Oh, Yeah – That Guy

Do you know James Hong? Fionnula Flanagan? Surely, you know who Paul Dooley is! No? I bet if you click on their names, you will repeat the title of this post.

They are famous character actors. What would producers, directors and casting agents do without them? Between voice acting and lots of supporting parts in movies and TV shows, these people can rack up hundreds of credits.

There is a mighty fine line between who is thought of as a bona fide star and who might be typecast in supporting roles. Looks, of course, are a factor. An actor might be perfect for that one role that can pigeonhole him perpetually into other very similar roles. Some become identified so strongly with a specific character that it is hard to think of them as anyone else. There are those who become superstars along the way. Many switch back and forth during the course of their career. Look at Brian Dennehy or Ellen Burstyn for example.

Do you need a henchman? Vincent Schiavelli was your guy (RIP).

Need someone to play a scary bible-thumper? Beth Grant is the go-to.

How about someone’s mom? Try Vernee Watson.

Want a multi-talented actor who can be relied on for many types of parts? Here’s Keith David.

Maybe the role calls for a serious woman in charge. Get CCH Pounder.

What about an irresponsible or morally ambiguous schmuck with a secret soft spot? Call on Richard Kind. In fact, call on him for any goofball or if you need a great deadpan voice. He might steal the scene, though.

I have saved my favorite for last. If I became a character actor, I would aspire to play the types of parts that this actress fills – the eccentric woman, perhaps older, perhaps foreign born, definitely played for laughs: Carol Kane.

Just for fun, try to match up their names with their faces!

 

 

-Joelle

12 Creepy Horror Movies to Watch This October

I recently took the 31 Horror Movies in 31 Days challenge (sometimes referred to as Hoop-tober), and while I am sure to fail miserably, so far I have been plugging along. My goal this month has been to seek out horror movies that I haven’t seen before, leading me to finally catch up on older classics like Dead Ringers, The Uninvited, Don’t Look Now, and Prom Night.

This project has also made me realize that I have watched a lot of horror movies since I began working in the Music, Film & Audio Department of our library over four years ago. While I was a casual fan at the time — I have always enjoyed a good scary movie for the same reason I enjoy, say, roller coasters — I can now say that I’ve grown to respect the genre. I’ve written before in defense of horror movies, and also shared a list of haunted house films as well as a list of children’s movies that terrified me while growing up. This year, seeking out previously unwatched horror movies has inspired me to take stock of my favorites from over the years. So here are my top twelve favorite horror films (soon to be revised, and listed chronologically since I’m not sure how to rank them):

Image from: http://cinesthesiac.blogspot.com

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

There is no explicit violence or gore in this film, just a sustained sense of looming paranoia and dread. Young Rosemary Woodhouse moves into an old apartment building with her husband Guy, and soon after becomes pregnant. The apartment building and its eccentric inhabitants make for a claustrophobic and unsettling viewing experience. Guaranteed to give you the creeps!

 

Image from: http://nhpr.org/

Carrie (1976)

For me, the real terror of this movie lies not in its (spoilers) supernatural ending, but in its depiction of the horrors of puberty and adolescent cruelty. And in what could be called a very unhealthy mother-daughter relationship.

 

Image from: imdb.com

Suspiria (1977)

An American dancer travels to Germany to study at a ballet school in the Black Forest where it just so happens horrific murders are being perpetrated. This is a Dario Argento movie, meaning that the plot will not necessarily “hang together” or even make sense, but everything will look absolutely gorgeous and spooky. What makes this movie really stand out though is its killer soundtrack by Pittsburgh’s own Goblin. Warning: there is gore in this movie, although it is all highly stylized.

 

Image from: imdb.com

Halloween (1978)

In my book, still the gold standard by which all slasher films in the horror genre can be measured. Even on a recent re-watch, the film does not come across as campy. It is still legitimately scary, and the John Carpenter composed score is sparse, terrific, and eerie.

