Tag Archives: Vivien Leigh

Best Hollywood Classic Romantic Films (10+1list)

Best Hollywood Classic Romantic Films.

written by Souranath Banerjee

Love is in the air!

When the blissful heart thumps too loud, the glowing smile doesn’t leave your face and your thoughts are always connected to someone special, don’t you dare deny it – you ARE in Love.

And if not, by the time you have finished watching all these films, i am sure you will be!

Well, here are some of the best Hollywood classic romantic films that are considered as the best love-stories ever told.

Let’s shower some love.

10. Gone with the Wind (1939)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dTsfsr6-X8

gone-with-the-wind-poster

Nearly four hours long but it’s totally worth it because of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh and their brilliant on screen chemistry.

Directed by Victor Fleming (and also George Cukor uncredited), this was the first color film to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Considered to be one of fifteen films that changed American cinema (for the good).

9. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urQVzgEO_w8

breakfast-at-tiffanys-posterFashion icon and superstar Audrey Hepburn was the highest paid actress at the time, her salary for the film was a whooping $750,000!

George Peppard and her chemistry was remarkable in the film, supported by eternally beautiful songs like the ‘Moon River’.

Based on Truman Capote‘s novel and directed by Blake Edwards, a love story to remember.

8. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOiIGUg6yLI

singin-in-the-rain-posterGene KellyDonald O’ConnorDebbie Reynolds in one the most famous romantic musical ever!

Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, interestingly the script of the film was written after the songs, and so the writers had to generate a plot into which the songs would fit.

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #5 Greatest Movie of All Time.

7. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewe4lg8zTYA

its-wonderful-life-posterDirector/writer Frank Capra at his best, a film that has the most uncommon script and yet so emotional and romantic.

James Stewart at his career best performance and Donna Reed is amazing as well. 

It was nominated for five academy awards and won none. But that doesn’t make the film any less classic value than it deserves. 

Other romantic films by the same director It Happened One Night (1934) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936).

6. An American in Paris (1951)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2WAMZRCbpU

american-in-paris-posterThis is one such film that makes you nostalgic and long for everything that was once so pure and classic.

Along with Leslie Caron and Oscar Levant, it’s so musical, so romantic and so Gene Kelly

Directed by Vincente Minnelli, there is a 17-minute dance sequence at the end of the film that took a month to shoot. It cost half a million dollars!

Other romantic films by the same director Gigi (1958) and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).

5. Casablanca (1942)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkL9l7qovsE

casablanca-poster1With songs as melodious as ‘As Time Goes By’, with hunky Humphrey Bogart and the ever beautiful Ingrid Bergman – a love story that can’t go wrong. 

Directed by Michael Curtiz, the film has many unique qualities – the ‘The Battle of the Anthems’ scene, the last airport sequence and of course the chemistry between Rick and Ilsa!  

My personal favorite in the list.

Other romantic films by the same director The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and White Christmas (1954). 

4. Roman Holiday (1953)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GzCG6lpFUw

roman-holiday-posterGregory Peck with Audrey Hepburn in one of the most famous love story ever shot.

The film not only made Audrey Hepburn world famous but also rocketed the sale of Vespa scooter!  

Directed by brilliant William Wylerwho still holds the record of more people nominated to the Oscar sweepstakes for his films than any other director.

Other romantic films by the same director The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and Funny Girl (1968).

3. An Affair to Remember (1957)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFWwFfRvClM

affair-to-remember-posterCary Grant and Deborah Kerr after falling for each other agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building. 

Well, lovers proposes and God disposes!

Great script, awesome acting and an emotional ending, director Leo McCarey‘s An Affair to Remember” is a film exclusively for the hard core romantics.  

2.  The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr3nsHRKZJA

The-Shop-Around-the-Corner-PosterMargaret Sullavan and James Stewart hate each other but then of course without realizing that they are falling in love after all.  

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, this one is a very next-door-kind-of love story, of two very common people with whom the audience can very easily relate to.

Sweet and romantic, with great script and brilliant acting all around.

Other romantic films by the same director Trouble in Paradise (1932) and Ninotchka (1939).

  1. My Fair Lady (1964)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mYPZ2C4sOE

my-fair-lady-poster

A movie that was advertised as ‘the most eagerly anticipated production since Gone with the Wind‘.

The film was based on the unique drama Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

Directed by George Cukor, and starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison – one of the biggest grossing films of the time.

Other romantic films by the same director The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Adam’s Rib (1949).

and now, (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most innovative one. A must watch).

+1. Some Like It Hot (1959)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI_lUHOCcbc

some-like-it-hot-posterSuper hot Marilyn Monroe along with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, all together in this one; more of comedy than romance but again one of the all time favorite cinema.

Directed by Billy Wilder, in 2007, the American Film Institute ranked it #22 Greatest Movie of All Time. 

And it was also Voted #1 on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Funniest Movies.

Other romantic films by the same director A Foreign Affair (1948) and The Apartment (1960).

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.comhttps://en.wikipedia.org

When Blue Jasmine rides A streetcar named Desire!

When Blue Jasmine rides A streetcar named Desire!

written by Souranath Banerjee.

