Romance Movie Reviews

I purchased this collection and all of the movies are terrific. They are well acted, beautifully portrayed, and the transfer to DVD in most cases is very good. One drawback is that only Pride & Predjudice comes in Widescreen, however. All of the other films are in Full Screen. There are not a lot of extras included with this set, save a few documentaries, but the movies themselves are so well done and enjoyable to watch that the set is very much worth having. If you enjoy grand period films of classic literature, then you will probably very much enjoy this excellent collection of A&E films. I especially enjoyed Pride & Predjudice, Lorna Doone,and Tom Jones.

Loved them all ... found Victoria & Albert and Lorna Doone a bit lacking. Wondered about having more of The Scarlet Pimpernel offered - he's so smooth! Tom Jones is very special - loved Sophie's father, he truly made the film. As much as I liked him - hated Lizzie's mother in P & P - what a ninny! This is a great collection, would have liked to see Vanity Fair and Persuasion offered also!

Pride and Prejudice makes it worth it... The ability to watch and rewatch Colin Firth on DVD; simply wonderful... Lorna Doone is an extremely good story... Victoria and Albert was great... However, Tom Jones isn't the best and if you are used to Jeremy Northam in Emma, then it is a bit hard to watch. Jane Eyre is very well done too. Looking forward to finding the time to watch the rest!!! This collection is great for long weekends or when you are sick. Well worth it.

This is one of the saddest movies that I have ever seen in my life, and I love drama. It is a great story of a love that can never be in a world of Czarist Russia. Wonderfully acted, with some of Russia's greatest actors of that time in lead roles. A profound work of movie making, which leads to question society as a whole.

Director Candida Royalle has pioneered the genre of romantic erotica that can be enjoyed by couples. The actors are not the typical surgically enhanced twenty-something sexual automatons that grind their way through mainstream pornography. They look and act more like "real" people of different ages (even some with imperfect bodies)in real romantic situations. Look for character development, dreamy settings, and even a modicum of plot.

Christine is an attractive, thirty-something single woman who visits the lush Love Inn each year. In a bow to Lady Chatterly, it becomes apparent that she yearns for a forbidden rendezvous with the handsome young groundskeeper. Her sensual, soft-focus, longing, dream sequences are mingled with vignettes of other couples at the inn joyfully and playfully celebrating their couplehood, love and sexuality. Perhaps there is a message that the hottest of these scenes is reserved for the fiftyish inkeeper (with average looks and slightly sagging figure) and her long-time lover. The ending, of course, is completely predictable as the frustrated matron and the lonely groundskeeper throw caution and decorum to the wind in a firestorm of pent up longing so hot that it threatens to ignite the hayloft.

Romantic, sensual, sometimes funny. Explicit but not offensive. I liked it. My partner liked it. Her comment, "It's not cheesy like other erotic movies."

Set in France and Italy and deluged with picturesque scenery, and with Laurence Olivier playing a fairy (ahem) godfather, this charming love story is made to last forever. This is Diane Lane's debut movie (the young girl who falls in love with a Frenchman). Combined with Sally Kellerman's wonderful role as the off-the-wall mom, this little romance turns into a film for the ages.
Watch it, weep, and smile. Have some chocolate and go to bed with a lover.

Just a beautiful movie. Every scene is its own little masterpiece. I have tried, via the useful technology of DVD, to catch only a scene or two over morning coffee. Twice now, I have ended up watching the rest of the movie. If you are uncomfortable getting misty-eyed in front of others, watch this movie alone. There are few works that I can think of that are as thrilling as this movie.

If you've ever wanted to bring a little romance into your life, this is the film that does it. Viewable by all ages, adults will adore it for how first love was for them, while teens will be moved by the chance love can bring to them.

I stumbled upon this series by accident. Living in the USA, we've never been privy to this series with Judi Dench. What's even more delightful is, her co-star in the series is Dame Judi's real husband. But, on to the story:

The relationship and it's progression couldn't be more awkward.
Judi plays an accomplished, successful, professional translator, much in demand in her field. She lives well, travels extensively, but is middle-aged and unmarried.

Next to her beautiful, perky, popular, MARRIED, younger sister, she always comes off badly and out of place. And despite all of her loving sister's (and her husband's) efforts to treat her well, be kind, be loving, be considerate AND try to draw her out socially and introduce her to men, each episode documents the disasters.

They do introduce her to an equally socially gauche "landscape gardener' whose business skills are as tattered as his favorite sweaters. They grate on each other, but team up to avoid further interference by their well-meaning friends.