 

Greetings from the Monroeville Mall. Image from: movie-locations.com

Dawn of the Dead (1979)

Although I find Night of the Living Dead more creepy, I prefer its 1979 sequel. While Dawn is still scary and violent, it also has a sense of humor. And you come to really care about the characters, which adds a sense of tragedy and existential dread to the whole proceedings.

 

Save the cat, kill the alien. Image from: http://io9.com/

Alien (1979)

I have a pretty loose definition of what constitutes a horror movie — if something frightens me or makes me uncomfortable, I’ll call it horror. And this movie scares the bejesus out of me. I am terrified of outer space (I haven’t seen Gravity, but I’m pretty sure it would make this list), and on top of that, this movie has one scary monster. It also has a strong female protagonist in Ellen Ripley, making it one of my all time favorite movies. Oh, and it also has Jones the cat.

 

Image from: http://evanerichards.com/

The Shining (1980)

I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post growing up under the shadow of the Timberline Lodge (the exterior location for The Shining), and that is probably the reason my parents thought it was a-okay for me and my brothers to be watching this movie as little kids. That and it was the 80s. The location (an empty, isolated hotel in winter) and the beautiful, unsettling visuals are enough to make this a totally great horror movie, even before Jack Nicholson goes crazy or those twin sisters show up.

 

Image from: pinterest.com

The Changeling (1980)

I actually hadn’t seen this film until a couple years ago, but it came highly recommended by almost every horror movie lover in my department at work. It’s a ghost story, and a haunted house story, and features one fantastically creepy attic. Director James Wan has mentioned in interviews that this is one of his favorite horror films, and if you’ve seen Insidious or The Conjuring you may notice that some of their scarier moments were inspired by this film.

 

Image from: mondo-digital.com

The Devil’s Backbone (2001)

Pan’s Labyrinth is often considered director Guillermo Del Toro’s best film, and rightfully so. But if you’re looking for a straight-up ghost story, this is the film that gets the job done. Everything about this film is sad and beautiful and unnerving, from the setting (an orphanage during the Spanish Civil War) to the atmospheric visuals.

 

Image from: imdb.com

28 Days Later (2002)

This is the film that introduced the concept of the “fast zombie.” Things are creepy long before the zombies show up though, as our hero Jim wanders around an abandoned London alone. Like with Dawn of Dead, you come to know and care about the characters in this film, making the threat of violence all the more gut-wrenching. This is also one of the first films to effectively be shot entirely with digital cameras, and it gives 28 Days a gritty 1970s look and feel.

 

Image from: imdb.com

Image from: imdb.com

The Descent (2005)

Those with claustrophobia should steer clear of this film! Things go pretty terribly in this film long before any creepy crawlies show up. A group of women cavers go spelunking in Appalachian country, but little does the group know that their dare devil leader has planned to take them into a system of unmapped, unexplored caves. The group gets lost, and stuck in many tight spaces, and then…did you hear something out there in the dark? If you’re looking to get scared, this is the movie for you.

Bonus Pick:

Image from: http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/

Sleepaway Camp

This movie is not scary, but it is amazingly off-the-charts bonkers. If you’re a fan of 80s films, men in short shorts, Jersey accents, unintentional laughs, and implausible twist endings, then you should give this one a try.

I left off some newer favorites (House of the Devil, The Babadook, and It Follows) since I feel like I need to sit with them for a while before I know where they land on this list — and because making best-of-lists is serious business!

What about you, dear reader? What are your go-to scary movies? What have I missed? Do you have any recommendations?

Happy Haunting,

Tara

Whose Tagline Is It?

Want to play a game? Photo of the original What’s My Line? quiz show, courtesy of Wikipedia.

 

While checking in a movie called Zombeavers the other day I let out a chuckle (against my better judgment) at the movie’s tagline: They’ll Dam You to Hell! While this led me to seriously question both my own judgment and sense of humor, it also led me down the path to thinking about movie taglines. A good tagline, like a good movie trailer or poster, should sum up a movie’s essence without giving too much away. Ideally it is still specific enough that it can’t just be applied to any movie (I’m looking at you Taken. “Time is Running Out” is not an especially intriguing tagline. However, “They Took His Daughter. He’ll Take Their Lives.” is totally acceptable in my book.)

