Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Theatrical Running Time: 114 mins.
Director: Blake Edwards

A Favorite of Ann L.

In an idealized New York City during the early '60s, Holly Golightly (Audrey
Hepburn) is a charming socialite with a youthful zest for life who lives alone
in a nearly bare apartment. She has such a flippant lifestyle that she won't
even give her cat a name, because that would be too much of a commitment
to a relationship. Maintaining a childlike innocence yet wearing the most
perfect of designer clothes and accessories from Givenchy, she spends her
time on expensive dates and at high-class parties. She escorts various
wealthy men, yet fails to return their affections after they have given her gifts
and money. Holly's carefree independence is changed when she meets her
neighbor, aspiring writer Paul (George Peppard), who is suffering from
writer's block while being kept by a wealthy woman (Patricia Neal). Just
when Holly and Paul are developing their sweet romance, Doc (Buddy Ebsen
) appears on the scene and complicates matters, revealing the truth about
Holly's past. Breakfast at Tiffany's was nominated for several Academy
awards, winning Best Score for Henry Mancini and Best Song for Johnny
Mercer's classic tune "Moon River." Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide.

Chocolat (2000)
A favorite of Rob.
See review at Comedy.

Dr. Zhivago (1965)
Director: David Lean
Theatrical running time: 197 mins.

A fave of Dicksy.

Based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago
covers the years prior to, during, and after the Russian Revolution, as seen
through the eyes of poet/physician Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif). In the
tradition of Russian novels, a multitude of characters and subplots intertwine
within the film's 197 minutes (plus intermission). Zhivago is married to Tonya
(Geraldine Chaplin), but carries on an affair with Lara (Julie Christie),
who has been raped by ruthless politician Komarovsky (Rod Steiger).
Meanwhile, Zhivago's half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) and the
mysterious, revenge-seeking Strelnikoff (Tom Courteney) represent the
"good" and "bad" elements of the Bolshevik revolution. Composer Maurice
Jarre received one of Doctor Zhivago's five Oscars, with the others going to
screenwriter Robert Bolt, cinematographer Freddie Young, art directors John
Box and Terry Marsh, set decorator Dario Simoni, and costumer Phyllis
Dalton. The best picture Oscar, however, went to The Sound of Music. ~ Hal
Erickson, All Movie Guide

Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Theatrical Running Time: 105 mins.
Director(s): Tim Burton

(Judy PS says, "Depp is awesome. I love all of his movies and have most of
them. He is so versatile and I consider him "best actor" in the business. I was
in Bardabos on my cruise and that is where Pirates of the Caribbean was
filmed. They still had the pirate ships out in the harbor!)

Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands opens as an eccentric inventor (Vincent
Price) lovingly assembles a synthetic youth named Edward (Johnny Depp).
Edward has all the essential ingredients for today's standard body, with the
exception of a pair of hands. For what is initially thought to be a temporary
period, he is fitted with long, scissor-like extremities that, while able to trim a
mean hedge, are hardly conducive to day-to-day life. When the kindly
inventor dies, however, Edward is left lonely and cursed with some very
heavy metal for hands. He is eventually taken in by Peg Boggs (Dianne
Weist), an Avon lady who takes pity on him after seeing his bleak existence.
Edward, in spite of his inherent ability to slay anyone he comes across, is a
gentle soul whose only wish is to be loved. His impromptu family has, at best,
a limited understanding of Edward, but he finds himself drawn to Peg's weary
but sympathetic daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder), who is dating Jim (Anthony
Michael Hall), the neighborhood bully. Meanwhile, Edward finds himself a
local celebrity after the town realizes that his talents include creative hedge
trimming and an unrivaled ability to cut hair. His so-called friends are proven
fair-weather when Edward is accused of a crime, after which his only
supporters are Peg and Kim. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide.

Frida (2002)
Rated: R
Runtime: 123 mins.
Director: Julie Taymore

An All-Time Favorite of Jan, who says, "Salma Hayek is the perfect 'wild
thang.' The music, color, romance, and Mexican history will make this movie
hard to forget."

Synopsis is from www.rottentomatoes.com:
Brilliant colors that bring Frida Kahlo's Mexico City to vibrant life combine with
a captivating performance by Salma Hayek to make director Julie Taymor's
Frida a fascinating film. Starting and ending with Frida on her deathbed, the
film spans the famous painter's life from her teenage years to her death at
the young age of 47. From start to finish, Frida is portrayed as a relentlessly
energized, self-righteous, headstrong, assertive woman. At the age of 18,
Frida was horribly injured in a bus accident. Though she learned to walk
again, she lived her life in physical agony, enduring multiple surgeries, and
eventually needing a wheelchair. Yet her condition did not stop her from
having an exciting, tumultuous life as the wife of famed artist and womanizer
Diego Rivera, who mentored her in her own work and encouraged her
passions. Frida had liberal views and socialist politics. She was bisexual and
promiscuous. She drank, abused painkillers, sang and danced, and
fearlessly poured her pain and beauty into her paintings. Taymor has
created a lively and dramatically emotive film, capturing her endearing
resiliency with color, music, and, of course, art.

