Coming Home         

By Rochelle O'Gorman

Both Jane Fonda and Jon Voight won Oscars for their performances in this profoundly moving 1978 flick dealing with the aftereffects of the Vietnam War. Fonda, feeling isolated while her hawkish husband, Bruce Dern, is away in Vietnam, follows a friend's example and volunteers at a veteran's hospital. There she is reacquainted with Voight, an old friend who has returned from the war as a paraplegic. Lonely and disconnected from her husband, Fonda finds love, and fulfilling sex, with Voight. The sex scenes, very steamy for the time, are still provocative. This mature love story is about expanding your horizons, and is both moving and thoughtful. Director Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) does succumb to melodrama on occasion, but these are forgivable slips.

Academy Awards

Coming Home received Academy Awards for Best Picture (Jerome Hellman - Producer), Supporting Actor (Bruce Dern), Supporting Actress (Penelope Milford), Directing (Hal Ashby), and Film Editing (Don Zimmerman). Coming Home also received Academy Awards nominations for Actress (Jane Fonda), Actor (Jon Voight), and Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen;Nancy Dowd, Waldo Salt, Robert C. Jones).

Share Your Memories!

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		Your Memories Shared!

"Coming Home was the very first adult oriented movie I'd ever seen. I was 14-years old and I snuck into the theater because I couldn't get in alone (it was R rated). I'd seen the trailer on TV and it got my curiousity. I must admit, the music blew me away (at my young age, I'd never heard any of these songs before). The only thing I new about the vietnam war, was what my dad told me, which wasn't a lot. I didn't really understand why some of the characters called the war "wrong". I did, however, understand the love story angle of the movie. I'd never heard of any of the stars (Jane Fonda, Jon Voight & Bruce Dern) Only that my dad didn't like Fonda. As for the movie, I loved it. The anger of Dern's character scared me, especially when he screamed and pointed the gun toward his wife. The movie bothered me, but 25-years later I still tell people "Coming Home" is my favorite movie. "Ruby Tuesday" reminds me of Jon Voight grocery shopping while in his wheelchair, and "strawberry fields" when Jane Fonda is on her bicycle pulling Jon Voight in his wheelchair and Penelope Milford is pushing him." --CyberJosh

"Can anyone tell me the name and performer of the last song in the movie "Coming Home"? I've been trying to find out for a long time." --Buster

"Was there a release of this film then a call back to edit the oral sex scene with Fonda and Voight then a rerelease? I could swear that I saw this film the first week it was out. I told my friends to go and see it. They could not find it at the theaters. Then a few weeks later it was out. My friends (at the time) then told me they did not think the sex was that graphic. Then I think I remember hearing that Fonda's husband (at the time) was objecting to the scene and it was hence edited. Can someone clarify my memory?" --Amy Davis

"Last song on Coming Home was by Tim Buckley and was called Once I Was." --Anonymous