The series is slow paced, low key, sometimes subtle, but always very funny. We bought all nine tapes at once. And the last tape was, in fact, the last episode of the series. We were VERY disappointed to learn there were no more.

We enjoyed it immensely. And now, my mother is in the process of screening the tapes. She's so pleased!

I caught a glimpse of this show on a PBS station following a popular BBC - with "Mrs. Bucket" and loved it! It gives you a glimspe of average life in Britian and is very clever, cute, and funny!

I was so excited at the release of A FINE ROMANCE on videocassette that, after viewing set 1, I hounded Acorn Media for the release date of set 2. Now having seen set 2, set 3's release later this year can't come a minute to soon! This second series charts Mike and Laura's progress as they stumble forward in their relationship by moving in together. The wonderful comedic timing of Judi Dench and Michael Williams, the obvious chemistry between them, and the realistic romantic plot make this a winner. Dame Judi's large talent is recognized far and wide by now, so the real treat is Michael Williams, whose gift for acting has been seen by most Americans in only small doses (EDUCATING RITA, TEA WITH MUSSOLINI). His portrayal of the shy, bumbling Mike Selway is alternately hilarious and touching. Sadly, Michael Williams passed away earlier this year, but A FINE ROMANCE is a fitting tribute to both his acting abilities and his own "fine romance" with Judi Dench. What a treat for Britcom fans!

A previous reviewer had noted that it was too hard to believe that Judi Dench's character would fall for Michael Williams' character. This might be helped along by the fact that the two were very happily married in real life for many years until he passed away last year.

I really enjoy this series, but feel that many people came upon it looking for something more after loving the As Time Goes By series. The dialog and plot lines don't compare, but it does share the sweetness and simplicity. It is a bit slow-moving, even for its genre. Still, it will provide a supplement for those deprived of Judi Dench's wonderful acting now that As Time Goes By has completed its final season.

I love watching Judi Dench. Almost anything she does is enjoyable. I have seen all the As Time Goes By episodes and thoroughly enjoyed them. I am very late seeing A Fine Romance. The trouble is I can't believe the story, That her character would care so much for a poor, rude, down and out person is unbelievable.

An ardent fan of As Time Goes By I had always felt "robbed" of the true romantic chemistry lacking in this fantastic and clever series. A Fine Romance is never out of my recorder and DVD player and I now see clearly the amazing chemistry between Michael Williams and his real life wife. To me, although the series with Geoffrey Palmer is more sophisticated, this unlikely couple give an honest portrayal of very awkward people thrust together in later life. I treasure this collection above all others and only wish they had made more

I probably wouldn't be too off base to assume that I'm one of the youngest, if not the youngest, person to submit a review for "Murphy's Romance". Not too many people under 20 years of age have heard of it, and that is a shame. It's probably one of the ten best love stories of all time. And it's not spectacular in its scale, not bogged down with style, and not given to flights of fancy that promote Oscar bait monologues. "Murphy's Romance" is, on the other hand, simply... simple, realistic, loving of its characters, and full of wit that gives the film a sense of style not encased in camera work. It also has one of my favorite characters in any movie ever: Murphy Jones, played with the kind of wit, charm, and life you see expressed by very few actors by James Garner. Murphy is not just the title character, but he is the delicate string that holds the entire movie together. His expressions in every scene display the wisdom and slyness of his character, and the way he looks at the Sally Field character should be an acting template for any actor playing in a love story: He gazes at her; he doesn't stare. He doesn't search her eyes for answers to corny questions. There is nothing cliched about this character. He's just real.

The plot of the film is a simple one. Movies like this are never really about their plots so much as they are about their characters. Emma Moriarty is a single mom who grew up on a farm, knows horses and hard work, and who moves out to the country to fix up a ramshackle old house and barn to start a business of boarding and training horses. Her son Jake is played by 80s child star Corey Haim, who plays his role somberly as a boy who misses his dad and is kind of clueless as to the workings of this new life. He's just a normal kid who grew up in the city and finds it odd that his new school doesn't have a single computer. This role could have been a thankless one if Haim didn't play it so well. His eyes express the weight of his small world on his shoulders, and we can see that weight lifted in the presence of his dad (Brian Kerwin) and when talking to Murphy. Emma happens across Murphy Jones' drug store when advertising her business. Murphy is all for free enterprise, so she posts her sign in his window and walks in. In this first conversation, we already know that these two are destined to fall in love by the film's end. That's how these movies work: 1) We introduce the main characters to each other and know from the start they are compatible. Step 2) We watch as a series of wrenchs are thrown in the works to put off this revelation between the characters themselves. In the case of "Murphy's Romance", we are given a simple wrench, not a series of ridiculously over the top occurrences that scatter our radar of reality. The arrival of Emma's ex-husband Bobby Jack (Kerwin) makes for enough realistic encounters and quick dialogue exchanges for every implausible moment in today's teen dramas.