This past week I scanned our shelves here in the Music, Film & Audio Department looking for taglines — the good, the bad, and the puny. For interactive fun, feel free to guess the movies in the comments section below for a little game I’m calling Tag-a-Palooza. Or, click on the tagline for the answer.

1. Reality is a thing of the past.
2. Her life was in their hands. Now her toe is in the mail.
3. A comedy right up your alley.
4. The last man on Earth is not alone.
5. Work sucks.
6. Terror goes into overtime.
7. The thing that won’t die, in the nightmare that won’t end.
8. The night He came home.
9. The coast is toast.
10. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll hurl.
11. A lively comedy about a guy who isn’t.
12. Some lines shouldn’t be crossed.
13. The ultimate bachelor will face the ultimate challenge.
14. The longer you wait, the harder it gets.
15. Don’t get mad. Get everything.
16. He sees dead people…and they annoy him.
17. Even a hitman deserves a second shot!
18. Sometimes your battles choose you.
19. Escape or die frying.
20. The mission is a man.
21. On the air. Unaware.
22. The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is…they’re dead!

Happy Movie Watching,

Tara

PS – Yes, Zombeavers is a real movie that can be checked out from the library!

Director’s Cut: Fatih Akin

A band on the banks of the Bosphurus. Image from Head On: sudeepshukla.wordpress.com

This is the second post in an ongoing series. I plan to blog once a month about a different director whose films are featured in our collection.

I didn’t become aware of the films of Fatih Akin until after spending a month in Berlin a few years back. While his films were readily available here in the United States, they just hadn’t quite landed on my radar. Akin, a German native born to Turkish immigrant parents, often builds his stories around characters of Turkish ancestry living in Germany (or vice-versa in some cases). Since the two countries are not exactly adjacent to each-other, I wasn’t aware how much influence Turkish culture had/has on modern German culture until visiting the country. Afterwards, I felt the need to seek out Akin’s films.

The happy newlyweds. Image from Head On: worldfilm.about.com

The first film of his I saw was Head On (2004), which also happens to be one of his most difficult films. Don’t get me wrong – I love this movie, and recommend it to anyone who I get the sense might enjoy it. It’s not a film I would recommend to everyone though, but if you’re looking for a love story with some rough edges this film is for you (think of it as a Turkish-German Sid & Nancy with a less tragic ending). The film begins with our protagonists, Sibel and Cahit, meeting in a hospital after both have attempted to hurt (possibly kill) themselves. We quickly learn that Sibel is in need of a Turkish husband to appease her strict family, and Cahit agrees to marry her because he is a drunken mess living in squalor and has nothing to lose. They each get something out of this bargain – Sibel finally gets her freedom, and Cahit gets a live-in roommate who will help with rent and keep his apartment clean(ish). Of course, we know that eventually these two crazy kids are probably going to fall in love, but in the end the story takes a turn into far more challenging territory.

For Akin’s next film, he headed into the documentary field with Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005). In some ways it is almost a follow-up to Head On, a film

Image from Crossing the Bridge: http://tinyurl.com/me7owml

Image from Crossing the Bridge: http://tinyurl.com/me7owml

filled with a wide range of music, from angry punk to traditional Turkish wedding interludes. The director solicits his friend Alexander Hacke, the bassist from the industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, to act as guide to the Turkish musical landscape as we check in with genres as diverse as the fast rap of Istanbul, to soulful Romany instrumentals, to haunting Kurdish dirges. This documentary is recommended for anyone with a passing interest in Eastern European music, or really, for music lovers in general.

