the ask@AAR: What’s your favorite love story?
Have you seen Spielberg’s West Side Story? It’s good–a fairly faithful remake of the 1961 film–with gorgeous song and dance scenes and a heartbreaking finish. I grew up with the original and it’s always been on of my favorite musicals. The lyrics Sondheim wrote, the melodies of Bernstein, the choreography of Robbins, and the voices of the incredible Marni Nixon, Rita Moreno, and Jimmy Bryant still astonish me.
West Side Story, like its inspiration, is NOT a romance but a love story. (Spoiler: There’s a decidedly unhappy ending which as we all know means it can’t be a romance….)
I have always, well, loved love stories. (These days I prefer romances but still.) I grew up watching Love Story, Dr. Zhivago, Gone with the Wind, and Casablanca. Even when love doesn’t win and someone often ends up dying, I never tire of these stories.
So what, you ask, is my favorite love story that is not a romance? For books, I’d probably pick Possession, Eleanor and Park and The Time Traveler’s Wife. For movies, Shakespeare in Love, Chasing Amy and my beloved The Way We Were.
How about you? What’s your favorite love story that is not a romance?
Now Voyager is one of my favorite movies and while the end leaves some chance for hope, it certainly isn’t a traditional happy ending.
It is incredibly romantic though and Bette Davis is perfection in her role. Paul Henreid goes from consolation prize/duty role in Casablanca to dream man here. His lovely and gentle manners work perfectly as Jerry the noble architect.
I adore “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” which reduced me to sobs at the end when I was 14 and just last year, so beware. I adore Gary Cooper at the idealistic American who goes to fight for the Spanish during their Civil War in the 30’s and Ingrid Bergman as a Spaniard who previously had “gone thru the worst a woman can.”
I also adore Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Notorious” which doesn’t have much horror (none, really) but is a good love story.
If you want something updated and steamy, try “The Big Easy.”
I watched West Side Story on Disney + yesterday. I got goosebumps listening to Rita Moreno sing Somewhere. The first love story film that came to mind was All This and Heaven Too. Bette Davis’ character was so quietly dignified and mesmerising. I love all the movies and books Dabney listed too. I can’t wait to watch the new TV adaptation of the Time Traveler’s Wife. I think there could be a whole other thread devoted to Time Travel Love and Romance Stories/Rachel Mcadams.
Wait. There’s a new adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife?!?!?!
I am SO excited.
Here’s the site.
I’m so excited. Waiting for a UK airdate now. It’ll be on Sky Atlantic/Now TV for UK viewers.
Meanwhile, I just read My American Duchess and, before that, How the Marquess Was Won. Two very satisfying endings! Not sure what to read next while I wait for Stella Riley’s next Brandon Brothers’ to come out at the end of the month. I was reading The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes but couldn’t get past the Heroine introducing the Hero around the Ton unchaperoned.
I might just revisit some Sherry Thomas and some of the films listed here instead.
The Horseman on the Roof with Juliette Binoche and Olivier Martinez.
A few that come to mind – Sommersby, Cold Mountain, A Star is Born, Last of the Mohicans, Wuthering Heights (if you think that one qualifies, which I’m not sure it does)
I love Last of The Mohicans and wish we got more of Uncas and Alice’s love story.
Casablanca definitely fits the bill moviewise. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, with Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney, is also a great film love story. Even though the ghost does get the girl in the end, they could never be together in the land of the living. As for books, Katherine by Anya Seton.
I adore The Ghost and Mrs Muir but hate the parts where The Captain thinks he is being ‘noble”. Gene Tierney’s husband at the time, Oleg Cassini created her costumes for the movie and she’s just so lovely in it.
Possession by A.S Byatt has both a love story and a romance and is beautifully written, although as much as I enjoyed the book, I did bog down in some of the very detailed descriptions. The movie is quite good, too.
I love the book and the historical parts of the movie with Ash and Christabel ( I hate the changes they made to Roland’s character for the film.
Just when you think you know all the twists, it pulls one last one out.
“Love story” is a pretty wide net to cast!! Film, TV, book, play, song? I am guessing we are looking at films here. And again, that’s a very wide net. In terms of the famous, biggish budget films, Tom Jones (for humour), Dr Zhivago (for poignancy) and perhaps Love Story (for sheer cheesiness). Or any of the many Elvis films that my sister and I used to go to see when we were 8 and 10. Blue Hawaii or Viva Los Vegas anyone? Probably a film I will always recall was one I first saw in French: Un Homme et Une Femme. Jean-Louis Trintignant was an early crush and Anouk Aimee seemed the epitome of French soignee perfection.
I saw WSS in December when it came out – my first visit to the cinema for quite some time – and I loved it. It’s my favourite musical ever (there are others I love, but that tops them all for the sheer genius of Bernstein’s score, and the sound quality of the new version is so very good, I kept hearing things I don’t think I’ve heard before in the orchestrations. (Sorry – I can geek out about orchestration until the cows come home!)
Casablanca is one of my all-time favourites, and GWTW as well. And dare I say that all the Toy Story movies are (in a different way, of course) love stories? – about childhood and family and growing up – they get me “right there” and make me cry (the third one especially!) every time!
I have to limit myself to couple love stories or else it would basically be a list of ALL my favorite movies. If it isn’t a mystery, I probably only love it if it’s about love. I just rewatched About Time which I ADORE. I love it not for the romance–which is very good–but for the father/son love story which is the best.
I’m not sure I watch many movies that are love stories and/or romances, tbh, so I’m hard pressed to think of any!