26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
At The Dawn Of The Age of Aquarius, January 13, 2009
Released at the dawn of the Hippie movement this film had a lot to say to kids of my generation. It espouses the then radical ideas of personal freedom, women's rights, new ways of seeking spirituality and sexuality. In other words, if viewed in the historical context of when it was made it is much better than it seams. Sure Burton walks through his part, Eva Marie Saint's talents are wasted, and Bronson is not much more than eye candy. But in Taylor's performance you see her commitment to her roll as a free spirited artist. A character she herself could relate to since she herself was a sexual rebel, and an independent woman in a time when that was rare.
Someone who had and would continue to show she was not afraid to stand her ground against popular moral opinion. "to know myself, be myself" as Laura says and both Laura and Taylor achieve that goal in the end. In many ways Laura is very like Miss Taylor or so it seems and this character must spoken to her in some deeper way. Her Laura also spoke to many of us just coming of age in 1965 in ways that were eye opening. On this level the film as a social historical significance. The biggest star in Hollywood was promoting a new way of thinking and living and the kids were listening. A movement was being born. You might even say Miss Taylor was the mother of the sexual revolution.
On an entertainment level it is pure Hollywood soap opera set amid incredible settings. It's all silly romantic fun that by the end is actually touching. Beautifully photographed and with a lush jazz score by Johnny Mandel it is a visual and auditory feast.
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33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Campy and unintentionally funny, April 19, 2004
Ah, Big Sur in 1965... the world's two biggest stars descend upon this gorgeous town in California to film this travesty of a movie. But wait... There are redeeming features to this campy, excessively poorly-acted soap opera. There is Elizabeth Taylor at the age of 33, looking more gorgeous than in any film except "A Place in the Sun." She is overweight ("zaftig," as she preferred to be called), barefoot and dressed in frumpy caftans throughout this film, but who cares? Liz is still breathtakingly beautiful here. Richard Burton also never looked better. At 39, his pockmarked, booze-soaked face seems fit, tan and marvelously sexy. He overacts miserably and shouts lines which should be whispered, but when you look as good as Burton did in 1965, few would complain.
The actual plot of the movie is interesting: Burton is a minister who meets Taylor, an artsy Bohemian painter who sells her work once every Leap Year. One wonders how this starving artist can afford a multi-million dollar pad perched on the shore of Big Sur? Burton mightily struggles with guilt and wants to remain loyal to long-suffering wife, Eva Marie Saint (who is totaly wasted in this role), but of course he eventually succumbs and embarks on a passionate affair with Liz.
Predictably, there are oodles of love scenes between Burton and Taylor; they kiss reclining on the floor, the beach, standing in restuarants and carparks, in bed... in the surf... you name it. All titilating to the audiences of 1965, who followed the couple's every movement. Charles Bronson shows up as a beatnick and gives the only sane performance in the film. The script is wretched and offers up some incredibly campy moments, such as when Liz shouts wearily, "Men have been following me around since I was 11 years old!" Another hilarious scene has Burton stumbling from Liz's beachside mansion after kissing her and then beating the roof of his car with his fists, screaming, "I must not succumb to temptation!!"
The scenery around Highway 1 is spectacular, the "Shadow of Your Smile" remains a compelling soundtrack theme, but the real reason to enjoy this movie is to see Taylor and Burton in their only decent love story. Their chemistry is real and never forced and neither ever again was as beautiful as they were in this campy movie. Watch it and own it if you are memmerized by their debauchery and mutual beauty. Several scenes will have you in stiches, guaranteed!
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The love story of the century!, March 11, 1999
By A Customer
This movie has stayed in my memory since the first and only time I saw it, as the best love story that I have ever seen
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