 
His following film, Edge of Heaven (2007), is probably his most satisfying film to date. It’s a hard movie to describe, but I’ll do my best without giving too much away. The movie takes place in three separate segments that eventually come together. Half of the story takes place in Germany, half in Turkey, with almost all of the

Image from Edge of Heaven: nytimes.com

Image from Edge of Heaven: seismopolite.com

central six characters spending time in both countries while either searching for each other or trying to redeem themselves. Daughters search for their mothers (and vice versa) and one character’s actions will eventually bring everything more-or-less full circle. The film is as much about the characters though as it is about the cultural exchange happening between the two countries. If you have even a passing interest in films from this part of the world, I recommend giving this one a try.

Image from Soul Kitchen: canalplus.pl

Next up Akin went in a totally different direction with Soul Kitchen (2009) a delightfully screwy comedy about a guy and his struggling bar (of the title). The film is full of food, music, dancing, romance, and crazy coincidences. Our hero, Zinos, has just be abandoned by his girlfriend. On top of that his bar is struggling, he’s recently thrown his back out, he desperately needs to find a new chef, and his shady brother has just come to the Soul Kitchen looking for a job after being let out of

Image from Soul Kitchen: flicks.co.nz

jail on “partial parole.” Will it all work out in the end? Of course it will! This film is a lot lighter than Akin’s previous features, but maybe after all those challenging pictures he just felt the need to have a good time, which this film definitely delivers.

I have yet to check out one of the director’s first films In July, but look forward to it in the future, along with anything else he chooses to direct.

What about you, fellow movie watchers, what directors do you like? Do you have any favorite foreign films or directors?

Happy viewing,

Tara

 

 

 

Don’t Go In There!

It’s hard to say why I find horror movies, and haunted house movies in particular, so appealing. It probably has something to do with being frightened, but from the comfort and safety of my couch or theater seat (the credits roll, and I’m reminded that none of this is real). It could also have something to with the house I grew up in, the “original homestead” of my ancestors in Oregon. While I don’t recall it being particularly haunted, it was a shadowy old Victorian house in great disrepair, and years after we moved out I heard rumors that it was the sort of abandoned house that teenagers would dare each other to spend the night in (I will not include a photo here dear readers, because I don’t want it to haunt your dreams). Of course, scary movies might also appeal to me because of my family’s occasional visits to the Timberline Lodge for dining — the Lodge served as the exterior of one of the (imho) most creepy movies ever filmed, The Shining.

Pop Pilgrims The Shining from Timberline Lodge on Vimeo.

Whatever the reason, I like a good, scary haunted house movie. And whether you prefer your haunted house movies to be atmospheric or funny, there’s sure to be something on this list that appeals to everyone:

The Amityville Horror
A couple’s Long Island colonial house on the river’s edge seems perfect–until it isn’t.

Beetlejuice
The non-ghosts are scarier than the ghosts in this film. After a  trendy New York family moves into an old farmhouse, the former tenants (a couple of likable ghosts) contact the afterlife’s bio-exorcist “Beetlejuice” to help them scare the family away. The Danny Elfman score for the film is also killer.

The Changeling
After the death of his wife and child, a composer moves to a secluded mansion, where he attracts the unwilling attention of a possible ghost. An underrated gem, with some scenes that inspired the director of the more recent The Conjuring.

The Conjuring

One of the best haunted house movies to come out in years, this 2013 film focuses on a family terrorized by a dark presence in the secluded farmhouse they just moved into.

The Evil Dead
Five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in the Tennessee woods unwittingly resurrect malevolent demons and spirits.

The Haunting
Adapted from Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, this psychological thriller tells the story of four people who come to a haunted house to study its supernatural phenomena—and may never leave.

House (1977)
After learning that she will be sharing the summer with her father’s new girlfriend, a young girl invites some friends to join her at her aunt’s house instead. With a sick aunt, a bloodthirsty cat, and evil spirits lurking around, the girls find that it might have been better to stay at home. A very weird, crazy film that is half horror, half dark humor.

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Wrong Movie, or the Devil is in the Details

You wanted this one, right?

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of requests for the movie Frozen, which is apparently a Disney animated picture with some princesses and an Oscar-winning song and stuff. And that’s great! When people request things, that makes librarians feel needed. So thank you.