That's enough about the plot. As I said, love stories are not about their plots. The few smart love stories that have come out of Hollywood over the years recognize this and treat their characters with intelligence. "Murphy's Romance" has a main cast of wonderful performers who embody their roles with an almost improvisational realism. Sally Field is terrific as Emma, who we can see from the start has tenacity and a good work ethic ("I've worked hard for all these callouses!"), but also has an unwillingness to separate the men from the boys, which blinds her to the possibilities of loving someone new after her failed marriage. Kerwin has one of the tougher jobs in the film: He has to maintain the image of a scumbag ex-husband while still coming across as the kind of man we could see as charming. It's a difficult balancing act, but it's one that he pulls off nicely. Haim, with the eyes of a soulful man trapped in a boy's body, is very good. But James Garner, who earned a Oscar nomination (he should've won) for this role, owns this movie from beginning to end.

"Murphy's Romance" is one of my favorite films for all the reasons I've mentioned: Great performances, wit, and most of all, love. Garner and Field play their characters with just the right pitch in every scene, and when we finally do come to the closing scenes of the movie, everything rides on them. The last scene, brilliantly photographed, is written in such a way that it would make or break the film. As it stands, it is probably one of the most loving scenes in film history, with the two leads nailing every note. It reaches out of the screen and makes us grin from ear to ear; it touches our heart in a way that few films do, and it's a testament to the true power of film: It makes us want to fall in love for the first and last time in our lives.

Well, nobody got shot, nothing got blown up, there's no nudity or excessive swearing. Then how could this be one of the greatest sleeper movies of the late 20th century? Nobody seems to know, but it is.

What is known is that charming James Garner (Maverick) meets sweet Sally Field (Gidget), and all heaven breaks loose. Together these two seasoned pros are pure magic, and every precious moment has thankfully been preserved on widescreen DVD.

So if you and your significant other want to take a break from the currrent crop of bad buddy pictures, weepy chick flicks, or endless prom films where 27-year-olds regularly play 17-year-olds, this one is the ticket.

Murphy's Romance is the kind of stuff that pleasant (movie) dreams are made of.

James Garner plays, Murphy, a small-town store owner whose wife died several years ago. Into his life pop Sally Field and her son Corey Haim. Sally has recently divorced, no-good but nice guy Brian Kerwin, and is starting over by buying a horse farm. She doesn't want to be alone and she doesn't know who to trust or who to be attracted to. Things get really complicated when Kerwin re-enters the picture and tries to settle in like he belongs there.

James Garner was nominated for an Oscar for this role, and it's easy to see why. I've never seen a more straightforward, down-to-Earth, easy-going, likable character in a movie, without being a cliche. Sally Field is sassy but nice, striving for independence but confused, and unable to make her mind or know a good thing when she sees it. Corey Haim is quietly confused but completely likable and credible in his portrayal of a boy who loves both his parents while clearly seeing their faults.

This is just a plain nice story, well-told and well-acted. It also has one of the best lines for a parent I've ever heard. When Corey Haim lets James Garner know that he noticed his father had cheated at cards, everyone expects Garner to give the boy a lesson in honesty in morality. Instead, he says the perfect thing: "Take after him or not; the choice is yours." He knows cheating is wrong, the boy knows it's wrong, and they know each other knows it's wrong; the important point is that taking after one's father is a choice, not fate.

My Romance - An Evening with Jim Brickman is a must have for anyone who enjoys easy listening and standards. Brickman, who just ended a U.S. tour opening for Olivia-Newton John finally gets his day in the sun and lets all his talent show with special musical guests popping in here and there to sing some of their old hits as well as Brickmans. (i.e. Olivia Newton-John - "I Honestly Love You", Donny Osmond, and many others.) One of the most captivating songs is "Change Of Heart", a song written by both Olivia Newton-John & Jim Brickman. If your a fan of easy listening 70's tunes - then your sure to love My Romance - An Evening with Jim Brickman.

This is a great opportunity to see Jim and his wonderful guest stars in concert. The music is superb and is a must for his fans.

