Customer Reviews

Love Letter [VHS]

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This wonderful Hallmark Hall of Fame television film was adapted from a short story from the master of time travel novels, Jack Finney ("Time and Again", "Time After Time", "About Time", "From Time to Time", just to name a few). This story by Finney delves once again with time, in that a modern-day young man named Scott (played by Campbell Scott) discovers a letter hidden in a secret compartment of an antique desk that he had just purchased. The letter (as well as the antique desk) belonged to a woman named Elizabeth (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) who (at the time of her writings) is living during the civil war.

Scott becomes so enchanted by the letter that he ends writing to her, and after some obsession, and on a lark, actually decides to mail his response at a post office with historical significance using an authentic-period one-cent stamp. Shortly thereafter, and to his utter astonishment, he discovers a second letter in the hidden compartment. This letter turns out to be her reply to his letter...and thus begins a fascinating relationship of two people falling in love, but separated not by distance, but by 130 some odd years of time.

Although this may seem to be a "You've Got Mail" with a time twist, it is really more similar to "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" and "Somewhere in Time". Believe me, if you liked either one of those films, you'll love "The Love Letter". This fantasy/drama pulls you in and keeps you pleasantly entranced all the way to the end. While this film does suffer a bit from situations handled too simplistically, I'm such a sucker for this type of film that I quickly forgave these missteps.

Both Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh were pretty good in this film, but the standout performance (and the one most believable) was Daphne Ashbrook who played Scott's fiancée.

While this small film may pale in comparison to the typical big budget Hollywood films, it is, nonetheless, a film I think you will be delighted to have in your collection. My main concern, however, is the quality of the dvd. I've had difficulty with dvd's by Artisan Entertainment before, and so I did with this one (blurry on certain scenes and pretty jumpy). If you've had good luck with them (could be my player), by all means go get it (or maybe it might be wise to get the VHS instead). Between 1 and 10, "The Love Letter" (which feels like a breath of fresh air) deserves a solid 8.

This is a great romantic story, thoroughly enjoyable, and is told without swearing or vulgarity. It is truly a family movie and you don't have to worry that it will be offensive to anyone. Although the story line is a bit far out, with a supernatural quality, it is presented so naturally that you actually find yourself believing that it really happened. Some may be uncomfortable with the fact that the story is similar to re-incarnation, but personally I tried not to take that part of it too seriously. This movie is an improvement from the movie "Somewhere in Time" in which the character goes into the past in his mind through hypnosis. There is a "realness" about the way this movie is presented, and I also like that the characters ultimately get together. A great bit of acting on the part of Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh to pull this one off! It has a good message about waiting for someone that makes you "light up like a Christmas tree", someone you can love completely, not just settling for the first person who comes along. I got this movie a few weeks ago and have already watched it 4 times. I certainly would strongly recommend it!!

What a great, great movie! It aired on Hallmark Hall of Fame's Sunday Night at the Movies back in 1998 or 1999, and I loved it!

It is the story of a man in present-day Boston who buys an antique desk. When he searches through this desk, he finds a secret compartment with love letters written by a woman named Elizabeth, who lived in the 1860s Civil War era.

He would answer these letters and mail them at Boston's oldest post office, which just happened to be the only one open during the Civil War. The girl in the past would keep these letters and write responses to them, then put them in her writing desk, in that secret compartment.

It was just the most romantic story I've ever seen, and I've just added it to my wish list with Amazon.

If you want to see a really great movie, buy this one. Make sure you have a couple of BIG boxes of Puffs Tissues beside you while you watch.

In "The Love Letter" a young man buys an antique desk, and in a hidden compartment he finds a woman's Civil War vintage love letters. He's intrigued by them, begins to ponder them, even obsess about them, and he eventually decides to respond to them...buy posting his letters in the oldest post office in Boston (where the story takes place). Miraculously, responses from the woman to his letters appear in the hidden compartment.

A rich relationship develops through time via the desk.

You'll have to watch the movie to see what happens. But I'll say this...I happened upon this movie accidentally one night, and was captivated by it.

