Romance

  • Donna Deitch – Desert Hearts (1985)

    1981-1990Donna DeitchDramaQueer Cinema(s)RomanceThe Female GazeUSA

    Quote:
    Donna Deitch’s swooning and sensual first narrative feature, Desert Hearts, was groundbreaking upon its release in 1985: a love story about two women, made entirely independently, on a shoestring budget, by a woman. In this 1959-set film, adapted from a beloved novel by Jane Rule, straitlaced East Coast professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce but winds up catching the eye of someone new, the free-spirited young Cay (Patricia Charbonneau), touching off a slow seduction that unfolds against a breathtaking desert landscape. With undeniable chemistry between its two leads, an evocative jukebox soundtrack, and vivid cinematography by Robert Elswit, Desert Hearts beautifully exudes a sense of tender yearning and emotional candor.Read More »

  • David Lean – Ryan’s Daughter [Roadshow version] (1970)

    1961-1970David LeanDramaRomanceUnited KingdomWorld War One

    Quote:
    Set in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, a married woman in a small Irish village has an affair with a troubled British officer.Read More »

  • Charles Vidor – Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

    1951-1960Charles VidorMusicalRomanceUSA

    Synopsis:
    Hans Christian Andersen was Sam Goldwyn’s final production for RKO Radio release, and also the producer’s last Danny Kaye vehicle. The Moss Hart-Myles Connolly screenplay largely disregards the facts concerning Denmark’s great storyteller, opting for a fanciful blend of comedy, fantasy, romance and music. As played by Kaye, Hans Christian Andersen starts out as a small-town cobbler whose gift for spinning fairy tales is keeping the local kids from attending school. Asked to leave town, Hans heads to Copenhagen to seek his fortune as a writer.Read More »

  • Henry Koster – First Love (1939)

    1931-1940ComedyHenry KosterRomanceScrewball ComedyUSA

    In this reworking of Cinderella, orphaned Connie Harding is sent to live with her rich aunt and uncle after graduating from boarding school. She’s hardly received with open arms, especially by her snobby cousin Barbara. When the entire family is invited to a major social ball, Barbara sees to it that Connie is forced to stay home. With the aid of her uncle, who acts as her fairy godfather, Connie makes it to the ball and meets her Prince Charming in Ted Drake, her cousin’s boyfriendRead More »

  • Richard Linklater – Before Midnight (2013)

    Drama2011-2020Richard LinklaterRomanceUSA

    Quote:
    American director Richard Linklater returns to the tale of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) that he began seventeen years ago in Before Sunrise (1995) with 2013’s Before Midnight. Set nine years after the events of Before Sunset (2004), this is an eloquently scripted dissection of a now middle-aged couple’s relationship. Reflective in tone, we open to Jesse reluctantly sending his son back to the States, before heading off to an idyllic Greek villa he and his wife have been staying in. The glowing couple appear happy, with Jesse writing yet another novel, Céline starting a new job in Paris and twin gold-ringleted daughters of their own.Read More »

  • Kar Wai Wong – Eros-The Hand (Long Version) (2004)

    2001-2010DramaHong KongKar Wai WongRomance

    Quote:
    Miss Hua, a 1960s high-end call girl is visited by a shy dressmaker’s assistant Zhang, to take her measure. He hears the sounds of sex, as he waits in her living room. He is drawn towards her but there is no meeting ground between the two individuals from completely different classes. She summons him when her client leaves. She tells him, she will supply him with an aid to his memory. He will think about her while designing her clothes, she says.Read More »

  • Maria Plyta – I lykaina aka The She-Wolf (1951)

    1951-1960DramaGreeceMaria PlytaRomance

    Wanting to have nothing to do with the feud that has decimated not only his family but also his neighbours’, too, an irenic teacher faces his childhood sweetheart who yearns to kill him. Can the feared she-wolf see the error of her ways?Read More »

  • Dorothy Arzner – Working Girls (1931)

    1931-1940ClassicsDorothy ArznerRomanceUSA

    Two sisters have arrived in New York straight from the country and settle down in one of those boarding houses for single women. May, the older, is a bit naive, while June, the younger, is much more worldly and world-wise. The next day, they go out looking for jobs and June makes sure her older sister gets one, while she snags herself a job and a saxophone playing beau named Pat Kelly. May also finds a beau, Boyd Wheeler, a young lawyer with a degree from Harvard. While June enjoys herself and the presents she gets from Kelly, May falls more and more in love with Boyd and rejects a proposal from her boss, archaeologist Dr. von Schrader, who then fires her. Without a job, May is free to spend even more time with Boyd, despite her sister’s warnings. She is heartbroken when she learns that Boyd has gotten engaged to a society girl. June does her best to comfort her sister and decides to ask Dr. von Schrader to hire May again.Read More »

  • Woody Allen – Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

    1991-2000MusicalRomanceUSAWoody Allen

    Quote:
    A New York girl sets her father up with a beautiful woman in a troubled marriage while her stepsister gets engaged.Read More »

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