Rating: 
Summary: Conroy is a Master of Drama
Review: "The Prince of Tides" is hauntingly sad novel. Pat Conroy introduces a modern day hero, with Tom Wingo. His quest to save his emotionally and physically unstable twin, Savannah, from the present and the past is breathtaking. The story of the Wingo family including their beloved brother Luke is heart wrenching. This novel is compulsivly readable and will leave you awe struck. END
Rating: 
Summary: Inadequate interpretation of a great novel
Review: "The Prince of Tides" is one of the finest novels I have ever read. Even after the fifteenth reading, one is still moved to the emotional extremes Pat Conroy effortlessly elicits. Not only is the story riveting, but the use of the language makes reading the novel a joy. Unfortunately, the movie does not urge the viewer to run and buy the novel. I anticipated the release of this movie because of my love of the novel; and while I found the movie may have followed a broad outline of the novel, it left out the spirit. Nick Nolte, however, WAS Tom Wingo, the injured, yet seemingly "normal" child. He was the saving grace, and the only reason I would even give this movie two stars. Okay, Streisand's son did a decent job as Lowenstein's son. However, while I admire Barbra Streisand as a person, I cringed every time she entered the scene. She does not fill any of the requirements for Lowenstein and destroyed my mental image of the character. Also, I don't think the time limitations of a movie allow the viewer to truly understand the Wingos. This still does not excuse cutting Luke out of the movie, except for incidental mentions. However, ranting about this would set me beyond the 1,000 words to which I am limited here. I even watched this a second time because I wanted to be sure I was fair in my evaluation. The second time was worse than the first. Do not buy this movie. Buy the book, bury yourself in the book, and don't put it down until you are finished. Then, after you have survived the emotional storms, pretend there was never a movie based on this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Barbra Streisand,princess of tides...
Review: ...brilliant movie,well made and acted besides the stunning photography.Still thought provoking after 6 viewings. And a film that directed itself apparently for all the attention the academy paid its director. Nolte does the star turn as does Streisand who was loath to take on the psychiatrist role but was eventually persuaded by the producers.She was also reluctant to cast her son Jason who eventually won her over. Kate Nelligan deserved the nomination for the abusive and exploitative mother.What a bitch...! An adult movie with adult themes,not for the faint-hearted.
Rating:
Summary: Barbra Streisand -- Queen of Tides
Review: Actually, the sentence in the title is not mine; the author of the book Pat Conroy was so grateful for the film that he gave the director such a name...Conroy must have realised limitations of a film in comparison with the book. "The Prince of Tides" book is rather thick and to make a two-hour movie out of it is difficult. The film "Cider House Rules" was also criticised of being too thin in comparison with the book -- and, in fact, the author John Irving himself wrote the script. Romantic side is highlighted over a complex, dark family story, with Streisand enjoying the starring female role to the full. She does so alongside the great performance by Nick Nolte, who plays Tom Wingo, a teacher from American South hiding much of his painful past until he gets familiar with New York psychiatrist Susan Lowenstein (Streisand). The film love story between Wingo and Lowenstein is one of the most memorable of the past decades, yet the picture also encompasses deep social undertones -- suicide, hypocrisy, lack of family understanding. There is a couple of memorable scenes; the most special one comes when Wingo finally lets the demons of the past out -- this is acting at its best on both Nolte's and Streisand's part. Although some other films also attempted something similar (e.g. "Good Will Hunting", with Matt Damon and Robin Williams), it never was so powerful as here. The ending is bittersweet, not typically romantic but ultimately inevitable and logical for the story. Beautiful cinematography and great musical score to a large extent made this film to achieve five stars in my book. I know I will keep on returning to "The Prince of Tides" video.
Rating: 
Summary: A brillant story with less than brilliant cinema
Review: As a whole, Prince Of Tides appears, at first glance, as a more than decent film: the acting of both Nolte and Streisand is very, very good, with Streisand turning in one of her best roles which she might not be expected to play. The storyline is excellent, with appropriate twists and turns and twists.