The premis is interesting, the acting is good (as is the acting in virtually all Hallmark offerings), and the messages are strong. Those things make this movie, for me, a 5-star offering.

Give this movie a look...you'll be happy you did!

Alan Holyoak

This is a wonderful, wonderful love story that I DO watch over and over again. I let someone borrow it and didn't get it back for 9 months!!! I got it back yesterday and watched it right then. I have the video tape and am now looking to buy it on DVD. Wow, what a movie. So full of life, love and..... just so much... Watch it and you will understand.

Kathy E. Richardson, East TN

The love letter is an amazingly romantic movie based on the story by Jack Finney. The film takes place in two time periods: contemporary Boston and the Boston of the Civil War era. The film is great to experience for its historically accurate scenes, surprising turns of plot, and the magical excitement of an improbable love across time.
The film partly takes place during the Civil War and depends on everything being correct for that period of time. The film doesn't disappoint: the letters that are written by Elizabeth Witcomb are of an antique and formal style that seems so correct to the period. Her writing is not at all like the common English spoken today. The dresses worn by the women were of the large hoop-style that was so common in that time. On the dirt and cobble roads, horses drew all the carriages. There was not a single car. The careful attention to details helps make the movie more exciting.
It may be difficult to imagine that passionate love can exist across the time span of a hundred years. The Love Letter delights in that problem but answers only with an exquisite revelation of nature of true love. The plot constantly surprises even those who have read original story, but you'll need to see that!
This is the kind of film that can be enjoyed by anybody who has been in love or desires the perfect love. It is appropriate for any age. It is inspired and inspiring. We, the students of room L-22 say: "Don't miss this movie!"

OK, I hate using this term, but I will, only because there is not a better one to use: this is definitely a "chick flick."
But I like it, too.
Time travel is a fascinating subject to me and, unfortunately, most male oriented movies on the subject tend to leave me a bit empty (except 'Final Countdown' which is awesome!). 'The Love Letter' is not time travel per se - no one actually travels through time...or do they? The dream sequences seem to tell another story, as does the very end when the dog walker enters the picture.
But, passing letters through time is a unique way of presenting a time travel story. I just wonder why modern day Scott couldn't send his mail in the same way 1860's Elizabeth does - through the secret compartment in the desk.
Accuracy must have been a priority for the director and producer in portraying the scenes from the past, as the language, the clothing, and the sets are among the best I have seen and heard and would put them against most period flicks. Even the short Battle of Gettysburg sequence was done very well.
There are a number of twists and turns throughout this movie to warrant repeated viewings - I'm on my third and I seem to catch something new each time. I think my very favorite 'twist' is near the end of the film, during the 'trunk' scene. The look on the caretaker's face upon looking inside is priceless.
The other part that particularly strikes me is when Scott (in the modern day) has a publisher friend read an 1860's poetry verse that Elizabeth wrote, and the friend laughingly knocks it as being archaic, which angers Scott. Although not presented as such, to me that's part of the problem with today's society: it's that to be successful in today's jaded times one must be sexually explicit and/or violent. True passionate expression is a lost art.
I do not care for the fact that Scott actually leaves his fiance for the 1860's 'ghost.' There is no reason for him to leave her; she is a very likable person. It almost makes Scott seem like a heel.
But, of course, the way the movie ends, the breakup had to happen to complete the final twist.
Women will love this movie. And guys?...well...there are a few of us that like movies like this, as well as the Gettysburg/Braveheart variety. If nothing else, your wife, girlfriend, significant feminine other will appreciate you watching it with them.
You might just like it.