Unfortunately, Disney’s Frozen won’t be out on DVD until March 18th, so our customers have been accidentally requesting some less age-appropriate titles.

No princesses here.

Frozen, 1996: A young performance artist decides to make his own suicide his last work of art. On the longest day of the year, he melts a huge block of ice with his own body heat and dies of hypothermia. He calls this act of defiance an “ice burial.”

Frozen, 2010: A typical day on the slopes turns into a chilling nightmare for three snowboarders when they get stranded on the chairlift before their last run. As the ski patrol switches off the lights, they realize with growing panic that they’ve been left behind, dangling high off the ground with no way down.

That doesn’t look very heartwarming.

The Frozen, 2012: Emma and her boyfriend Mike take an ill-advised winter camping trip and are left to fight for their lives after a snowmobile accident leaves them stranded deep in the mountains. What begins as a struggle for survival against the harsh elements quickly turns into something far more chilling when the couple begins to glimpse a mysterious man who appears to be tracking them through the forest.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen customers confuse titles, though. Many years ago I received a complaint from a person who ordered Air Force One and received a lovely National Geographic special instead of an action-packed Harrison Ford romp.

I just wanted to use this picture on the library blog.

And apparently there’s a movie called Same River Twice (recommended by the Dove foundation) that is absolutely nothing like The Same River Twice (which features naked hippies). Oops.

So remember, before you place that hold – please check the publication date and read the summary first. Or you may end up confusing the heck out of your children.

– Amy

Coming to a Library Near You

Image from the website: http://3rff.com/

My winter stay-cation this year just happened to coincide with this year’s Three Rivers Film Festival, so for the first time since moving to Pittsburgh I’ve gotten a chance to watch a handful of the festival’s offerings. For those unfamiliar with the festival, it has been running for 32 years now and features about 80 films, ranging from experimental to independent to foreign favorites.

Most of these films will eventually be coming to the Film & Audio Department at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main, so here is a sneak peak of a few films from the festival that will eventually be coming to a library near you.

Image from: http://3rff.com/

I was hoping to catch a comedy from the Netherlands called The Deflowering of Eva Van End, but due to technical reasons another film was screened. Luckily, we will be getting that comedy soon as part of our excellent Film Movement collection. The film that I saw instead was called Ilo Ilo, a slice-of-life drama about a family dealing with various stresses during the financial crisis of 1997. We do not own this film yet, but we have plenty of other films that take place in Singapore and surrounding countries.

Image from: http://tribecafilm.com

Broken Circle Breakdown was probably my favorite film of the festival so far, even though it was incredibly difficult to watch at times (I believe I cried on three seperate occasions, so if you decide to check it out be prepared for that). The movie jumps back-and-forth through time to tell the story of the relationship between a sweet & funky Belgium couple, who eventually marry and have a daughter. The couple also play in a bluegrass band together, and the movie is peppered throughout with wonderful country, gospel, and bluegrass standards. It was strange seeing music I so closely associate with the United States being reimagined by a Belgium couple, but all of the songs fit the film perfectly. If you can’t catch this one in the theater but you’re in the mood for a good cry, you can always check out one of these bummer love stories. Or I dare you to listen to this RadioLab podcast without crying by the end.

Image from: http://3rff.com/

I was also lucky enough to catch a sold-out showing of Stephen Frears’ latest film, Philomena. The film is based on the real-life story of Philomena Lee, a retired nurse who goes in search of the son she was forced to give up 50 years ago. She teams up with a cynical ex-BBC reporter and together they bicker and travel to America to track down Lee’s son. This is the kind of movie that the cliché “crowd pleaser” was invented for, and even though I tried, I could not resist its charms. It’s got Judy Dench, it’s got Steve Coogan, and it makes fun of the movie Big Momma’s House—in short, it’s going to win some Oscars. We probably won’t have this film in the library until some time next year, so I would recommend instead checking out a film on a similar topic, or another one of Stephen Frears’ great films.

