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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 4427
Released: May 21, 2002 |
| Our Price: $8.48 |
| Used Price: $8.32 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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
Description of 84 Charing Cross Road:
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
84 Charing Cross Road Reviews:
Quiet Beauty 
2009-12-21 - This little film, based on the short book of the same name, is an understated masterpiece of a love story. I've watched it many times, and it will always be one of my favorites.
In the late 1940s Helene Hanff was a poor writer living in a shabby New York apartment. She loved English literature but couldn't find copies of her favorite works anywhere. One day she wrote a letter to Marks and Co, a London antiquarian book store on Charing Cross Road, asking for help. One of the shop's employees, Frank Doel, responded, and a twenty year long friendship ensued.
The movie, like the book, is based on the letters Hanff and Doel (as well as other workers at the bookshop and their families) exchanged. The business relationship quickly turned into a friendly, loving one, and the great charm of the movie is how well it depicts the growth of this love. Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins were naturals for the two starring roles, and the rest of the cast includes some stellar names like Judi Dench.
The movie ends with some sadness because Helene and Frank never meet in this life, though that is tempered by scenes showing Helene's first trip to London and Charing Cross Road. Whenever I watch it I come to the final credits with a warm glow of satisfaction.
One of the best films ever!
2009-12-06 - This is one of my favorite films of all times. A good friend is an avid book reader and she loves rummaging through old book stores for great finds. She had never seen the film, so this DVD made the perfect gift.
Charming
2009-10-18 - This was a surprisingly good movie. Though basically the correspondence between a book lover and a book store's employees it was touching, funny and often heart warming. My wife loved it also. The performances by Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins and Judy Dench, were excellent.
movies to die for
2009-09-17 - this is my favorite movie of all time I watch it over and over and over
Best Movie Ever
2009-08-23 - This is my absolute FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME. I buy copies and give it to friends. If you can get rid of the background noise in your life and sit back in quiet for an hour and watch this you will love it too. I was not a big history lover and for me this was also bringing the war to life.
