Customer Reviews

Great Kisses: ...and Famous Lines Right Out of the Movies

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I say LITTLE book because it is just that - LITTLE: the book measures 7.25 inches by 7.25 inches; which in my opinion is a little too small for a coffee table book and too nice to keep in the bathroom. While there is a wonderful selection of kisses; both classic and contemporary, the quality of the images in the book are ghastly - even my computers printer could do a better job at half the dpi quality it is capable of! The quality of the photos doesn't do justice to the passionate embraces of the moments. In addition to the size of the book, the image quality really reduced/ shot down my expectations of *my* "favorite moment in a film nostalgia" and overall became a really big huge let down. The quality of the images of Hollywood Kisses are far better and those are NOTE CARDS! :(


ABOUT THE BOOK:
This is a hardcover book with a nice dust jacket and it is still in it's first edition. It will definitely look incredibly cheap when it goes to paperback like Drama Queens: Wild Women of the Silver Screen. If you want this title, my advice is to buy this book while it is still in hard cover. It's not very expensive and if it goes out of print in hard cover- find an amazon seller that has it in great condition and pay the extra $5-10 to get it in hard cover. The book will make a better impression in hard cover and I don't say this as a book snob, I say it because of the low quality of the images inside. The book is nicely bound and with a really nice dust jacket which added to the stars - without those features I wouldn't have given the book (as a paperback) more than 3 stars.

INSIDE THE BOOK:
The book contains Fifty Images and and index of all kisses in case you want to skip ahead. I really liked that there was an index so that I knew what I was getting - that won the book an extra star.

Each image of the fifty images; I will use for example, "Notorious", has two pages dedicated to it.
The first page is a poorly reproduced 5.75 inch lip lock.

The second page includes two more photos each of the leading man and lady engaged in the lip lock: both measuring 2.25 length and 1.25 height
with the names of the character and the actor portraying them printed underneath. In this case: Cary Grant as Devlin and Ingrid Bergman as Alicia

On the Second page there is also a synopsis of the scene;
"Normally the epitome of unflappable cool, government agent T.R. Devlin can no longer mask his growing attraction to boozy conscience-plagued party girl Alicia Huberman. Drafted by Devlin to infiltrate a neo-Nazi enclave in Rio de Janeiro, Alicia willingly risks her life to redeem her misspent youth--and atone for her father's war crimes. The top secret governemt mission briefly forgotten, Devlin relaxes his guard just enough to lose himself ina sizzling encounter with the woman he secretly loves."

Followed by the dialogue in which the embrace happens:

Alicia: "This is a very strange love affair."

Devlin: "Why?" (She kisses him)

Alicia: "Maybe the fact that you don't love me"

Devlin: (kissing her) "When I don't love you, I'll let you know."

Alicia: "You haven't said anything."

Devlin: "Actions speak louder than words."
---------------

That is it. Each kiss is accompanied the same way. It's basically fluff - nice nostalgic fluff, but it could have been so much more. I'm not sorry I bought the book because there is the beautiful nostalgia that each scene brings from some of my favorite films. Though many left in I think usurped films that were omitted like another reviewer mentioned, "The English Patient". "Two For The Road" vs. "The English Patient"? Two For the Road when we already have a much more romantic Audrey Hepburn film/kiss with Roman Holiday already in the book???? and Two for the Road was a couple arguing through out an entire picture with flashbacks on their marriage. :0 I know a lot of people like Two For The Road but for me it was like pulling teeth. Well maybe not so much like pulling teeth (because I love Audrey in anything) - but I'd certainly much rather watch The English Patient and I don't watch many contemporary films at all. Gotta love the English Patient!!!
ENGLISH PATIENT FOR THE WIN! Ok, I'm done with that rant now. It's just that the book could have been so much BETTER! Better image quality photos - more information..