For anyone who is a lover of great musical talent, this is a DVD that you will want to get and keep playing over and over. Jim Brickman and friends put their heart and soul into this program. You can see from their delivery, how much they love music and want to please the audience! This is one that you want to add to your collect. I play this DVD over and over and it just makes you feel great!. Also, purchased the music and CD for this program and it worth the investment

This film was just a wild ride from the word go. We're suspended in disbelief as we watch one set of insane circumstances beget another. No matter, Christian and Patricia engage us and assure us at each step... yes, it's believable my character would do this. And we nod, hypnotically, yes, you're right. A good film.

What can you say about a guy who has the King as a Guardian Angel? Either he is as star-crossed as the King was, or he is very lucky. Lots of action and hilarious dialogue. With all the cameos, you may even find your favorite actor in here.

Quentin Tarintino was a no-name when this movie hit the theaters. I don't remember hearing much press about it when it was released, but I rented it when it first hit the shelves and I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY. This is such a great movie.
The story starts off when Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette) meet at a movie theater showing a kung-fu marathon. They spend the night together *nudge, nudge* wink, wink* and realize that they are in love with eachother and have been brought together by fate. Not a pair to let this moment pass, they get married less than 12 hours later. But, it's not quite happily ever after just yet. Alabama was a hooker (employeed for three days)and when Clarence goes to pick up some of her clothes, he gets into a fight with her pimp (Gary Oldman) and ends up killing him. He takes off (accidently leaving his drivers license behind) with a suitcase of Alabama's clothes. When he gets back to his wife - surprise! - it's not a suitcase full of clothes, it's a suitcase filled to the brim with cocaine. They decide to take advantage of the situation and drive out to LA to see Clarence's friend, Dick Richie (Micheal Rappaport)to see if he has any Hollywood connections who would buy half a million dollars worth of cocaine. Of course he does. But the plot gets more tangled as rightful owners of the cocaine (Tony Soprano, Christopher Walken, and others) want their drugs back and try to track them down & the cops are suddenly involved.

This movie is full of everything - romance, humor, action, drugs, rock-n-roll, sex. It doesn't get much better than this. Christian Slater is great & Patricia Arquette is the cutest thing ever. The movie is FULL of famous actors (those listed above plus Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer - who plays the voice of Clarence's alter-Elvis-ego, Brad Pitt)
The unrated directors cut is great because there are scenes added to the movie that weren't in the orginal - more graphic violence, drug use, language, and sex.
You will not be disappointed by this movie. It's a must-see and a must-own!

This film was just a wild ride from the word go. We're suspended in disbelief as we watch one set of insane circumstances beget another. No matter, Christian and Patricia engage us and assure us at each step... yes, it's believable my character would do this. And we nod, hypnotically, yes, you're right. A good film.

What can you say about a guy who has the King as a Guardian Angel? Either he is as star-crossed as the King was, or he is very lucky. Lots of action and hilarious dialogue. With all the cameos, you may even find your favorite actor in here.

Quentin Tarintino was a no-name when this movie hit the theaters. I don't remember hearing much press about it when it was released, but I rented it when it first hit the shelves and I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY. This is such a great movie.
The story starts off when Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette) meet at a movie theater showing a kung-fu marathon. They spend the night together *nudge, nudge* wink, wink* and realize that they are in love with eachother and have been brought together by fate. Not a pair to let this moment pass, they get married less than 12 hours later. But, it's not quite happily ever after just yet. Alabama was a hooker (employeed for three days)and when Clarence goes to pick up some of her clothes, he gets into a fight with her pimp (Gary Oldman) and ends up killing him. He takes off (accidently leaving his drivers license behind) with a suitcase of Alabama's clothes. When he gets back to his wife - surprise! - it's not a suitcase full of clothes, it's a suitcase filled to the brim with cocaine. They decide to take advantage of the situation and drive out to LA to see Clarence's friend, Dick Richie (Micheal Rappaport)to see if he has any Hollywood connections who would buy half a million dollars worth of cocaine. Of course he does. But the plot gets more tangled as rightful owners of the cocaine (Tony Soprano, Christopher Walken, and others) want their drugs back and try to track them down & the cops are suddenly involved.

This movie is full of everything - romance, humor, action, drugs, rock-n-roll, sex. It doesn't get much better than this. Christian Slater is great & Patricia Arquette is the cutest thing ever. The movie is FULL of famous actors (those listed above plus Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer - who plays the voice of Clarence's alter-Elvis-ego, Brad Pitt)
The unrated directors cut is great because there are scenes added to the movie that weren't in the orginal - more graphic violence, drug use, language, and sex.
You will not be disappointed by this movie. It's a must-see and a must-own!