Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Brucey D Amidst the enchanting, but faded beauty of Venice, a middle-aged tourist, on the trip of a lifetime, and perhaps conscious of her own fading beauty, starts to live out her dreams of finding love. The reality is of course less than her idea of perfection, and she realises an affair may be doomed from the start, but how does she come to terms with this?.With David Lean at the helm, H.E.Bates helping with the screenplay, and Katharine Hepburn on screen, this was always likely to be a remarkable film, and even with these high expectations one is not disappointed.The way the film is structured is very clever; even early on one sees that the realities and vices of life will intrude on any beautiful fantasy, even in a magical place like Venice. For example, we see a television aerial on a medieval rooftop as the music strikes a discordant note, and we later see rubbish being dumped in the canals; such matters are brought to a head and confronted as the film reaches its climax.Making the film was not easy; the authorities were reluctant to allow filming there at all. Swimming in the canals of Venice is certainly not to be recommended; Hepburn's dunking apparently left her with recurrent conjunctivitis, despite attempts to disinfect the water beforehand.Ultimately the film benefited Venice's tourist trade enormously; visitor numbers began to shoot up immediately after the film's release and have not stopped yet. Near-deserted streets, as seen in the film, may have been rare at the time but are unheard of these days.My only disappointment (and perhaps this is too strong a word, I feel churlish writing it) is that the film is (in TV/DVD form) usually seen in 4:3. Apparently 5:3 was originally intended, and whilst it can be altered easily enough (by losing the top and bottom of the frame) when viewed using modern equipment, it of course comes with a loss of quality. It isn't that the film doesn't look marvellous in 4:3; it most certainly does. But having seen the incredible cinematography that Lean gave us in 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Ryan's Daughter', one can only imagine how it could look on video had the intended aspect ratio been respected during the transfer. My consolation is that it is a different kind of film, and if I had to choose one of these three to be seen in this aspect ratio, it would be this one.The film was criticised for its depiction of extra-marital affairs at the time, and had some scenes cut as a consequence, but what remains is rather beautiful; as fragile and wonderful as a gardenia bloom, love is just as easily lost, just as likely to drift away, just as likely to slip through your fingers, if you are ever lucky enough to find it in the first place.

Rocco Campanaro Hepburn truly shines as the strong-minded, yet stunningly gorgeous and deeply vulnerable middle-class Secretary Jane Hudson in what has been the long-awaited holiday of a lifetime. Hepburn in her sixth Oscar-nominated performance as the strong-minding and "independent" Ms Hudson finally learns why so many have fallen in love in - and with – the most romantic city in the world. Shot and recorded in beautiful Venice, this picture serves more than just a tender love story, it serves as a message for the immense possibilities and pleasures of a journey given that we work hard for it.It was a joy to see Hepburn's talents turn to romantic comedies than the usual unapproachable, cold and stern women we have seen in the pictures like Morning Glory (1933) and The Philadelphia Story (1941). Hepburn's cheeky catching on of the Italian language adds to what really is this special little picture – a touch of class and innocent love in a completely different world.In what appears to be the holiday break from hell, Hepburn's character befriends a charming homeless Italian boy who takes her across Venice to all the sites she wants to see before meeting and falling in love with the equally-as-charming and the terribly handsome Mr de Rossi. de Rossi appears to inject a different side that we typically see the great Katherine Hepburn; an innocent and free-spirited woman who simply just wants to live the memories in what is and has been a terrific holiday. The premise that the two can never be mirrors the impossibilities that were simply impractical given the time of filming, and what we should do now as modern audiences is to relinquish these beliefs and open our minds to a love that can happen between anyone – regardless of color, nationality or anything else.As the credits came in, I thought: "What was actually the climax of this film?" Is the climax when she learns of Mr de Rossi's secret life or the fact that she really has loved Venice? Or is it the train separating them further as de Rossi waves goodbye his American sweetheart. But, really, it doesn't matter - the whole point of the movie is to tell how love can happen in the most peculiar and random of places.All in all, a deeply touching picture that will leave one yearning for such a spontaneous romance to unexpectedly walk into their lives and a picture modern Hollywood should make note of. We certainly don't see movies like this anymore and it's a damn shame.

ginagentry222 No, no, no, no, no. I could NOT watch Katharine Hepburn try to look like anything but the Italian dude's mother! Yes, the scenes of Venice are gorgeous; it made me nostalgic. I even saw the exact same statue I took a picture of when I was there; great to relate that way to a movie. But I'm sorry, Audrey Hepburn, YES. Katherine, not so much. But because I hate to come across like every woman in a movie should be some young nubile thing, let me make this clear: the Italian due was poorly cast. Katharine Hepburn looked like the middle-age schoolteacher. The Italian guy looked like a womanizer; it was hard for me to see him as anything but someone trying to pull one over on our dear Katharine.

pagesrock-880-675775 Good grief, you have to wonder what planet anyone who calls this a love story -- or even a romance -- is living on. Because the middle-aged female protagonist is supposedly a virgin, we are expected to be thrilled that she falls prey to a shameless, predatory liar. "Renato" (Rosanno Brazzi), the owner of an antiques shop, hangs out in the Piazza San Marco looking for solitary women to leer at. He begins his pursuit of "Jane" (Katharine Hepburn) by lying to her about an item she is interested in buying from him, and continues his pursuit of her by lying to her in order to make her think he isn't married (which he is). A particularly nice touch is the scene in which Jane, horrified to discover that her widowed landlady has been sleeping with the husband of a new young acquaintance, is scolded by Renato for being moralistic and overly concerned with others' behavior. Wow. I guess he would say that. (Ya think?) But Jane, sensing that she must learn to appreciate this strange, new way of looking at things, takes his rebuke to heart.When Renato finds himself delayed on the way to their first big date, he sends his courteous, clean-cut son (who is also his shop assistant) to tell her that, scusi signora, the gentleman is going to be just a little late. (Apparently this has happened before; the lad seems perfectly comfortable delivering a message to a woman his father clearly intends to commit adultery with...or maybe his dad told him that he moonlights as a tour guide.) Jane gives the young man a cigarette, and in the course of their brief conversation learns (surprise!) that he is not actually Renato's nephew, and that his mother -- Renato's wife -- is fine, grazie! Now Jane is ANGRY -- even more angry than she was when she discovered Renato's previous lies (which his hypnotic gaze, velvety accent and the sheer magic of Venice caused her to forget in under 3 minutes). Our hero now really has his work cut out for him: how to convince the furious Jane that it just plain doesn't MATTER that he has no problem lying about anything and everything -- including his own flesh and blood -- in order to get a woman into bed. Well, what promises to be an uphill battle turns out to be surprisingly easy. He just harps with renewed eloquence on his favorite theme -- the jist of which is "you know you want me" -- and follows her through the streets until she falls into his arms because she just can't help herself.Sadly, it never occurred to David Lean that in addition to relentlessly filming the outside of beautiful St. Mark's Cathedral, he could actually show his heroine going INSIDE the cathedral to connect with something much better than Mr. Irresistible. But that wouldn't have been "romantic".Because movies were still expected to be at least marginally morally uplifting in those days, Lean did permit Jane to eventually come to her senses (with rather jarring suddenness -- I think he probably was annoyed that he had to end the film on a wholesome note) and get the heck out of Dodge. Smart girl. Dumb movie.