Five of My Favorite Romantic Films - Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day My Readers and Friends!  

To commemorate the day I thought I would revisit five of my favorite romantic movies of all time. 

A Room with a View (1985)

The first time I saw this film I wanted to find a time machine and go back to Florence in 1900 and be Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter). Of course these days I’m more like her chaperone Charlotte (Maggie Smith).  This is the ultimate romantic film full of magnificent performances by masterful veteran character actors like Maggie Smith and Judi Dench together with talented future stars of the screen like Daniel Day-Lewis and Helena Bonham Carter.  Top this with the gorgeous backdrop of Florence, Italy and beautiful locations in England and you just have to swoon at the love story of Lucy and George (Julian Sand).

Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991)

Imagine the feeling of loss if the love of your life dies suddenly and you become inconsolable in your grief unable to move on.  Imagine that he suddenly comes back into your life and home as a ghost.  What would you do? How would you feel?  Would you try to keep him there forever? Is the man you’ve idealized in your grief truly the particular person you lived with for years? One of the most beautiful and most funny films I’ve ever seen about love and loss. A heartbreaking and hilarious performance by Alan Rickman, and a sweet and sad performance by Juliet Stevenson.  

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Inspired by another favorite romantic film of mine, An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, this is the ultimate “meet cute” romantic comedy.  Tom Hanks plays Sam the perfect regular guy next door and a widower with an adorable son.  Oh yes, he lives in Seattle. One day lonely but adorable Baltimore reporter Annie, played by improbably cute Meg Ryan, listens to Sam’s love story with his late wife and his yearning for a new partner to spend his life with.  Much mayhem and travel ensues until the meeting scene between them in the Empire State Building (see An Affair to Remember).

Persuasion (1995) 

If only we could meet the love we let go in our youth again and persuade him to try again.  This 1995 version of Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion is my favorite of all.  Amanda Root as Anne Elliott and Ciaran Hinds as Captain Wentworth are perfection in this film.  No matter how many times I watch it I feel the yearning of Anne and the pride of Wentworth and wonder why we so often neglect to follow our heart. 

How to Steal a Million (1966)

 A caper comedy/romance of the type they don’t make any more starring two movie legends, Peter O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn.  Both are at their most charming and handsome in this tale of the art thief (or is he?) and the heiress (or is she?) and the greatest museum heist of all time.  

Happy Valentine's Day

Fifteen Books that Will Always Stick with You?

I was looking through my "old" FB page and found this from a few years back. If I was doing this today, November 12, I would definitely add a particular audio book to the list. But these were my choices then when this was going around FB(see rules below):

1) To Kill a Mockingbird –Harper Lee

2.) Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

3.) Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

4.)Five Families – Oscar Lewis

5.) Animal Farm – George Orwell

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6.)Sharpe’s Sword – Bernard Cornwell

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7.) A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern – Kirk Varnedoe

8.) A Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

9.)A Great Deliverance – Elizabeth George

10.) Versos Sencillos - Jose Marti

11). A Separate Peace – John Knowles

12.) Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2nd version)- DH Lawrence

13.)Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

14.)Future Shock – Alvin Toffler

15.)Possession – A.S. Byatt

Looking back several of my choices are books I read when I was a student. Funny they still stick in my mind.

What are some of the books that will always stick with you?

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall.

They Had Voices Then

...and they still do...

For my own amusement I thought I would start a series of posts on special voices.

One of the instruments of the actor is their voice. However, in recent times - the last 20 years or so - there's been a move towards a more naturalistic style of acting and the public often seems unaware of the great voices we've enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, in our TV and movie screens.

I like to listen to audiobooks sometimes in my car as I commute to work, and also enjoy poetry readings when I'm in the mood. As a member of the audience, I've noticed that even good actors are often not the best at either of these things, or even in making a dull documentary subject interesting. Having a beautiful and special voice that can move an audience, or keep us interested in a long book, or a lovely poem, is a special gift.

My first post features three actors who I love to listen to: Richard Armitage, Sean Bean, and Alan Rickman. Click on the videos below to hear Armitage and Rickman read poetry, and Bean reading the prologue from a wonderful audiobook:

Thank you for reading and listening...more posts about my favorite voices to follow soon...

Update: RichardArmitageOnline.com has a great interview from Naxos Audiobooks with Richard Armitage, He talks about the audiobook he recently recorded, The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer. Armitage discusses the difference between acting on stage or on film and using only your voice. You can hear the interview HERE.