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Product Description: An American writer forms an enduring relationship with a London bookseller which is carried on over 20 years and across two continents.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG
Release Date: 23-SEP-2003
Media Type: DVD Amazon.com essential video: Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) and Frank Doel (Anthony Hopkins) are lifelong friends who never meet in this unique comedy-drama based on a true story. Hanff and Doel are separated by 3,000 miles of ocean and joined by a passion for old books. Their relationship begins when New Yorker Hanff orders a copy ("unabridged, please!") of Pepys's diary. Doel, as polite and soft-spoken as Hanff is loud and overbearing, fields the request from his book shop in London. For the next two decades they correspond without ever actually sitting down for tea and crumpets. Brit director David Jones (Betrayal) does a reasonably good job of goosing a movie about something as uncinematic as letter writing, and the stars have fun chewing scenery on both sides of the Atlantic. The model for this kind of bittersweet relationship is David Lean's Brief Encounter, which, not coincidentally, is glimpsed here when Hanff steps out for a rainy-day matinee. --Glenn Lovell Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-09
About People
This is a charming account of a long distance relationship built up over a number of years generated by a love of books. I love books and movies about people who are 4 dimensional, not just characters. The actors are also favorites of mine. Anne Bancroft, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Dame Judi Dench as well as the supporting cast make the characters very real and the viewer cares about them. I wonder how many of us when we're involved in conducting some kind of business through the mail, over the phone or the Internet think about the person at the other end of the line or connection. That person may have a wife/husband, children, may be caring for elderly parents or suffering from some chronic disability. They, too, are human beings deserving of respect and concern. They are not just voices or dictators of a piece of mail. Rating:
Date: 2008-04-18
A charming story to warm the cockles of any bibliophile's or Anglophile's heart!
I had never heard of Helene Hanff until about two years ago when I chanced upon this little gem of a movie that has stayed with me ever since. I have watched this movie often since then, and find delight in it every single time. Also, I have read Helene Hanff's book of the same title, and it makes for a wonderful read indeed.
84 Charing Cross Road is a love story of sorts - of two people brought together [though they live on separate continents] by their love of books, it is also a love of the old-fashioned way of correspondence, through letters, and a love of the written word. It also heavily alludes to a strong affection felt by the two leads for each other - Helene Hanff as portrayed by the wonderful Anne Bancroft [aka Mrs Robinson of The Graduate], and Frank Doel, the manager of the London bookstore at 84 Charing Cross Road [played by well-known thespian Sir Anthony Hopkins, a much younger Hopkins at that].
The story focuses on these two characters who lead different lives on different continents - one in NY and the other in London, yet who share a mutual love for books and the written word. Ms Hanff, a struggling writer finds it difficult to obtain obscure works of English literature in New York ['doesn't anyone read English Literature in New York?] and decides to send out a plea for help to an English bookstore, Marks and Co.. Frank Doel, the manager of the store seems delighted by the request and obliges Ms Hanff with a few volumes as requested, and thus begins a wonderful friendship that lasts almost 20 years.
What I loved about this movie was the contrast between the two leads - the New Yorker with an acerbic wit who is always very vocal, and the mild-mannered English gentleman. This is done with such finesse that you don't feel like its a cliche at all - thanks in large part to the wonderful 'chemistry' between the two leads, and their acting prowess.
A story of true soulmates, brought together by a mutual love of books. This is a movie that will appeal to all bibliophiles and Anglophiles [and Ms Hanff is certainly both] as well as those who have a penchant for literary movies. Though the quality of the DVD leaves much to be desired [the picture quality, lack of features], the story itself is worth viewing and I can't recommend it highly enough! Rating:
Date: 2008-04-15
Wonderful acting, wonderful movie!
This is a great heart-warming film powered by two terrific actors. While this is a wonderful film regardless, if you are a book lover (as I am) this is even more of a treat. The basic story is about a New York woman who, irritated with the lack of quality books in her area, seeks out a bookseller in London to provide what she is looking for. While her personality and the personality of the bookseller are about as opposite as you can get, they become long distance friends.
Hopkins and Bancroft are both very good, and this truly is a feel good movie. While the premise may seem a bit boring, if you like movies that study human nature instead of just providing excitement and action, this is for you. You really start to get into the characters to the point that you feel the anticipation of meeting them yourself. To me, that is the definition of a well-done movie and good acting.
Get yourself a bowl of popcorn for this one!
Rating:
Date: 2008-03-29
It's all in the details...
I loved the film, love Bancroft and Sir Anthony and Dame Judi, love what the reviewers have said about this marvelous little film. But I will add that if you love the time period (the setting begins in 1949), you will appreciate that set after set is tirelessly and lovingly dressed with the details of the late '40's through the '50's to the '60's. The costuming alone could be praised, and I generally don't focus on fashion in films. Backgrounds, even if they appear briefly, were carefully created to transport us back in time, just as we are transported into the separate worlds and lives of these two correspondents. Brilliantly done. Rating:
Date: 2008-03-03
Distant Cares for Book Lovers
Authors are fond of saying that the written word can take people anywhere, thinking no doubt of the intense relationship that a reader can have with an engaging author's writing. 84 Charing Cross Road explores a different dimension of how the written word travels: the role of correspondence, a virtually lost art today. The movie deftly displays how you can share your heart with someone you've never met.
The movie is based on 20 years of actual correspondence between New York author Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, the manager of a small London book store. Hanff's in-your-face New York energy and candor are what make the exchange meaningful to viewers. Hanff is a $40 a week script reader as the movie begins but has an affection for British nonfiction that leaves her frustrated with a lack of out-of-print titles in New York. Seeing a small advertisement in The Saturday Review, she writes to Marks & Co. in London (located at 84 Charing Cross Road) asking with trepidation for used books that cost less than $5 each and requesting specific titles.
The movie handles this distance relationship by alternating between receiving and sending correspondence and revealing little bits of the daily lives of those involved. At the core, however, is always a shared passion for books and good writing. The two styles of communicating could not be more different: Hanff doesn't edit her inner thoughts when writing, and Doel is proper and reticent.
The correspondence and relationship take an unexpected turn when Hanff learns how little fresh food English people are allowed during post-war rationing but how cheap it is to send some from Denmark. With a good heart, she sends off a first package . . . and then fears she may offend by having sent a ham to people who keep kosher.
A film like this obviously depends on some pretty special acting. Anne Bancroft does a wonderful job of being breezy, but intense, in her performance. I loved the scenes where a cigarette dangles precariously from her mouth as she pounds away with two fingers on an old manual typewriter. The role of the reserved Doel is more of a challenge, but Anthony Hopkins manages to capture the interest and delight that a reserved man might enjoy in lighthearted correspondence. Judi Dench plays Doel's wife in a role that shows versatility from the roles that you know her better for.
Unlike many films, this one has a heart. The actors are turned loose to play their roles in extreme ways (especially Bancroft) and the sentimentality works. Some of the most fun moments are when she turns to the camera and addresses the audience with a sparkle in her eyes.
As I watched the film, I was reminded of the idea that relationships are more important than issues. Even when Hanff was angry about something, she would still be solicitous about the people at 84 Charing Cross Road she cared for. |
