| The Gathering |  | Studio: Goodtimes Home Video Corp
Buy Used: $19.00
New (3) Used (31) Collectible (6) from $19.00
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 140
Format: Color, Widescreen
Language: English (Unknown)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 94 Minutes
UPC: 018713090379
EAN: 0018713090379
ASIN: B0001J20QW
Theatrical Release Date: 1977
Publication Date: 1983
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Former rental. Blockbuster sticker on tape.
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Product Description
Adam is a man whose time is running out and for whom life has saved the very best for last. Ed Asner & Maureen Stapleton star in this poignant Emmy Award-winning Christmas Special that has already become a seasonal classic. Adam (Asner) has spent most of his life building up a successful business in New England, and in the process has alienated his entire family: his wife, Kate (Stapleton), and his four adult children. But when Adam learns the jarring truth that he has less than a year to live, he realizes the foolish mistakes he's made in his life and seeks out his wife's help in gathering the family at Christmas, while keeping his illness a secret. At first, none of the children will be able to attend the reunion. Then, on Christmas Eve, one by one the children arrive for a most touching reconciliation. This is a rare, sensitive film that will be charished for many years.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
One of the best holiday heart-tuggers December 1, 2004
Arlene Ross (Miami, Florida)
31 out of 32 found this review helpful
This is a lovely little made-for-TV film, with a good script, sound acting, and the enjoyment of watching familiar faces. Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton head a cast that includes Lawrence Pressman, Veronica Hamel, Gregory Harrison, Stephanie Zimbalist, Gail Strickland, Edward Winter, and more. Yes, the "dying man making amends" plot seems a little weepy, but this family interacts in a way that reminds us how real families are: lots of ruffled feathers that are ignored when the chips are down. My husband and I have a rare VHS copy of this gem, and watch it every holiday season with a fresh box of tissues nearby.
With all the trash available on DVD these days, it's a shame that this film isn't similarly formatted for all to enjoy. In a nation supposedly concerned with "moral values," people are snapping up far lesser efforts. If you can find this one, it will become a part of you.
Bucky Sappenfield of Columbus, OH December 14, 2004
G. R. Sappenfield (Terlingua, TX)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is my favorite Christmas movie. I too wish it would come out on DVD. This is a classic, Christmas tear jerker, filled with forgiveness, redemption and love.
THE GATHERING January 20, 2005
MAGGIE (ILLINOIS)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
ONE OF THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES MADE. THIS MOVIE KICKS OFF OUR HOLIDAY SEASON EVERY YEAR. I WILL NEVER TIRE OF THIS MOVIE.
THE FAMILY BONDS ARE STRONG AND ALL IS FORGIVEN IN LOVE.......SAD ENDING OR WHAT IS LEFT AS THE ENDING.
Superb Christmas Drama Highlighting One Family's Forgiveness And Compassion November 18, 2007
Simon Davis
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I first became acquainted with this highly moving 1977 Christmas Television movie during one Christmas season in the mid 1980's when it was shown late on Christmas Eve. I immediately fell in love with its simple story filled with much identifiable human drama, great characters and first rate performances by all cast members. Christmas is often a time of reflection and efforts by families to come together despite their conflicts and differences during the past year and the storyline of "The Gathering", uses these very issues to perfection in its beautifully thought out screenplay. "The Gathering", centres its story around one man's recently diagnosed terminal illness which makes him reflect on his wasted life where ambition and the obsession to succeed in big business has cost him not only his wife, his children and his home, but also his inner sense of self worth. Ed Asner still best remembered for his role on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", here takes on a very different kind of role as driven business man Adam Thornton who with only a few months left to live enlists the help of his long estranged wife Kate, (a superb Maureen Stapleton), to gather together for one last Christmas, his four children whose love he sacrificed in his quest for business success. What unfolds is a beautifully crafted tale highlighting the power of forgiveness and family unity against all odds, and while it is indeed on the sentimental side ( which I love incidently!), the film also never shies away from illustrating many all too common human failings and the harmful effects they can often have on those we love.
I firmly believe that very few present day movies dealing with the often complex relationships existing within families come anywhere near the emotional impact that "The Gathering" delivers. It really comes from what I can now see as the "Golden Age", of television movies in the 1970's and 1980's and at its premiere screening for Christmas 1977 was a great success with both viewers and critics earning a coveted Emmy Award for that year as Best Television Movie. That great acclaim and success led to a sequel two years titled simply "Gathering 2", that focused on Kate finding a new man played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr, entering her life at Christmas time. Both these films are amazingly not available on DVD as of Christmas 2007 which is such a major disappointment considering the much loved reputation of the original film which has only ever been available in sub-standard EP VHS editions. Much of the film's memorable quality is due to the near perfect chemistry of veteran performers Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton and this film deserves to be released properly for a new audience to be able to enjoy it. Try to seek out "The Gathering", during this coming Christmas season as it is an emotional viewing experience you wont regret and which I know I cherish every year at this time.
One of the best movies I've ever seen November 18, 2005
W. S. Vincent, Jr. (Maine)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This movie's become very special to me, in part, because I didn't see it until after my father died in 1985, and when I saw it, I saw so many correlations to my own family. For those who've seen it and say it's a beautiful thought but it could never happen, think again. It can and has. The movie is very well done, and really should be rated by boxes of kleenex instead of stars!!
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