoyle (Spacey) moves with his daughter from upstate New York to his ancestral home in a small Newfoundland fishing village. With a job at the local newspaper and developing romance with a woman (Moore) who lives with her own demons, Quoyle is transformed by this place of magic, beauty, and hardship. In a compelling story based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Quoyle's past melds with his present in an inspirational journey of self-discovery and second chances.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for The Shipping News

    • T-Meter Critics
    • Top Critics
    • RT Community
    • My Critics
    • My Friends
    • DVD
     
     
    1 - 16 (sorted by date)
    Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: DVDnett.no | comment Comment
    07/31/05
    DVDnett.no

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Digitalvd.de | comment Comment
    07/21/05
    Carsten Scheibe
    Carsten Scheibe
    Digitalvd.de

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Daily-Reviews | comment Comment
    03/04/04
    Aaron J. Bossig
    Aaron J. Bossig
    Daily-Reviews
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Dvdrama | comment Comment
    07/31/03
    Dvdrama
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: DVD Review.net | comment Comment
    06/19/03
    DVD Review.net
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Fantastica Daily | comment Comment
    01/08/03
    Staci Layne Wilson
    Staci Layne Wilson
    Fantastica Daily

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
    12/03/02
    Almar Haflidason
    Almar Haflidason
    BBC
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: DVD.net.au | comment Comment
    11/24/02
    Anthony Horan
    Anthony Horan
    DVD.net.au
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: DVD Review e-zine | comment Comment
    10/02/02
    DVD Review e-zine
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: DVD Verdict | comment Comment
    08/12/02
    Barrie Maxwell
    Barrie Maxwell
    DVD Verdict
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: DVD Angle | comment Comment
    08/01/02
    Steve Bates
    Steve Bates
    DVD Angle

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: CinemaZone.dk | comment Comment
    07/21/02
    CinemaZone.dk
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: CurrentFilm.com | comment Comment
    06/26/02
    Aaron Beierle
    Aaron Beierle
    CurrentFilm.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: DVD Authority.com | comment Comment
    06/19/02
    Matt Brighton
    Matt Brighton
    DVD Authority.com

    Scorsese fans can rejoice: included on the disc's Sneak Peeks section is a trailer for the director's upcoming Gangs of New York.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    06/17/02
    Ed Gonzalez
    Ed Gonzalez
    Slant Magazine

    ...fits into the ho-hum category, much too sudsy for my short attention span.

    Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
    06/14/02
    John J. Puccio
    John J. Puccio
    DVDTown.com
     
     
    1 - 16 (sorted by date)
    all

    Latest News for The Shipping News

    August 01, 2005: Trailer Bulletin: An Unfinished Life
    Finally earning a (limited) release after sitting on a Miramax shelf for about a year is Lasse Hallstrom's "An Unfinished Life," which stars Robert Redford, Morgan... More...

    August 20, 2001: 'It's been a curious journey playing a character who just sort of responds,' says two-time Oscar winner Spacey. Opens in new window
    More...

    March 27, 2001: Before I started writing non-fiction, which I did simply to put meat and potatoes on the table, I was working on my doctorate in history. Opens in new window
    More...

    March 27, 2001: It's interesting to note that this is another tale of an ordinary man in the midst/crossroads of his life, which seems to be a recurring theme for Spacey. Opens in new window
    More...

    See All

    More DVDs

    Close
    Top Rentals
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    78% 78% The Hangover
    88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
    66% 66% Public Enemies
    24% 24% G-Force
    44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…

    More Rentals…

    New On DVD This Week
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    90% 90% District 9
    86% 86% 500 Days of Summer
    63% 63% Extract
    06% 06% All About Steve
    78% 78% It Might Get Loud

    More New Releases…

    See All

    RT On Current TV

    The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

    DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

    Learn how you can be part of the show

    More...

    What’s Hot On RT

    Best of the Decade

    Best of the Decade

    Find out what movies made our list!

    Iron Man 2

    Iron Man 2

    Watch the brand new trailer now!

    Clash of the Titans

    Clash of the Titans

    Prepare to Clash with Titans in this trailer!

    Total Recall

    Total Recall

    RT looks back on Jude Law's best movies!

    Other News

    Close
    • Top Stories
    • Popular
    • Interviews
     
     

    Comments

     
     
    Top Stories
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
    39
    • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
    20
    • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
    14
    • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
    16
    • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
    102
    • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
    1
    • How Avatar Happened: The Path to Innovation Source: CinemaBlend.com
    19
    • Rob Marshall Says Pirates 4 Is Still a Maybe Source: ComingSoon.net
    32
    • ET Teases Iron Man 2 Teaser Source: Collider.com
    28
    • Tobey Maguire Refutes Hobbit Rumors Source: Hollywood Reporter
    9
    Popular
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Soars to #1 Spot
    261
    • RT's Best of the Decade!
    141
    • Brittany Murphy: 1977-2009
    115
    • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
    69
    • Total Recall: Jude Law's Best Movies
    56
    • Critics Consensus: Sherlock Holmes Is Worth Investigating
    33
    • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: District 9 and (500) Days of Summer
    32
    • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
    13
    • What We're Watching on Blu-ray from Disney!
    9
    • Friday Harvest: Sherlock Holmes, Toy Story 3, and more!
    9
    Interviews
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
    69
    • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
    21
    • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
    2
    • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
    17
    • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
    12
    • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
    24
    • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
    8
    • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
    16
    • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
    24
    • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
    9
     
     

    Sponsored Links

    Around The Network

    • The Shipping News at Rotten Tomatoes
    • The Shipping News at IGN
    • The Shipping News at AskMen

    Fresh Links

    Featured
    Best Dozen of the Decade
    Best Dozen of the Decade External Link

    Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

    Top 50 of 2009
    Top 50 of 2009 External Link

    Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

    Santa's Naughty List
    Santa's Naughty List External Link

    Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

    Top 10 Movies of 2009
    Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

    TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

    Top 20 of the Decade
    Top 20 of the Decade External Link

    Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

    Promos
    Follow RT on Twitter
    Follow RT on Twitter External Link

    Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

     
     
    About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
    IGN Logo
    About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
    IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
    TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
    AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
    By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
    Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
    IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
    Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.