Gone With the Wind (1939)
Theatrical Running Time: 238 mins.
Director: Victor Fleming

Marie says, "This is my absolutely favorite movie. I watch at least once a
year."

Gone With the Wind boils down to a story about a spoiled Southern girl's
hopeless love for a married man. Producer David O. Selznick managed to
expand this concept, and Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel, into nearly
four hours' worth of screen time, on a then-astronomical 3.7-million-dollar
budget, creating what would become one of the most beloved movies of all
time. Gone With the Wind opens in April of 1861, at the palatial Southern
estate of Tara, where Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) hears that her casual
beau Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) plans to marry "mealy mouthed"
Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland). Despite warnings from her father
(Thomas Mitchell) and her faithful servant Mammy (Hattie McDaniel),
Scarlett intends to throw herself at Ashley at an upcoming barbecue at
Twelve Oaks. Alone with Ashley, she goes into a fit of  histrionics, all of which
is witnessed by roguish Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), the black sheep of a
wealthy Charleston family, who is instantly fascinated by the feisty,
thoroughly self-centered Scarlett: "We're bad lots, both of us." The movie's
famous action continues from the burning of Atlanta (actually the destruction
of a huge wall left over from King Kong) through the now-classic closing line,
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Holding its own against stiff
competition (many consider 1939 to be the greatest year of the classical
Hollywood studios), Gone With the Wind won ten Academy Awards, including
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Vivien Leigh),
and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to
win an Oscar). The film grossed nearly 192 million dollars, assuring that, just
as he predicted, Selznick's epitaph would be "The Man Who Made Gone
With the Wind." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.

Moonstruck (1987)
See synopsis at Comedy. One of Rob's faves.

The Notebook (2004)
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Theatrical running time: 124 mins.

One of Dicksy's faves.

Directed by Nick Cassavetes, this adaptation of author Nicholas Sparks'
bestselling novel revolves around Noah Calhoun's (James Garner) regular
visits to a female patron (Gena Rowlands) of an area nursing home. Rather
than bore her with the inanities of everyday life, Calhoun reads from an old,
faded notebook containing the sweeping account of a young couple (Ryan
Gosling and Rachel McAdams) whose love affair was tragically put to a
halt after their separation in the midst of World War II. Seven years later, the
couple was reunited, and, despite having taken radically different paths, they
found themselves unable to resist the call of a second chance. The
Notebook also features Joan Allen, Sam Shepard, and Kevin Connolly. ~
Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
Romance, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Theater Running Time: 103 mins.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Perfect for The Class of '60 (Rob writes, "This film was shot on location in
our new home town...Petaluma, California.")

During her 25th high school class reunion, middle-aged Peggy Sue
(Kathleen Turner) tries to forget her marital problems with husband Charlie
(Nicolas Cage) by renewing old friendships. Wondering if she made the
right decisions in her life, Peggy Sue gets a chance to try again when,
zapped into a time warp, she finds herself a teenager back in 1960. Armed
with foreknowledge (the scene in which she tells off her algebra teacher is a
particular treat), Peggy Sue gets to retrace the steps leading up to her
unhappy marriage to high-school sweetheart Charlie. Will nerdish Richard
Norvik (Barry Miller), who always carried a torch for Peggy Sue and whom
she knows will become a millionaire computer mogul by 1985, win out over
the unreliable Charlie this time? A "small" film from the otherwise profligate
Francis Ford Coppola, Peggy Sue Got Married possesses an irresistible
charm that makes up for its glaring plot deficiencies. The youthful cast is
matched in its appeal by such veterans as Leon Ames, Maureen
O'Sullivan and John Carradine. And yes, that is Jim Carrey as Walter
Getz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.

South Pacific (1958)
Romance, War
Theater Running Time: 150 mins.
Producer/Director:Joshua Logan

Rob sent a provocative article from The New York Times online about this
play/movie. Jan says, regarding the Blockbuster review below: "Reviewers
are so picky!"