There are also a couple documentaries I hope to catch before the end of the festival–Braddock, America and Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction—in edition to a special screening from the folks at the Orgone Archives.

How about you? What are you watching, or hoping to watch soon?

Tara

Who’s Your Tough Guy?

Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Have you ever just latched on to a performer, and they never seem to fail you?  Maybe a Springsteen or Stevie Wonder?  I’m that way with films and certain stars –  Robert Mitchum, Humphrey Bogart or Gregory Peck.  They never fail(ed) to entertain and captivate.  The problem is their best work product was more than 40 years ago . . . and all three of them are dead.

So, is there anyone around today who does this for me in contemporary films?  There is, and I even surprised myself when I came to realize it, because on the one hand he is probably well-known to most of you, but not obvious.  He isn’t a B actor, but he’s at his best in a supporting role, unless he’s the lead.  If I’ve piqued your curiosity, it’s the French actor Jean Reno.

Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Reno was born in Casablanca, French Morocco in 1948.  He is equally comfortable working in French, English, Spanish and Italian.  His American credits include Armored with Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne, Couples Retreat with Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman, Flyboys,  Mission: Impossible, and of course the Da Vinci Code as Captain Bezu Fache.  My personal favorite is Ronin where he is superbly cast opposite Robert DiNiro.

I think his best Hollywood film is probably the Professional aka Leon: the Professional.  This film is different than almost all of his other “American” films because it isn’t an ensemble cast, he’s not on a team. Reno plays Leon,  an immigrant to America seeking the American Dream . . . as a hitman for the mob. Mathilde – a young Natalie Portman is Leon’s 12 year old neighbor.  She witnesses the murder of her family after returning home, and saves herself by hiding in Leon’s apartment.  The movie is Leon’s quest to care for, teach, and avenge the death of Mathilde’s family by corrupt cops.

Image courtesy of Internet Movie Database

If you remember Jodie Foster opposite DeNiro in Taxi Driver, you’re not too far off, but while Portman’s Mathilde isn’t a working girl, she brings a sophistication to the screen that Foster doesn’t.  It’s Leon the professional killer and green-thumb who has the humanity in this film and he reaches out to someone who desperately needs him.  You wouldn’t be remiss in watching any of Reno’s dramas, either the Hollywood ones, or his French ones.  He is a champ at portraying the weary “I’ve-seen-too-much” mid level “flic” (French policeman) or the cynical Senior Detective.  I’m not sure why, but the French and French actors can still make Film Noir (Where have you gone Mr. Mitchum,) even in color.

– Richard

Batting 1000!

Today’s Eleventh Stack post is our 1,000th published essay.  That’s 1,000 days of book, music and film recommendations, fun facts about library programs and services, and interesting intellectual detours.  To celebrate, we’ve put together a short booklist of library items with the number 1,000 somewhere in their titles or descriptions.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell  (Don)

1000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Maria)

Music for Lute-Harpsichord by J.S. Bach (including BWV 1000, Fugue in G minor) (Julie)

Where the Birds Are: A Travel Guide to Over 1,000 Parks, Preserves, and Sanctuaries by Robert J. Dolezal (Julie)

One Thousand Nights and Counting: Selected Poems by Glyn Maxwell (Tony)

1,000 Steampunk Creations: Neo-Victorian Fashion, Gear, and Art by Joey Marsocci (Don)

The next one thousand years : the selected poems of Cid Corman by Cid Corman (Don)

The Arabian nights, or, Tales told by Sheherezade during a thousand nights and one night retold by Brian Alderson ; illustrated by Michael Foreman (Joelle)

The best of Mel Blanc [sound recording] : man of 1000 voices. (Joelle)

One Thousand New York Buildings, by Jorg Brockmann (Scott)

1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire and Change Your Life, by Linda Cohen (Leigh Anne)

Patternreview.com: 1,000 Clever Sewing Shortcuts and Tips, by Deepika Prakash (Leigh Anne)

