source: 84 Charing Cross Road

84 Charing Cross Road

a film about friendship. in a special form. about books. about different manner to see the life. and about special refuges against every day pressure. it is not easy to define its source of seduction. the script, the acting, the chain of titles, the letters,her enthusiasm, his polite answers, the flavor of two different places and cultures and personalities. it is seductive, fascinating and touching. and useful for the birth of special emotions. romantic and smart and delicate and precise. best choice for admirers of a cinema of substance and redefine of life basic purpose. for the lovers of old books. and for the fans of great acting. Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. and sure, in a small role, admirable Helen Mirren. the memory of this film remains long time. with real useful result.

Lines of dialog like the one above, spoken by the energetic writer played by Anne Bancroft in "84 Charing Cross Road", appeal to those who inordinately enjoy books . And if you are one who is delighted by literary references(in books, music or movies)than this is a film that will hold great appeal for you. Those who prefer conventional "action" will find this movie far too low-key and dull. Personally I was very involved by it. It is the type of motion picture where you find yourself wanting to enter and befriend the characters, who undoubtedly would be willing to talk with you about most anything. And for those who have actually been to London(myself included)there's the added delight of recognizing many of the locations it presents.

This movie is as much about books as Bull Durham is about baseball or Rocky is about boxing. It is a story about people and relationships and the myriad things that can happen while we experience this thing called life. If a wonderfully acted, beautifully written movie dealing with that theme interests you then turn off the telephone, put the kids to bed, and curl up for an entrancing experience.

A fantastic piece of work. This movie is for those who are interested in dialogue and masterful acting. The acting is impeccable and the dialogue is magnificent and very touching. Surely Anthony Hopkins deserved an AA and so did Anne Bancfroft.

True story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books that developed into a close friendship. Roger Ebert somewhat humorously wrote, "Miss Fiske was the librarian at the Urbana Free Library when I was growing up. She never had to talk to me about the love of books because she simply exuded it and I absorbed it. She would have loved this movie. Sitting next to her, I suspect, I would have loved it, too. But Miss Fiske is gone now, and I found it pretty slow-going on my own." That Ebert was a funny guy. As he notes elsewhere in his review, this movie is built on a very thin premise. And that is its ultimate downfall. While the movie is fun to watch, it has so little going on: basically two people corresponding about books to order. It's nice for a book lover like myself, but it did begin to wear after a while.

Whenever anyone asks me, which isn't often, I tell them this is it. And they invariably have never heard of it, which is a terrible shame. I love the film, and advise those who love it as well that they SHOULD read the book too... and also read The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, and find out what happened when Helene went to England after all those years. And don't stop there... look up the Oxford Book of English Prose and the Oxford Book of English Verse (http://www.bartleby.com/101/), edited by the venerable Q (Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch), and see what inspired Helene to begin the correspondence in the first place (basically she decided to read everything Q mentioned, "unless it's fiction.")

I will not summarize the plot -- you can read others' comments for that, or, better yet, see this yourself. Classic film buffs who say that there was a Golden Age of Cinema after which all is in decline need to see this one (although I realize that 1987 probably is long enough ago to qualify as a bygone era for younger IMDb users). I would not change a thing in this production. Every member of the cast delivers the goods, the story is moving and truthful, the characters come to life and you're swept up in their lives. When you weary of car chases with explosions, language you can't repeat to your mom, cliché-ridden distortions of human relationships and humor based on normally-private bodily functions, give yourself a treat and watch this movie. If you think only hobbits can be sweet and kind and show us the Good that can reside in common folk, check out the humans in this one. If you . . . never mind, just see it.

This movie is an example of how the cinematic medium can powerfully explore a mundane activity as letter writing. The movement of the characters through their activities and concerns over different times of life and across 2 physically separated cultures is smooth, subtle and engaging. The movie does not contain the bombast that many others seem to be more pre-occupied with. Rather the viewer is taken into the quiet enjoyment of human conversation and communication. And just like a good conversation, one is left with both satisfaction and longing.