For example the author, Timothy Knight, could have included movie trivia with each kiss - for Notorious he could have said how the kissing scene was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock all in one shot and was almost banned by the censors. (source: The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code)

For "To Have and Have Not (1944)": Bogie reportedly said to Bacall, "I just saw your test. We'll have a lot of fun together". Their physical and emotional rapport was very strong from the start, and the age difference and different acting experience also created the additional dimension of a mentor-student relationship. Quite contrary to the Hollywood norm, it was his first affair with a leading lady. Bogart was still miserably married and his early meetings with Bacall were discreet and brief, their separations bridged by ardent love letters. The relationship made it much easier for the newcomer to make her first film, and Bogart did his best to put her at ease by joking with her and quietly coaching her. He let her steal scenes and even encouraged it. Later Lauren Bacall gave birth to Stephen Humphrey Bogart on January 6, 1949. Stephen was named after Bogart's character's nickname to Bacall in "To Have and Have Not", making Bogart a father at 49. (source wikipedia & Bacall's autobiography: By Myself and Then Some)

For "The Big Sleep": Just months after wrapping "To Have and Have Not", Bogart and Bacall were re-united for their second movie together, "The Big Sleep", which would become a film noir masterpiece. Bogart was still torn between his new love and his sense of duty to his marriage. The mood on the set was tense, the actors both emotionally exhausted as Bogart tried to find a way out of his dilemma. Divorce proceedings were initiated by February 1945. Bogart and Bacall then married in a small ceremony at the country home of Bogart's close friend, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield at Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio on May 21, 1945. (source: wikipedia & Bacall's autobiography)

For A Place In the Sun: (SPOILER ALERTS)
(1) Based upon the true story of Chester Gillette, who murdered his pregnant girlfriend in 1906. He was tried, convicted and executed in 1908. The ghost of the actual victim, Grace Brown, is said to haunt the house where she lived in upstate New York.

(2) Unclear whether this is foreshadowing, an inside joke (unlikely in view of somber tone) or just an odd choice of words, but early in film Alice tells George Eastman "When you're an Eastman, you not in the same boat as anyone." Later in movie, he takes her out on a boat with the intention of drowning her. (He decides he can't but she falls out and he refuses to save her.)

(3) Montgomery Clift readied himself for his climactic sequence by spending a night locked in the San Quentin Penitentiary death house.

(source internet movie database)
(4) Elizabeth Taylor and Clift worked together on more than just A Place in the Sun, other films include Raintree County (DVD) Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift - BY GOLDEN CLASSIC COLLECTIBLES and Suddenly, Last Summer. The two remained best friends, as Clift's deepest commitments were emotional rather than sexual, and reserved for old friends; both were unflinchingly loyal to each other until his untimely death at the age of only 45 in July 1966.


ABOUT MY PURCHASE:
Personally, I purchased this book in order to scan the images and re-print them to hang in my home (not for sale or profit). It's nearly impossible to find a still of the kiss of Lauren Bacall's hair over Humphrey Bogart's face from "To Have and Have Not", likewise the kiss from "Roman Holiday", "Notorious", and the passionate embrace from "A Place in the Sun" (where Elizabeth is on the left and Clift is on the right- like on the cover of this book) - which are all conveniently bundled up in this book. I thought, "HURRAY!" finally I can have my dream decor: (3) horizontal 6 slot 5x7 matted frame set (all in one frame) over my tv with 18 of my favorite classic kisses, ranging from Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh, Myrna Loy & Powell (as the Thin Man), Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck in my favorite Preston Sturgess film: The Lady Eve, Kim Novak & Stewart in Vertigo (*sigh*)- to one of the best kisses ever Clark Gable & Mary Astor in Red Dust (from the Hollywood Kisses Note Card set). With 50 kisses to choose from (I'd decided to re-print everything black and white) and the note card set I'd have so many kisses it would be hard to choose from! YAY! Obviously I am a classic movie maniac.

My designs were foiled by really badly, cheaply reproduced images with NO bibliography or reference / photo credits to give me a lead to try to get to the source material of the pictures (I've tried contacting the studios of the films with no luck at all). I've scoured the inner and outer reaches of Ebay with no luck. I was willing to buy two copies of this book and cut out the pages, if necessary, to make my collage - but the images are really THAT POOR. You can go to the Harper Collins website to view inside the book. On Amazon there aren't many images to see. Be warned - on the Harper Collins website the images look much better than they do in print; still this gives you an idea if this is the kind of book *YOU* are looking for. Go to their site and just search for "Great Kisses".

Still, I do admit that this book does makes a nice romantic Valentines Day or Anniversary gift for a girlfriend or wife (or for your parents: your mom on her wedding anniversary); and especially for people who really enjoy classic films. My s/o and I frequent a classic movie house in Palo Alto, California - The Stanford Theatre and if I had received this from him I would have thought it to be very sweet and covered him with kisses. Buying it MYSELF I had expectations that were not fulfilled because I wasn't buying myself a *romantic* present. :P

So if you are buying the book trying to get source material (the images) for a home collage or a school presentation - search elsewhere. I wish I had an alternative to provide you with - I've ordered TCM's Leading Couples (Turner Classic Movies) but it hasn't yet arrived so I cannot guarantee the quality of the images - I will edit my review when the book arrives.

