Love in the Afternoon
List Price: $19.98Price: $13.77
You Save: $6.21 (31%)as of 09/05/2010 17:42 EDT Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 9780790753003
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0790753006
Item Dimensions: 20
Label: Warner Home Video
Languages: EnglishSubtitledSpanishSubtitledFrenchSubtitledPortugueseSubtitledEnglishOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 1.0
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
MPN: 085391721826
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: January 08, 2002
Running Time: 130 minutes
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: June 30, 1957
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Editorial Review:Product Description:An American philanderer in France falls for the innocent daughter of the detective hired to investigate his affairs.
Amazon.com:Fairy-tale Paris doesn't get more enchanting than Billy Wilder's
Love in the Afternoon, an ode to picnics on the grass and champagne at the Ritz. Audrey Hepburn (who had already made
Sabrina with Wilder) is at her best as the inexperienced cellist with a fascination for millionaire American playboy Gary Cooper. Maurice Chevalier (who else?) is Hepburn's father, a private detective with ample evidence of Cooper's crowded history of
l'amour. Alongside the sheen of the romance is Wilder's unerring sense of craftsmanship; watch how inanimate objects such as a liquor tray, a white carnation, or the little dog in the suite next door are developed into sublime running gags. The age difference between the two leads has often been questioned, but perhaps this is what gives the gossamer material the whiff of welcome melancholy. The final three minutes leave no doubt that Wilder hatched the best endings in Hollywood history.
--Robert Horton
Average Rating:
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Product arrived in a timely fashion, in great condition (as advertised). I would definately buy from this seller again.
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I think "delectable" is the word we want here, though of course that description would apply to nearly every cinematic thing Audrey Hepburn ever did...
I have a special fondness for romantic black and white films, and 1957's "Love in the Afternoon" is one of the very best. As stated here by other reviewers Hepburn's chemistry with the ruggeded, quintessentially American Cooper (and the charmingly Gallic Maurice Chevalier) is simply wonderful. Would that we all carried into maturity the memory of such magical first love! And special mention must go to the delightful character actor John McGiver as the amusingly pixilated cuckold whose mission of husbandly vengeance is thwarted, thank goodness, by the plucky, quick-thinking Ariane/Audrey.
I will say that I remain firmly on the fence as to the casting of Gary Cooper in the role of debonair playboy, Frank Flannagan, the object of the inexperienced Ariane's affections. Coop is nothing less than terrific, but director Billy Wilder reportedly had always wanted to work with Cary Grant, and the Flannagan character--like the Linus role in the Wilder/Hepburn outing "Sabrina"--seems tailor-made for Grant's witty, effortless style. Though Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn would be wonderfully paired just a few years later in 1963's funny, suspenseful "Charade", I would love to have seen them together in this movie as well.
In cinema, as in real life, love can work between two people who are simply "right" for each other regardless of their ages. That said, I have to admit I do sympathize somewhat with those who are uncomfortable with the age difference between Hepburn and Cooper. Cooper is rather obviously nearing 60; Hepburn, though she was in fact 27 or 28 at the time of filming, was playing a much younger character--Ariane's artless naivate (and the protective worry of her loving father) would seem to place her age somewhere between 18 and 20, not much more. Accordingly, the characters' age gulf is closer to four decades rather than three. Still, you don't get much better in American movies than Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper--they just don't make 'em like that anymore...
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This item was reasonably priced and arrived in a timely manor. Product was as described, new and original packaging.
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Ok, I'll be the first to admit I like this movie, as I'm a fan of Billy Wilder, Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper, and of course Maurice Chevalier, and classic movies in general. The age difference between the two main characters doesn't bother me, I guess being a lover of classic movies I'm so used to it, but even in "real life" I don't see that as a necessary hindrance. What is disturbing is the fact that this guy is an admitted adulterer and fornicator who is so heartless that he almost caused one woman to commit suicide and who has no conscience whatsoever apparently, sees a pretty young, untouched thing who is attracted to him because of the very things she should be repelled by, plays hard to get and lies to him about supposed sexual conquests that if were true would be equally disgusting as his escapades, and he "falls in love" with her after several meetings (with a space of some months inbetween) to the point of marrying her and her otherwise doting father is somehow happy with the turn of events. But otherwise, I agree it is a "cute" movie.
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I really love "Love in the Afternoon"! I had a big kick out of it and I don't understand why some people dislike it.
To me, the film is a masterpiece. It succeeds in so many levels like no other romantic comedy. The story is wonderfully acted and told. Intelligent script explores human soul layer after layer- all the silly things we do when we are in love and all the illogical explanations which we make to justify our madness, it is all there. The underlying dramatic theme,that love often breaks our hearts is seasoned with the right dose of humor to provide a pleasant comic relief. The movie is beautifully shot and the music score is to die for. The two leads, Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn have tremendous on-screen chemistry and make a fantastic,fun to watch on-screen couple. The supporting cast and "The Gypsies" are pretty amazing too.
Gary Cooper is Frank Flannagan, a handsome American, very wealthy, mature and confirmed bachelor. He likes women, champagne, everything luxurious and lives live to the full. He never gets serious about a relationship. His philosophy is "Don't get attached. People should always behave as though they were between planes". A fateful meeting with beautiful, young French Ariane changes his attitude. She saves his life and they spend together his last afternoon in Paris. He leaves for America and forgets her. She doesn't forget him, she is deeply in love. A year later they meet again and this time he falls for her, but she plays mysterious and elusive, and drives him crazy. Eventually they come together by the end of the film -a beautiful, romantic and memorable end!
I really enjoyed the movie and laughed out loud at the many funny scenes. There is one particular scene, where Flannagan, totally obsessed with Ariane and jealous of "her past" falls into pieces. He drinks the whole night and listens to Ariane's voice message in which she tells him of her "itemized list of lovers". The Gypsies play his favorite music. There are trolleys loaded with alcohol literally "flying" forward &backward between Flannagan and the band, while his playing Ariane's message zillion times forward and backward, and the music starts and stops in the same manner. Hilarious!
Gary Cooper's ability to maintain delicate balance between the dramatic and the funny side of the situation is unsurpassable! His age did not bother me the slightest. On the contrary, I thought, at 56 he is still a great actor and strikingly handsome man. His body is lean and well toned , he is wonderful to look at and worthy of love. And as a matter of fact the age difference between Flannagan and Ariane is a crucial point in the story.
Gorgeous, classy and talented Audrey Hepburn is delightful to watch. I will never forget her in the final scene. She makes it so moving! Gary Cooper is amazing too. Actually, amazing is understatement. Flannagan is forced to make the toughest decision in his life and he must make it fast, now or never! Cooper has no lines, only a few words for the last five minutes screen time, but his tormented facial expression says it all. I felt his desperation and pain as though, I was on that departing train deciding "to be or not to be". The final could have easily become too syrupy but it isn't. There is no sugar-coated dialog and no excessive weeping, and it works magnificently.
The message I got from the film is that true love has no age and conquers all. If you are among the few lucky ones who have found their match, surrender completely and enjoy your "life sentence"!
I could keep on writing and marvel about the film but my review is long enough as it is. I hope, I gave you some idea what to expect and I am leaving you now to make your mind up. If you decide to go ahead and see "Love in the Afternoon" the chances are you will enjoy two very nice and memorable hours. Seriously, they don't make'em like that anymore!
Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.