Star Wars: 1,000 Collectibles, by Stephen J. Sansweet (Leigh Anne)

That’s just one tiny sample from a field of nearly 1500 items, so don’t hesitate to browse the catalog for more fun reading, listening, and viewing options. And thanks for reading along with us; we promise to make the next 1,000 posts just as fun, adventurous and enlightening.

the Eleventh Stack blog team

Loads of Lovely Love

I’m a sucker for a good love story, most likely thanks to my parents. Forty years ago this weekend they tied the knot after a long and spirited courtship that nobody really believed would end in marriage, given how independent both parties were (think Beatrice and Benedick). To this day they remain devoted, affectionate sparring partners in the game of life; it’s inspirational, really, the kind of long-term success story about which epic poems and great novels are written. 

I’ve noticed, though, that in fiction and literature so many of the “great” love stories end badly, be it by death, betrayal, or temporal dislocation. That’s not exactly encouraging, now, is it? Luckily, there are also many wonderful novels with happy endings that can reaffirm your faith in true love without going overboard on the treacle factor. Observe.

Possession, A.S. Byatt. This is the best kind of love story, the kind where all the obstacles the characters encounter turn out to be worth it in the end. Getting there is half the fun, however, and there’s quite a lot to get through in this long, literary tale of two sets of lovers:  a pair of Victorian poets and the scholars who study them after their deaths. The passion and angst quotients are high, but that just makes the resolution all the better. Read the book, then pick up the film for date night with your favorite lit crit wit. 

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen. No offense to Colin Firth or the entire Mr. Darcy franchise, but I’ve always preferred this tale of lessons learned and love won (and the presence of Alan Rickman in the film certainly doesn’t hurt). Flighty Marianne Dashwood learns the hard way that a handsome physiognomy doesn’t necessarily house a gentlemanly heart; meanwhile, sister Elinor discovers that while reserve is admirable, it is occasionally possible to keep one’s feelings too much a secret. After much confusion and mayhem, the sisters’ double happiness is secured. Hurray!

Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens. In typical Dickensian fashion, his final novel is jam-packed with enough characters and plotlines to render all but the most careful readers dizzy. These include two romantic storylines in which wealth and social class play pivotal roles. Determined to help her family by marrying for money, proud young Bella Wilfer grows to care for John Harmon, a man she thinks is a pauper. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam, a waterman’s daughter, finds herself embroiled in a love triangle with two gentlemen far above her station, one of whom she loves, but fears she can never hope to marry. Dickens definitely turns on the brooding and despair for this episode of his London chronicles, but brings both romances to tender, satisfying endings that will melt even the most hard-hearted reader.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott. Three out of four March sisters find  romantic happiness against the backdrop of the Civil War and Reconstruction periods (I suppose there has to be a little tragedy to keep a novel interesting, but, still, poor Beth!). Conventional Meg and coquettish Amy are paired off easily enough, but the highlight of the book, for me, is when tomboyish, career-minded Jo manages to pursue her own dreams and find true love, without compromsing on either aspect. A pretty nifty writing feat, that, considering the limited range of acceptable paths for women in Alcott’s era. This is the most sentimental of the lot, so you might want to opt for the most recent film version, and fast-forward through the mushy parts (at least until Gabriel Byrne shows up).

Of course, one of the best love stories ever was the real-life romance and marriage of the Brownings, poets Elizabeth and Robert. An attraction sparked by poetic skill, a disapproving papa, a miraculous recovery from long-term illness, and a dashing elopement are just the beginning of what was definitely a marriage of true minds. You can read all about it in Dared and Done: The Marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, which describes in intimate detail how the couple weathered both the sunny and shadowy elements of their relationship, and helped each other grow as poets and people. 

Scoff if you like, but if life hasn’t beaten faith in true love out of me by now, it probably never will. Do you have a great romance to share, either fictional or biographical? Do you like your love stories sunny or star-crossed? 

Leigh Anne
who is more like Marianne than Elinor, despite her best intentions

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