Why Sleepless in Seattle is the one film you should watch this week – video

To celebrate Valentine's Day, revisit Nora Ephron's smart, funny and romantic comedy, urges Peter Bradshaw. Re-released in UK cinemas this week, Sleepless in Seattle (1993) tells the story of a bereaved architect (Tom Hanks) who confesses his loneliness to a radio DJ and is subsequently sought out by a woman who lives on the other side of America

• Top 10 romantic movies
• Top 10 comedies

Contributors

Peter Bradshaw and Henry Barnes

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Sleepless in Seattle – review | Peter Bradshaw

A Valentine's Day re-release for Nora Ephron's smart 90s romcom with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan at their very perkiest, writes Peter Bradshaw

Peter Bradshaw

13, Feb, 2014 @11:30 PM

Article image
Seattle property boom sparked by blockbuster Chinese romantic comedy
Finding Mr Right, a romcom inspired by Sleepless in Seattle and one of China’s biggest ever hits, has triggered massive upsurge in house-buying in the city

Ben Child

25, Sep, 2014 @7:37 AM

Article image
Dear Sleepless in Seattle, I just can't fall for your musical revamp
Nora Ephron’s romcom was brilliantly written and perfectly cast with an elegant score. Our chief theatre critic, who loves the film, writes a letter after seeing its stage adaptation

Arifa Akbar

02, Sep, 2020 @12:57 PM

Article image
I've never seen … Sleepless in Seattle
Nora Ephron’s world maybe narrowly middle class and privileged, but in this romcom classic she beautifully balances melancholy with fizzing optimism

Luke Walpole

21, May, 2020 @7:00 AM

Article image
Why Before Midnight is the one film you should watch this week - video

Xan Brooks recommends Richard Linklater's third stroll around the block with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy)

Presented by Xan Brooks and produced by Henry Barnes

14, Nov, 2013 @7:30 AM

Article image
Why Spring in a Small Town is the one film you should watch this week – video

Peter Bradshaw explains why Fei Mu's 1948 romance is worth your time this week

Peter Bradshaw and Henry Barnes

19, Jun, 2014 @6:00 AM

Article image
Why The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is the one film you should watch this week - video

Felix Hergren's film is by turns witty, exuberant and absurd, and the Guardian's Andrew Pulver suggests it's the one cinema release you should watch this week

Andrew Pulver and Elliot Smith

03, Jul, 2014 @5:30 AM

The dirty little secrets of Nora Ephron

Everyone's a bitch, men own the internet and denial is good. Writer, director and straight-talker Nora Ephron lets rips to Catherine Shoard

Catherine Shoard

09, Sep, 2009 @8:30 PM

Article image
Nora Ephron was serious about comedy

The When Harry Met Sally screenwriter, who has died aged 71, invented the sentimental, screwball romcom – and turned heartbreak into laughter

Peter Bradshaw

27, Jun, 2012 @12:12 PM

Article image
Video: Nora Ephron: 'Most men don't want to direct movies that aren't about them'

The director of Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail shares the secrets of romantic comedy with Jason Solomons

Jason Solomons and Henry Barnes

17, Sep, 2009 @7:32 AM