In the meantime you can go to the chronicle books website and search for "Leading Couples" to see inside the book (you cannot see as much on Amazon). Not all the photos are kissing photos if that is what you are looking for but there is much more information on the duos. The book is richly described on the Chronicle Books website as: "Leading Couples -- William Powell and Myrna Loy. Bogart and Bacall. Tracy and Hepburn. These on-screen (and sometimes off-screen) couples defined romantic chemistry and the art of falling in love. From Turner Classic Movies, Leading Couples features the most unforgettable screen pairings of the studio era, including actors and actresses with many film courtships and those who made their indelible mark in a single, memorable movie. Engaging and thoroughly researched, each profile includes trivia, behind-the-scenes stories, biographical overviews, and memorable quotes, illustrated by rare stills and poster art."

From what I've seen and from what I've been told about Leading Couples (Turner Classic Movies) it is a great book. Perhaps the two of these books together would make up for eachother's faults, especially for the DETAIL orientated.

For framing don't forget that the Hollywood Kisses Notecards are great! There are 20 note cards with 5 scenes in all (all B&W and suitable for framing): (for framing) 2 vertical measuring L: 6inches W: 4.7 inches|& 3 Horizontal measuring W: 6" H 4.7" inches picture # 1 vertical: Astor & Gable in Red Dust (1932). #2 vertical: Mickey Rooney & Lana Turner from Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). (The rest are Horizontal) #3 The Kiss (1929) Greta Garbo & Lew Ayres, #4 Flesh and the Devil (1926) Greta Garbo & John Gilbert #5 An American in Paris (1951) Gene Kelly & Leslie Caron.

This is a the type of fun pithy book that makes you realize most tomes on cinema take themselves way too sriously. Fun gift, and perfect romatic reminder for the cinema-phile. Would have loved a bit more "diversity kisses" but oh well, this romp is meant more for light hearted quizing than for encyclopedia musings.

This is about the cutest little thing I've ever seen. Smooches from the classic films to today's blockbusters. Great gift.

This is the type of trivial albeit graphically pleasing small-coffee-table book that you would find in someone's guest bathroom next to their bowl of potpourri sachet. Film historian and Reel.com DVD critic Timothy Knight has compiled fifty photos, each from a well-known film featuring a classic clench and screen smooch. With each photo, he gives a brief synopsis of the context for the highlighted scene followed by the verbatim dialogue that precedes the magical moment of romantic combustion. Winnowing the book down to fifty lip-locks was not an easy task since Knight takes pains to say they each need to embody a certain "romantic serendipity" to be included. I think his aspiration may have been to present a printed version of the type of swoon-worthy montage presented at the end of Cinema Paradiso.

Some choices are inevitable, iconic and inarguable - Ilsa and Rick always having Paris in Casablanca, Rhett taming Scarlett in Gone with the Wind, the wave-crashing orgasma of From Here to Eternity, the rain-soaked ending of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Some have not gained the same stature but are worthy additions, such as the front porch finale in Alice Adams and the forbidden love in All That Heaven Allows. Some are surprising to find here, such as the unexpected moments of sensitivity in The Quiet Man and Rocky. Others are a bit head-scratching for my taste, while others seem sadly missing like the classic departing train that threatens to separate the lovers in Love in the Afternoon. But it's all in good fun, and Knight displays a cinemaphile's knack for identifying the defining smooches in our collective consciousness.

Film critic Timothy Knight has fashioned together a lovely collection of some of the most unforgettable smooches exchanged on celluloid. From witty descriptions to perfectly chosen pictures, it's a romantic/Cinephile's dream come true... but only if you can get past the fact that it does NOT include one of the most beautiful, famous and groundbreaking kisses in cinematic history- I am of course referring to...

Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist's (Jake Gyllenhaal) passionate, unforgettable reunion kiss from BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN!

Now, I'm well aware one shouldn't expect to find all their favorites included (I was miffed to find "Leaving Las Vegas" and "The English Patient" absent as well). But it just feels wrong for something as moving and historically relevant as the kiss from "Brokeback Mountain" to be excluded from an otherwise lovely collection. It's to bad too, because had it been included, I'd have bought multiple copies for both myself and cinema crazed friends. Shame on you Mr. Knight.