Shirley Valentine (film)

Updated: 12/20/2025, 1:51:00 PM Wikipedia source

Shirley Valentine is a 1989 English romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay by Willy Russell is based on his 1986 one-character play of the same title, which follows middle-aged Shirley Valentine in an unexpected discovery of herself and the rekindling of her childhood dreams and youthful love of life. Pauline Collins reprises the title role as middle-aged housewife Shirley, which she had previously played in the stage production in London's West End and on Broadway, and Tom Conti plays Costas Dimitriades, the owner of a Greek tavern with whom she has a holiday romance.

Infobox

Directed by

Lewis Gilbert

Screenplay by

Willy Russell

Based on

Shirley Valentine (play)by Willy Russell

Produced by

Lewis Gilbert

Starring

mw- Pauline Collins Tom Conti

Cinematography

Alan Hume

Edited by

Lesley Walker

Music by

Marvin Hamlisch

Distributed by

Paramount Pictures

Release dates

24 August 1989 (1989-08-24) (MWFF) 30 August 1989 (1989-08-30) (US) 13 October 1989 (1989-10-13) (London)

Running time

108 minutes

Country

England

Language

English

Box office

$38 million

Tables

· Release › Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Award

Academy Awards

Category

Best Actress

Nominee(s)

Pauline Collins

Result

Nominated

Best Original Song

Award

Best Original Song

Category

"The Girl Who Used to Be Me" Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman

Nominee(s)

Nominated

British Academy Film Awards

Award

British Academy Film Awards

Category

Best Film

Nominee(s)

Lewis Gilbert

Result

Nominated

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Award

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Category

Pauline Collins

Nominee(s)

Won

Best Adapted Screenplay

Award

Best Adapted Screenplay

Category

Willy Russell

Nominee(s)

Nominated

British Comedy Awards

Award

British Comedy Awards

Category

Top Comedy Film

Nominee(s)

Won

British Society of Cinematographers Awards

Award

British Society of Cinematographers Awards

Category

Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film

Nominee(s)

Alan Hume

Result

Nominated

Evening Standard British Film Awards

Award

Evening Standard British Film Awards

Category

Best Actress

Nominee(s)

Pauline Collins

Result

Won

Best Screenplay

Award

Best Screenplay

Category

Willy Russell

Nominee(s)

Won

Golden Globe Awards

Award

Golden Globe Awards

Category

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Award

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Category

Pauline Collins

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

Award

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

Category

"The Girl Who Used to Be Me" Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Grammy Awards

Award

Grammy Awards

Category

Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television

Nominee(s)

"The Girl Who Used to Be Me" – Marvin Hamlisch, Alan and Marilyn Bergman

Result

Nominated

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
Academy Awards	Best Actress	Pauline Collins	Nominated
Academy Awards	Best Original Song	"The Girl Who Used to Be Me" Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	Best Film	Lewis Gilbert	Nominated
	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Pauline Collins	Won
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Willy Russell	Nominated
British Comedy Awards	Top Comedy Film		Won
British Society of Cinematographers Awards	Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film	Alan Hume	Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Awards	Best Actress	Pauline Collins	Won
Evening Standard British Film Awards	Best Screenplay	Willy Russell	Won
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy		Nominated
	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy	Pauline Collins	Nominated
	Best Original Song – Motion Picture	"The Girl Who Used to Be Me" Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman	Nominated
Grammy Awards	Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television	"The Girl Who Used to Be Me" – Marvin Hamlisch, Alan and Marilyn Bergman	Nominated

References

Variety
Shirley Valentine & One For The Road
http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/shirley-valentine-one-for-the-road-9781408160954/
The Times
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/shirleyvalentinerbrown_a0adae.htm
Variety
https://archive.today/20120914090335/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117794840.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0
Rotten Tomatoes
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shirley_valentine
Radio Times
https://web.archive.org/web/20020715015046/http://www.radiotimes.com/servlet_film/com.icl.beeb.rtfilms.client.simpleSearchServlet?searchTypeSelect=5&frn=14671
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/30/movies/review-film-shirley-valentine-talks-with-others.html
Chicago Sun-Times
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shirley-valentine-1989
The Times
The Times
"Top Films of All Time at the UK Box Office"
https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-top-films-of-all-time-2016-2017-06.pdf
British Film Institute
https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-back-to-the-future-the-fall-and-rise-of-the-british-film-industry-in-the-1980s.pdf
Shirley Valentine at Box Office Mojo
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=shirleyvalentine.htm
Variety
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990
British Academy Film Awards
http://awards.bafta.org/award/1990/film
British Society of Cinematographers
https://bscine.com/media/uploads/awards/bsc-cinematography-feature-film.pdf?v
Golden Globe Awards
https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/shirley-valentine
Grammy Awards
https://www.grammy.com/awards/32nd-annual-grammy-awards