Endless Love (1981 film)

Endless Love
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Franco Zeffirelli
Screenplay by	Judith Rascoe
Based on	Endless Love by Scott Spencer
Produced by	Keith Barish Dyson Lovell
Starring	Brooke Shields Martin Hewitt Shirley Knight Don Murray Richard Kiley Penelope Milford Beatrice Straight
Cinematography	David Watkin
Edited by	Michael J. Sheridan
Music by	Jonathan Tunick
Production company	PolyGram Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	July 17, 1981 (1981-07-17) (United States)
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$9.7 million[1]
Box office	$32.4 million

Endless Love is a 1981 American romantic drama film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and starring Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Penelope Milford and Beatrice Straight. It also marked Tom Cruise's film debut.

Based on the 1979 Scott Spencer novel of the same name, the screenplay was written by Judith Rascoe. The original music score was composed by Jonathan Tunick. Although the novel is set in the summer of 1969, the movie transports the action to the early 1980s. The film also discards the non-chronological structure of the novel and tells all the events in chronological sequence.

Critics compared the film unfavorably to the novel, which showcased the dangers of obsessive love. Despite the poor reviews, its eponymous theme song, performed by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, became a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.^[2] The song spent nine weeks at #1 and received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for "Best Original Song", along with five Grammy Award nominations.