When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writer (WGA):

Nora Ephron (written by)

Release Date:

21 July 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Can two friends sleep together and still love each other in the morning?

Plot:

Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Friendship | University Of Chicago | Love | New York

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Billy Crystal	...	Harry Burns
Meg Ryan	...	Sally Albright
Carrie Fisher	...	Marie
Bruno Kirby	...	Jess
Steven Ford	...	Joe
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Alice
Michelle Nicastro	...	Amanda
Gretchen Palmer	...	Stewardess
Robert Alan Beuth	...	Man on Aisle
David Burdick	...	9 Year Old Boy
Joe Viviani	...	Judge
Harley Jane Kozak	...	Helen (as Harley Kozak)
Joseph Hunt	...	Waiter at Wedding
Kevin Rooney	...	Ira
Franc Luz	...	Julian

Also Known As:

Harry, This Is Sally (USA) (working title)
When Harry Met Sally (USA) (DVD box title)
Cuando Harry conoció a Sally (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Quand Harry rencontre Sally... (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Cuando Harry encontró a Sally (Spain) [es]
Da Harry mødte Sally (Denmark) [da]
Da han møtte henne (Norway) (TV title) [no]
Da han møtte henne - eller vennskap og sex (Norway) [no]
Harry & Sally - Feitos um Para o Outro (Brazil) [pt]
Harry Sally'le tanisinca (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Harry und Sally (West Germany) [de]
Harry, ti presento Sally (Italy) [it]
Kdyz Harry potkal Sally... (Czechoslovakia) [cs]
Kiedy Harry poznal Sally (Poland) [pl]
Kun Harry tapasi Sallyn... (Finland) [fi]
När Harry mötte Sally (Sweden) [sv]
När Harry träffade Sally (Sweden) [sv]
Um Amor Inevitável (Portugal) [pt]

Runtime:

96 min | Turkey:89 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | Norway:11 (TV rating) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Italy:T | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

The concept of Sally being a picky eater was based on Nora Ephron, the scriptwriter, and so years after the movie came out, when Nora Ephron was on a plane and ordered something very precise, the stewardess looked at her and asked "Have you ever see the movie 'When Harry Met Sally'?"

Goofs:

Anachronisms: There were no bollards to block traffic under the Washington Square arch in 1977, as depicted in the drop off scene.

Quotes:

Sally Albright: You know, I'm so glad I never got involved with you. I just would have ended up being some woman you had to get up out of bed and leave at 3:00 in the morning and go clean your andirons, and you don't even have a fireplace, not that I would know this.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Phileine zegt sorry (2003)

Soundtrack:

Plane Cue

When Harry Met Someone

This is Billy Crystal's show. He has an understated, ordinary, humble screen presence. It's not the case that every single line HAS to be funny in order for us to like him - with Crystal, a joke can fall flat and somehow it doesn't make him personally look bad. But here every line IS funny, so he has charm to burn.

I know people like Meg Ryan - I guess I do, too, in this particular film - and I know that there are people who find her `orgasm' scene amusing, but Sally is really just someone for Harry to meet and ultimately fall in love with. She's completely clueless. Most of the jokes are at her expense rather than his. The genuine wit, the power of observation, the theoretical insight, all lie with Harry. Is this a problem? Not in the least. Unlike most romantic comedies this is not some kind of duel - it's the more realistic study of many, many separate encounters.

Also unlike most romantic comedies, this one is funny. I think I mentioned that.

The film benefits from its second rank support: good performances by Carrie Fischer and that guy whose name doesn't matter, locations someone actually went to some trouble to look for, and a song-score that is doesn't intrude and hit us repeatedly over the head. Allegedly `When Harry Met Sally' has been imitated by later productions, but I can't think of a case where the imitation is accurate enough to even be recognisable.