Bring home Warren Beatty in ‘Heaven Can Wait’ on Blu-ray

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

 

The 1978 movie Heaven Can Wait is a remake of the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan. This remake stars Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason, Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon, Buck Henry, and Jack Warden in a bumbling tale of a man whose soul was taken from his body prematurely.

Beatty is Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Joe Pendleton, an athlete who takes good care of his body. When an emissary of heaven (Buck Henry) thinks Pendleton is about to be killed in a bicycle/car crash, he decides to take his soul before the accident to save him the pain. What he doesn’t realize is that Joe is an athlete and has great reflexes so he would have avoided the oncoming car. Well, when Joe’s soul gets to a “way station” he insists he is not supposed to be there. Upon review, Mr. Jordan (Mason), the boss, realizes the mistake and insists the soul be returned to the body.

After everyone discovers the body has been cremated, things get tricky. Jordan agrees to put Joe’s soul into another body however there isn’t an athletic body available and since Joe lived for his sport, he insists he be installed into an athlete.

Finally they agree on the body of an aging millionaire, Mr. Farnsworth who is unaware that his wife (Cannon) and secretary (Grodin) are intent on killing him for his money. Once Joe sees Betty Logan (Christie), a visitor to the Farnsworth estate, he decides to take on the challenge of getting the old man’s body into shape so he can return to the Los Angeles Rams. Logan intrigues him.

While the viewers see Beatty as Farnsworth, the characters in the story only see the old man. It’s a farce in that this young soul is putting the old body through the paces and insisting he get a tryout with the Rams. When that doesn’t happen he buys the team!

The cutest character in the film is Max Corkle (Warden) who is the only person privy to what is going on. Joe confides in the Rams’ trainer, a man who has been his friend for a long time. With the help of Corkle, Joe believes he can live out his dream of taking the Rams to the Super Bowl.

While Joe is getting this old body into shape, he and Logan form a special relationship. They fall in love. But how long can Joe’s soul remain in the old man’s body?

This is a fun story that begs the question, “What happens to our souls when we die?” It also shows how much we can achieve if we wholeheartedly believe in our dreams.

Heaven Can Wait is rated PG. This newly restored Blu-ray includes the feature film as well as a digital copy. There are no bonus features on the disc.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association, was a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Press Club, and is accredited by the MPAA. Follow her on Twitter.