The problem with the film is this: it builds itself as a large, cinematic film, with it's grand music and it's seamless editing, and long sequencing. And the film simply is not that: the music and editing are especially innapropriate, tinting the film to grand cinema, while it is actually rather dark and trimmed. After building to an anti-climactic ending, the film suddenly ends, leaving the viewer with unresolved ends (Barbra and her husband, their son, Sally and her adulterer), and wanting more. Had the film been created on a much less nostalgic and grand scale.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful adaption of a wonderful book!
Review: Author Pat Conroy's THE PRINCE OF TIDES has always been one of my favorite books and director and co-star Barbra Streisand's film adaption (Pat Conroy wrote the screenplay) will always be one of my favorite films. While it lacks the elegance of Conroy's descriptions, the film actually improves on some of the novel's big scenes. Very touching and beautiful!
Rating:
Summary: Good-Looking but Vacuous and Overripe
Review: Barbra Streisand has made a very good-looking movie, and competently directed a very good cast, so this movie isn't a total dud. The problem lies in the story itself. It's simply too unbelievable, formulaic (the "childhood trauma" at the center of the film doesn't have any resonance, it's simply a glibly Freudian attempt to tie the narrative together), and full of overripe rhetoric that cannot disugise the vacuity of the tale.
The one redeeming feature in this film is Nick Nolte's SUPERB performance. This is far and away the best performance I've ever seen him give. He deserved the Oscar for this.
Rating:
Summary: HEART BREAKING STORY AND TRANSFER
Review: Barbra Streisand is Lowenstein - a shrink trapped in an unhappy marriage to a violinist (Jeroeme Krabbe) and who ultimately finds salvation in the arms of Tom Wingo (Nick Nolte) the brother of one of her patients, Savanah, who has attempted suicide. This is a love story with plenty of treakle but more than an ounce of vinegar as Tom and Lowenstein hit things off, become lovers, but ultimately part company forever to resolve their differences with their respective spouses.
Columbia Tristar has given us a truly awful looking print of this film. Colors are muddy and undistinguished. Everything takes on an orange characteristic that is unbecoming to the story. Night scenes suffer from low contrast levels. Aliasing, shimmering and edge enhancement are all present throughout the print. Fine grain elements and regular wear and tear have not been cleaned up for this presentation either. Flesh tones are inaccurately rendered, either too orange or too pink. There's a considerable loss of fine detail throughout, presumably because of noise reduction equipment used in mastering the print. The soundtrack is dated, strident, unnatural sounding and very tinny. It's 2.0 but almost sounding mono in spots while presenting the music at very boisterous listening levels that intrude on an otherwise very subdued audio presentation. No extras - big surprise. Columbia's penny pinching started with this release. You can see where it's lead to by examining my reviews of "The Awful Truth" or "Talk of the Town". For a studio that entered the DVD race so early on and so prominently, I've little in the way of flattery to offer for its current trend in the digital format! BOTTOM LINE: DON'T BOTHER.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful to Look At--Emotionally Powerful
Review: Brilliantly directed by Streisand, for all the negative blather about her self-absorption, she truly lets this be Nolte's film, and he shines. The beginning underwater scene with Nolte's voice over is one of the most beautiful and touching on film. Given the 7 Academy Award nominations the film received, again Streisand was slighted out of a nomination. Did Academy voters think this film directed itself or are they incapable of accepting Streisand's abilities as a director/producer/star? When Warren Beatty or Woody Allen do the same they are showered with praise, but when Streisand does, she is bombarded with criticism. Streisand opens the viewer up to questioning views on relationships, family and forgiveness. Buy this wonderful film--it speaks for itself.
Rating: 
Summary: Memories not so beautiful -- an awful movie.
Review: Having just a read a book that reminded me of Prince of Tides, I was shocked to see how popular this movie is on Amazon! I saw this movie back in 1991 and it still haunts me. In 1991, I was appalled by Ms. Streisand's miniskirts and in particular her pink sweater cut SO low in the back. The wardrobe wasn't appropriate for one Dr. Lowenstein. The wardrobe was clearly a vehicle for one reluctantly aging pop star. Also, the music was so loud, so epic at times that I literally had to cover my ears. In one scene Blythe Danner left the room, but you could still see her reflection in a picture on a wall, waiting for her cue. I loved the first half of the book, hated the second. The movie was like fingernails scraping down a chalk board from the time I entered the theater.
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