Reviews

What an absolutely charming, touching, perfect movie. I saw it today so it is fresh in my mind. The acting is just superb. I recognize many of the actors from British television series.

One actor I had NOT seen before, the heartthrob that plays the young man. He is apparently a newcomer named Rupert Friend. He has a stellar career ahead of him. Eye candy and talented, too.

Anyone who has a grandparent or an older parent, aunt or uncle should watch this film. It is quite a realistic look at how we view the elderly and how they themselves feel and endure. I recognized many of the characters in people I have known in real life.

The doorman/porter is an exaggeration, and yet I recognized him from real life as well. He adds a touch of hilarity that is needed because this film is serious business.

Don't miss this film if you like films with character development, not just action.

This is as cute as they come, and not a dull moment. A clever script too. Believe it or not, girls/women in the late fifties and early sixties who were single DID struggle with the issue of whether to "go all the way......" So the theme is not a complete joke.

The acting is good, and what happened to Rod Taylor? He is wonderful in this movie. Why did he not maintain leading man status a bit longer? He was attractive, talented and could do different accents. But then, many of my favorite actors do not stay long at the top. Jane Fonda is also very appealing here, though I wish she wore just a tad less make-up.

This is mostly a "chick flick" but maybe a few middle aged guys can also get into it. And it's another of those films that will appeal to New York City lovers. Finally, there are a couple of good songs, "Hello" and "Sunday in New York."

10 is not a high enough rating for this masterpiece. Even as we see the gorgeous and extremely talented Alan Bates as the mayor, making mistake after mistake, acting like a fool, struggling with his conscience, and sometimes making things right only to screw up again, we are moved by him. We have pity for a man who cannot get out of his own way, who is his own worst enemy.

The acting is superb, the scenery/sets beautiful and fitting of the time and place. Often meanings are conveyed through looks, expressions, and not an excess of words. The score by Carl Davis is appropriate and adds to the feel of the series, enhancing the whole thing.

What luck that this is on DVD, complete with biographies on Sir Alan Bates and Thomas Hardy, among other things. Don't miss this gem.

This movie seem quite realistic to me. The girl played by Hayley Mills is not a sickeningly sweet creature, she acts out in a way that a troubled girl of her situation and background WOULD. She is lovable but no goody two shoes. I liked that. What is so touching is that because she is a child, she makes child-like mistakes that ruin her good intentions.

Horst Buchholz also gives a fine performance. Though his usual gorgeous self, he is a bit more grizzled, or do I mean grizzly? than he looked in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN or the wonderful FANNY, and since he is on the run and never gets to shave in TIGER BAY, I guess that's appropriate.

John Mills is superb, as always. Now there is an actor who didn't need to inject his own ego into every performance, and who cared about great acting more than about fame and stardom. The film never drags, it's an almost flawless movie. The Mills-Buchholz relationship is touching on screen and apparently they got on very well off screen. There are other kinds of love besides romantic love; this is a good example.

I agree with all the rave reviews I've read about this film. It may be more romantic than what Austen intended in the book, but films often take liberties. At least there is no major inaccuracy; it is in historical context. (As opposed to a film like "Titanic" where an aristocratic girl give someone the finger. A girl in her class, in her time, wouldn't KNOW about giving the finger, let alone do it!) But I digress.....

As for Emma Thompson being too old to play Elinor Dashwood, well, she hasn't a line on her face and could pass for someone in her twenties, at least the way she is lit and made up in THIS film. And she is the same age as Hugh Grant, so what's this about her seeming like his mother? I don't agree.

I DO agree with the accolades for Alan Rickman. He is so sexy he can just sit there and read the telephone book, as another reviewer already suggested.

What's the one thing I can add that no one has mentioned? This is a very romantic film that does not have one single kiss in it! And it works! Although I wouldn't have minded seeing a kiss or two....

This is one of the sweetest movies ever made, without being "sickeningly sweet." The characters are funny and interesting. All kinds of love are depicted here--parental love, romantic love, love between friends. The characters are very much products of the time and place they live in--Marseille, France, before World War 2. They are steeped in Catholic tradition, which contributes to their inner struggles at times.

The problems of Fanny and Marius might seem dated, and yet the conflict between pleasing parents and following one's heart remains relevant today for many young people. Father-son relationships are as complex today as they were then. Bullying parents may not be as plentiful, or as extreme, as they were in the time FANNY is set, but they still exist.

This is a beautiful film, the right mix of sentimentality and humor. I have only seen it on VHS in pan and scan. There is one place where Marius and Fanny are partially cropped to fit the TV screen, unfortunate but it does not spoil the film.

PUZZLE: I don't know why gorgeous Horst Buchholz didn't get more acclaim for this film from critics at the time or reviewers like me, on this site. He was a young German playing a young Frenchman. But no French or American actor could have played the part better. He expressed angst and love very realistically.

This is a great film for women and for men with a romantic streak, lovers of French stories and locales, and Caron or Boyer admirers. The wrap-up in the last quarter of the film is not perfect, but the film as a whole is a 10, and the lovely score will stay with you!