This is another love across time classic in the vein of The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Portrait of Jennie, Somewhere in Time and last and certainly not least Dark Shadows. I mention Dark Shadows specifically because this film was directed by Dan Curtis who was the creator of Dark Shadows. He is a director who understands how compelling and how romantic lovers separated by the distance of yesterday and tomorrow can be for emotional storytelling. As much as this was a Jack Finney story it is classically a Dan Curtis story as well. All the true themes of Dark Shadows are in this movie. The importance of true love, the pain of its unfulfillment, the artifacts that bridge the gap between the lovers, the themes of reincarnation and how people sense their connections when they meet. When Elizabeth meets the man who Scotty had been in a past life, they seem to sense that connection. In true Dan Curtis style loves from the past always look like the people they will be in the future so it was a nice touch when she finally sees Scotty's photo and recognises her soldier. Or when Scotty meets the girl who looks like Elizabeth at the cemetery.

It is also quite appealing to see how not just Elizabeth and Scotty's desk bring them together but the house in which Elizabeth lived in was itself a place where the veil of the past and present was very thin.

What really helped the story was the reaction of Scotty's 20th Century fiancee to discovering she had lost him to a woman of the 1860's. And to be there and hear the letter pop into the desk and pull it out and see the shock on her face. It's more than her conventional mind can handle and she is the most tragic figure of all.

Other classic Dan Curtis touches: the music was by Robert Cobert who did the music for Dark Shadows. It had both the light airy quality and the dramatic sense of the past his music had been for that fabled tv show. I'm not sure how to describe it exactly, but there's a certain look to Curtis's films. I felt like if Scotty had wanted to, he could have driven to Collinsport, Maine and looked up the Collins family. A conversation between Barnabas Collins and Scotty about the nature of love and time would have been quite interesting. Well, to me at least.

When I was first taping this movie on CBS, five people called me to make sure I was watching it. Recently, I bought a replacement copy from Amazon which I recieved today.

There are romance movies that are fun, and others that haunt you. This is one of the few romance movies I have ever seen that
does just that.
Jennifer Jason Leigh who plays Elizabeth Whitcomb is stunning and makes the movie the work of art that it is.
It starts out with Scotty (Campbell Scot) purchasing an antique desk at a local shop.
He goes into the antique shop so his fiancee can look at a wedding dress that catches her eye, for their upcoming wedding.
He gets the desk home and finds a secret compartment with a letter that she has written to an unknown love. He also finds ink and additional envelopes along with some stationary that is enscribed with her name. As a joke he writes a letter and sends a reply to the woman. Much to his surprise he finds a reply from her the following day. Before long he is writing Elizabeth, despite the diffence in time. The letter that she sent in fact is meant for him, as he learns later. They have no chance of ever meeting. As they are writing, she is sending her poetry as well. As he reads the letters and poetry he finds himself (although engaged) falling in love with Elizabeth. As he tries to shake the correspondance off, he finds his love for her is genuine.
If you have ever seen "Somewhere in Time" this movie will haunt you in a similar way.
As in "Somewhere in Time if you can get past the flaws in the time links or time travel, you will find a movie that will grab you. Once this movie grabs you it wont let you go.
This is about love from two people but the love defies time.
This is not strictly a "chick flick". Men who enjoy romance movies will enjoy this also. Jennfer Jason Leigh plays her part to perfection in a time when life was more simple and values were different than today. The desk in many ways symbolizes a time that is now past.
The ending is very good and will probably make you cry.
My advice to you is watch this with your spouse or that special friend. This is the kind of romance that you rarely see and would love to see more often. This movie is wholesome and has no nudity or profanity. It is a movie the entire family can enjoy.
I can assure you that you will watch it many times
I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Sit back and enjoy. You dont see these too often.

The Love Letter is a wonderful family movie. While the plot is a little strange, letters from the 1990s travel to the 1860s. AFter a few minutes of watching, it doesn't matter, you get enmeshed in the personalities of the two prime charecters.

What made this all the more compelling for me was that I have a hobby of collecting military medals. I then try to research the person who was awarded the medal. I many times find myself wondering what it was like during the time in question; Egypt in the 1880s, the Crimea, The North Atlantic in 1943. While there are books describing these times, I would certainly like to sit down in a coffeeshop and talk to these men and their families. This movie hit a chord with me that makes me want to add this movie to my collection.

A fine movie and excellent cast. This film should be in every familiy's library.