As I was watching the 1951 classic A Streetcar Named Desire (again), this time I couldn’t help but pause over this particular dialogue.

“Why, I guess he’s just not the type that goes for jasmine perfume”

Vivien Leigh in a state of nervous humor voiced the above quoted line to define Marlon Brando’s character in the film.

In 2013 (after more than 60 years) the name ‘Jasmine’ used by Woody Allen for the lead character in his latest film Blue Jasmine doesn’t seem all like a coincidence after all – huh?

A-Streetcar-Named-Desire-poster5In 1951 little did Vivien Leigh knew that Miss Blanche du Bois (the name of her character in A Streetcar Named Desire) would rise like a phoenix from the ashes of it’s past Oscar glory (Vivien Leigh won the Oscar in the best actress category that year) and soar high to the same heights (since Cate Blanchett also won the Oscar in the best actress category) – only this time her name would be Jasmine.

Yes, in 2013 Woody Allen directed Blue Jasmine which in many ways is a modern and superficial comic version of the age-old classic A streetcar named desire directed by Elia Kazan. And Cate Blanchett masterfully plays the delusional sister (Jasmine) who has lost everything in life and yet awaits to loose a lot more. 

Basic story structure. (This fits perfectly for both the films)

Blue-Jasmine-poster-touch-upsIt is the story of a middle-aged woman who is robbed from her wealth, relations and social status; she comes to stay with her sister (her only family) in a desperate effort to live a better life.

She is too classy and refined for her new environment and thus has difficulty to cope up with her sister’s middle-class husbands/boyfriends. In her desperate attempt to survive she tries her best to fall in love. But unfortunately her scandalous past creeps up and crushes her sugary dreams of a satisfying future.

In the end she is more damaged than ever; delusional, helpless and alone in this unsympathetic world. A slow and brutal tale of human degradation, of failure and disappointment marvelously captured by both Elia Kazan and Woody Allen through their individualistic cinematic approach.

Personally I am so disturbed by the tragic ending(s). In a way it’s so real and possible – that’s why all the more scary.

 Jasmine Vs Blanche.

The basic contrast between Jasmine (in Blue Jasmine) and Blanche (in A streetcar named desire) lies in the core reason of their complexity.

streetcar-named-desire-poster1For instance Jasmine’s primary problem is the forced degradation of her social status/class. She declares herself broke but couldn’t get rid of her past expensive habits of flying first-class, tipping her taxi driver extra-good, carrying expensive fashionable bags; and she has also lost touch of actually working for a living.

On the other hand Blanche’s principal complication is related to her own fading looks (the negative effects of aging) which according to her leads to lack of companionship. She needs make-up and hot baths in regular intervals; extremely conscious about her looks, she craves compliments for her face, figure, hair, clothes, jewelries …

They were both happy in their own worlds but alas! – they are bankrupt and they both carry the burden of the tainted hidden secrets from their pasts. Their back-stories are pretty different but equally disturbing and they often intend to survive their past memories by having a drink or two.

“Who do you have to sleep with around here to get a Stoli martini with a twist of lemon?” – Jasmine.

Blue-Jasmine-posterAt the very beginning Jasmine flies from New York to San Francisco to her sister’s place blabbering all about her broken life story, then she takes the regular taxi to arrive at her destination. Whereas Blanche takes the train from Auriol to New Orleans and then takes the dramatically named streetcar called Desire to reach her destination.

Blanche gets to arrive in a much more dramatic way (even her first appearance is very noticeable as she mysteriously appears from behind the smokes and the crowd).

I feel that the amount of emotional drama is much more heightened as Elia Kazan (very much intentionally) compels us to take a roller-coaster ride through a series of extreme melodramatic highs and lows of emotions in his film A street car named desire. On contrary in Blue Jasmine (I am sure it’s again a deliberate decision) Woody Allen keeps all of it a tad subtle and wickedly comic, but mind you the overall emotional effect the film delivers is not played softly at all.

street-car-named-desire-posterThough Jasmine doesn’t have to face any physical violence (rape) as compared to unfortunate Blanche, but the rejection from their respective lovers, the dismissal from their sisters as well as the rest of the society is enough for them to loose their mind completely.

In Blue Jasmine the informative flashbacks are cleverly used in regular intervals to break the linear pattern of storytelling. Whereas in A streetcar named desire the vocal echo of certain words and memories (and also the sound of a shot fired) are beautifully layered as a continuous remembrance of the past and a constant proof of Blanche’s unstable mind.

And lastly the brilliant use of music – Blue Moon and the polka tune of Varsouviana.

Blue-jasmine-poster1Blanche (Vivien Leigh) often in a melancholy way felt nostalgic recalling the music to which she danced the Varsouviana; sometimes she would even imagine the same polka-tune playing in her head, the one they were playing in the Moon Lake Casino that tragic night when soon after her young lover Allan committed suicide.

On the other hand a unique way of portraying Jasmine’s blue world, Woody Allen used the song ‘Blue Moon’ not only as a music piece but a simple link to Jasmine’s once happy past; the song which was playing when she first met her husband Hal at a party. Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) repeats this romantic ‘Blue Moon’ story five times throughout the film to anyone who would care (or dare) to listen, and each time you cannot help but smile at her – a sad smile perhaps.