Producer/director Joshua Logan's long-awaited filmization of Rodgers &
Hammerstein's Pulitzer Prize winning musical South Pacific was not the
classic that everyone hoped it would be, principally because of some curious
creative choices made by the production personnel. Adapted from James A.
Michener's best-selling novel Tales of the South Pacific, the film stars Mitzi
Gaynor as WAVE officer Nellie Forbush, who while stationed overseas
during World War II falls in love with wealthy French planter Emile De Becque
(Rosanno Brazzi). The Navy would like DeBecque to help them in a
reconnaissance mission against the Japanese, but he refuses; having run
away from the outside world after killing a man in his home town, De Becque
sees no reason to become involved in a war which he did not start and in
which he has no interest. But when Nellie, her inbred bigotry aroused when
she discovers that Emile has two mixed-race children, refuses his proposal of
marriage, DeBecque, having nothing to lose, agrees to go on the mission.
His partner in this venture is Lt. Joseph Cable (John Kerr), who like Nellie is
a victim of prejudicial feelings; Cable has previously thrown away a chance at
lasting happiness by refusing to marry Liat (France Nuyen), the
dark-skinned daughter of Tokinese trader Bloody Mary (Juanita Hall). When
Cable is killed and DeBecque is seemingly lost in battle, Nellie, realizing the
stupidity of her racism, prays for Emile's safe return. The dramatic elements
of South Pacific are offset by the low-comedy antics of "Big Dealer" seabee
Luther Billis (Ray Walston). Outside of Walston and Hall, both repeating
their stage characterizations, South Pacific suffers from a largely
noncharismatic cast. Mitzi Gaynor never rises above cuteness in the difficult
role of Nellie Forbush, while Rosanno Brazzi (whose singing is dubbed by
Giorgio Tozzi) seems to be striking poses rather than acting as Emile
DeBecque. These casting deficiencies might have been ignored had not
South Pacific been laboring under an additional handicap: director Joshua
Logan's decision to use colored filters in several key scenes, representing
the emotions experienced by the actors. The constant color shift is more
unsettling than attractive, drawing attention to Logan's technique and
thereby taking the audience "out" of the picture. With all this going against it,
however, South Pacific has much to be treasured. For one thing, all of
Rodgers & Hammerstein's immortal songs--"Some Enchanted Evening," "Bali
H'ai," "There is Nothing Like a Dame," "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy,"
"Younger Than Springtime" etc.--are retained, and, as a bonus, a song cut
from the original stage production, "My Girl Back Home," is revived herein. In
addition, the film is a bonanza for movie buffs who enjoy playing "spot the bit
player:" among the supporting-cast ranks are Tom McLaughlin, Ron Ely,
Doug McClure, John Gabriel and James Stacy (rumors persist that Joan
Fontaine shows up unbilled as a nurse, but we've yet to spot her). Though
artistically disappointing, South Pacific ended up one of the biggest
box-office gold mines of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Way We Were (1973)
Director: Sidney Pollack
Theatrical running time: 118 mins.

One of Dicksy's faves.

"Gorgeous goyish guy" meets Jewish radical girl in Sydney Pollack's glossy
romance. In 1937, frizzy-haired Red co-ed Katie Morosky (Barbra
Streisand) briefly captures the attention of preppy jock Hubbell Gardiner
(Robert Redford) with her passionate pacifism, while the writing talent
beneath his privileged exterior entrances her. Almost eight years later, the
two are reunited in New York, when well-coiffed leftist radio worker Katie
spies military officer Hubbell snoozing in a nightclub. Through her force of
will, and in spite of his smug rich friends, the two opposites fall in love,
sparring over Katie's activist zeal and Hubbell's writerly ambivalence after a
failed first novel. They head to Hollywood so that Hubbell can write a
screenplay for his buddy-turned-producer J.J. (Bradford Dillman). But the
House Committee on Un-American Activities' Communist witch hunt in 1947
tears the pair apart, as a pregnant Katie refuses to keep silent about the
jailing of the Hollywood Ten, while a faithless Hubbell decides to save his
career. When the two meet again at the dawn of the '60s, TV hack Hubbell
and A-bomb protestor Katie feel the old pull, but they have to decide if it's
worth the grief. Although blacklisted writers had returned to Hollywood -- and
won Oscars -- by the early 1970s, the HUAC sections of Arthur Laurents's
screenplay were still considered dicey, resulting in substantial cuts; Laurents
reportedly blamed star Redford for not fighting them hard enough.
Regardless of the edits, and critics' complaints about the film's schlockiness,
1973 audiences went for the well-executed and still politically tinged weepie,
turning The Way We Were into one of the most popular films of 1973 and
Redford into a major heartthrob. Streisand won an Oscar nomination for Best
Actress and the Streisand-sung title tune won for Best Song. Despite the
eviscerated politics, The Way We Were poignantly captures the insoluble
dilemma of reconciling private desires with public awareness. ~ Lucia
Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Romance
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