Customer Reviews

HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT with Charles Boyer (Ahistoria Comecou a Noite) (High Quality Import Edition-NTSC format-Region 1-Playable in North America)

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4 star:		(1)
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I beg to differ (smile) This is by far the most perfect copy of "HISTORY" that I have ever seen. I've loved this film since I first saw it 40 years ago, and recorded it when I got my first VHS machine, and then bought the first VHS tape when it was released. Believe me, I know a lousy print when I see it. More snaps, crackles and pops than a box of rice crispies. This one is exquisite.

HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT is a lovely romance,from a time when young women went to work and dreamed of marrying Prince Charming. More often than not, those Cinderella dreams turned sour. Irene Vail married HER Prince, and ended up with a jealous sadist.

I won't tell you any more, except that all four leads play their parts to perfection. Arthur is luminous as the ex-mannequin whose gems and sables give her no peace, and Boyer is suave and gentle as her "Hero of the Night".

Leo Carrillo is a wonderful comedic foil for Boyer, filled with jokes and a spot-on Italian accent, and Colin Clive does what he does best...combining malevolence with a reptillian charm that makes it clear why Irene was attracted in the first place.

This movie is a real treasure, and I'm thrilled to see it in such a fine transfer.
Thank You
Js

Though it is almost forgotten today, History is Made at Night is one of the most beautiful and romantic films ever to grace a movie screen. Not made by one of the major studios and released through United Artists in 1937, this gemstone has a fine screenplay from Gene Towne and Graham Baker, and some lovely words of dialog from Vincent Lawrence and David Hertz. A young and luminous Jean Arthur and the continental Charles Boyer utter those words in tremendously engaging performances. Director Frank Borzage, responsible for some of the loveliest films from both the silent and sound era, and perhaps the greatest romanticist the medium has ever produced, helms this one, charting a coarse to tender romance. It is a story of two people who try to cram a lifetime of memories into one night, and then one moment, when tragedy looms on the horizon in the form of an iceberg.

Jean Arthur is Irene Vail, the wife of a cold and unhappy shipping magnate who is holding on tight, his jealousy finally driving her to divorce. Colin Clive portrays her bitter and obsessed husband Bruce, who hatches a plan in Paris to catch her in a compromising position before the divorce decree can become final. But Bruce's plan goes awry and their history will never be the same. Charles Boyer is Paul Dumond, headwaiter at Chateau Bleu, and Leo Carillo is his very funny chef pal, Cesare. Paul charades as a jewel thief to rescue Irene and whisks her away in the moonlight in one of many great scenes in a film filled with memorable ones. Unaware Paul is only a waiter at Chateau Bleu, she and Paul spend a charming and poignant night falling in love. Carillo is warm and funny as Paul's pal for life who watches the silly American girl from Kansas discover a happiness she has never known. Seeking to protect Paul from a murder charge concocted by Bruce, Irene sacrifices her own happiness to keep Paul safe.

The friendship of Paul and Cesare adds a charming humor to the story. They scheme to open a restaurant in New York and hold a table for her, hoping Irene will show. But when she does, she is not alone. Genuine love overcomes misunderstanding regarding his lowly position in life but a dark cloud hangs over their happiness as an innocent man is set for a date with the gallows. Booking passage on her husband's newest ocean liner, the S.S. Irene, they head towards France to make things right. As the two lovers head towards their destiny, Bruce fumes to discover the French papers are sympathetic to Irene's sacrifice and Paul's gallantry and dangerously orders the captain to break the transatlantic record in a deep fog and cold water, bringing about a tragedy reminiscent of the Titanic's fate. Borzage stages both the tragedy and the desperate plight of the lovers with tension and emotion. To say more would ruin the film's ending. It is beautiful and poignant, like the film itself. Perhaps no other director of his time could have pulled all the elements of this story together so well.

Jean Arthur is wonderful as the woman clinging to a happiness she has never known and Boyer had one of his finest moments in American film portraying the affable and charming Paul. Borzage sets a very special mood for this touching story of a love that sails with no wind and a full moon. Not just a great romantic film, but one of the great films period, History is Made at Night is a forgotten film from a forgotten director, and both deserve to be remembered. All those who love romance will certainly never forget either once they see this most beautiful of films for the first time.

This Brazilian import is a fine DVD. Picture is good, although not pristine; there are some dropouts, etc. Sound is also good. Although the print has not been restored, this is a fine print that should meet with satisfaction. There are no extras on the DVD. Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur work nicely together.

I love this film. It has everything that a good film needs. A very handsome hero, a most attractive heroine, a villain so nasty that he made my skin crawl everytime he tried to touch his wife and a wonderful comic performance by Leo Carillo as the best friend of Charles Boyer`s character of Head Waiter. Leo Carrillo is a top Chef in Paris. He is incredibly vain but a loyal and great friend. He mangles the English language and is very good light relief as the story unfolds.

There is drama, romance, a murder, humour and a titanic finish. The love scenes are so tender and intense, that it was thought that the same thing must have been happening off screen, but the biographies of both Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur say it wasn`t so.

Both Jean Arthur and Charles Boyer with their distinctive voices were at the top of their skills when this film was made and what a pleasure it is for us to sit back now and watch such great experts at their very best.