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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece not always recognized, October 3, 2001
LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN remains one of those cinematic masterpieces that has never gotten its rightful due. In Europe, it has been listed, in various cinema circles, as one of the 10 Best of Films. But, here, it has been unjustly ignored, perhaps due to its initial lukewarm public and even critical response. The superb Max Ophuls has directed a mood piece of substance, one that captures its milieu and time period with perfection. Joan Fontaine, who, at her best, was one of the best of American film actresses, here is remarkable, always capturing the changing character tones of a young woman growing into a lovesick woman. Louis Jourdan is impeccable as well.... the rogue, the handsome and dashing man who favors his romantic interludes over his composing acuumen. Everything is right in this film, and its black-and-white photography is expertly reproduced in the VHS version. Music and supporting players (including Mady Christians) add to the piece's effectiveness. It is a treasure of a film, a romantic work that eschews the pitfalls that make some moviegoers avoid love stories. Excellence is paramount.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A tragic, beautifully told story, March 17, 2007
This is, without question,one of the best films of the 1940's. Though not as well-known among the general public today as some other romantic movies of that time, which was the heyday of what were called 'women's pictures', this intensely romantic, highly moving story will not to fail to touch even the most cynical viewer. Told in the form of narration by means of a letter written to a composer by his most ardent fan of a love he can't even remember, there is not one sappy moment in the entire film. There is a lushness of tone, attention to detail, and carefully modulated depth of feeling that doesen't manipulate the emotions, but combines to create a true sense of the pain being felt by a lovely, forgotten woman. Director Max Ophuls is working at the height of his powers and this is certainly on the scale of his European masterpiece, "The Earrings of Madame de", though completely different in tone. Very sad, highly recommended, and not to be missed by anyone who appreciates quality cinema.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best romantic movie of all time, June 21, 2000
Not the usual tearjeaker of the fourties (see how far from, say, Mildred Pierce, this is). Not the usual women's picture. A deep study of "amour fou" in a very stylish, elegant high melodrama wisely directed by Max Ophuls. That Screen MASTER (with capitals) knew how to confer the film a tasteful sense of the turn-of-century romantic european atmosphere. But its assets are not only limited to screenplay and art direction. Two rather histrionically limited players (Fontaine and Jourdan, who else could be?) are fully potentiated to give their best of their usual screen image. All the traits of the Fontaine's charachter (shyness, demureness) are fully used in this hopeless (as all crazy loves) story of a woman who has her meaning of life in her love for a pianist who ignores her. She is poignant and strangely believable in her longlife obsession. The charms of Jourdan have never been better used than in that film (though he repeated it with much less success in Mme. Bovary). The third player -Vienna-, though just reproduced in stage, acquires a full dimension and integrates completely well into the movie. We can FEEL the city as we have never felt before. A sensible and truly romantic movie for all time.
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