It's Love month and this week, for Thursday Movie Picks, it is about Movies with memorable Declarations/Confessions of Love. Head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what the others have chosen. This one was tough for me because there are some great Douglas Sirk films but it has been a long time since I have seen them or I haven't seen them yet. I have this image of a silent film star running towards the man she loves but I have only seen clips of that film (I think it is Colleen Moore). I also know the scene of John Cusack holding up a ghetto blaster...I have no desire to see that film. Anyhoo, here are my picks and I hope they fit the bill.
1. WUTHERING HEIGHTS-1939
There are many versions of this famous novel and some better than this one (Ralph Fiennes did a fine job as Heathcliffe) but this one still makes me swoon. OK I don't swoon, but I still think this is one moody piece on the moors. Olivier plays Heathcliffe to Merle Oberon's Cathy and they make a nice romantic duo who grow up together in the household of her loving father after he saves Heathcliffe from the streets. They do have one messed up love thing going with Cathy marrying one of the rich Linton's and Heathcliffe leaving to become rich and gentlemanly in his style but he still can be a bad boy. Everything is brought to a head when she is seriously ill and only calls for Heathcliffe and Heathcliffe, wrought with guilt, goes to her side where they declare their love. This film does not show the 2nd half of the book but it is still quite the romance film (even though the 2 leads disliked each other).
2. EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-1980
Is this film really from 1980? Wow! When I saw this poster I knew I had to see it because I really wanted Han Solo and Princess Leia to be a couple-I was only 16 you know so this was all about the romance. No it wasn't...I am not that dreamy and icky-I loved the opening scene when those bad guys in elephant looking tank thingys are coming to crush the resistance. They escape-Luke to meet Yoda and Han and Leia(with Chewie) in his space junk trying not to be eaten by a worm. It is a dark ending but when Han is ready to be freeze-dried and Leia says "I Love You", my heart did do a flutter...until he said "I know." What is it with women loving these moody bad boys?
3. LOVE, ACTUALLY-2003
You know this will be popular today because there is so much about love in this film. They show all these different types of love in this film and they are all connected in some way and it is brilliantly done as well as written. Most will speak about the Keira Knightly's character newly and happily married wondering why her husband's best friend is so aloof. My favourite is Colin Firth who leaves to write his novel, after he has caught his wife and brother doing the shake and bake. He hires a young woman to help him out while he is writing and, even though neither can speak the other's language, they slowly fall in love. When he finally goes back to her hometown to tell her he loves her, the entire village is swept up. I love that and I love Colin Firth-hubba hubba
Which film can you think of that meets a declaration of Love?
The first hit me like a bomb .... I watched it in school, part of an English Lit lesson. Oooh I still remember our collective excitement when the teacher wheeled in the TV. The Empire gave me the biggest crush ever on Hans Solo.... took me a while to get over that. :) Hubby didn't take much convincing to watch Love Actually with me because the Portuguese connection (Colin Firth's housekeeper is Portuguese and there were bits shot in Lisbon). Of course the entire country was abuzz! Super choice of movies, Birgit!
ReplyDeletex Asha
Thank you! I saw WH when I was a kid and the ghost part scared me. I also panted for Han Solo. I guessed you liked the connection in Love Actually because they often don't have someone who is Portuguese
DeleteGreat minds think alike, haha! I had to include The Empire Strikes Back :)
ReplyDeleteI talk about Love Actually far too much but it's got so many lovely moments that fit this week's topic perfectly.
- Allie
Yeah! I wasn't sure anyone would pick Empire. I thought Love, Actually would be everywhere today
DeleteWow, I've actually seen ALL 3. That's a first. Good choices. I just realized that the poster for 'Empire' has the classic Rhett-Scarlett pose from 'Gone with the Wind'. And I love your choice of words in describing certain movie moments, lol.
ReplyDeleteIt does have that same look-Hahahaa I never caught on to that until you mentioned it:)
DeleteI also choose Empire Strikes Back. I'm glad you went with Colin Firth's part in Love, Actually. Andrew Lincoln's so is overdone and meme'd all the time that I would be okay if I never saw it again.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if many chose Empire. I always preffered Colin Firth's part over the other
DeleteI love that Empire Strikes Back is so popular today.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for me, I went with the Andrew Lincoln/Keira Knightley scene in Love, Actually.
Oh-it seems ESB is the popular post. I will read your post from Love, Actually
DeleteEmpire Strikes Back is so popular today. I wanted to pick it but I'm going with it later this year, so I had to change my mind.
ReplyDeleteColin Firth's declaration is love actually (I almost went with it myself). I loved it a lot more than the Lincoln/Knightley scene, probably because I didn't care much about those two characters.
I haven't seen Wuthering Heights yet but I'm reading the book and I like it so far.
You will be disappointed in the movie after reading the book-nearly always happens when one reads the book first. I hope you see it
DeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteI read Wuthering Heights but never saw the film. I'd like to. It would make an interesting post to review movies about lovers in which the lead actor and actress disliked or even hated each other. :)
I am one of the few people on earth (I think there are 11 of us) who isn't a Star Wars fanatic. I know I watched Empire Strikes Back, but it was under duress while grandkids were visiting. However, I willingly went along with Mrs. Shady to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens in order to collect "good husband points" which can be redeemed for DVDs of movies I actually like. I haven't seen Love, Actually, and your review has me interested.
I would add to the list of movies about declarations of love all those movies with Greg Kinnear playing the friend who watches from the sidelines as the leading lady falls for all the wrong men.
Thanks, dear BB!
Poor Greg Kinnear-:) I am not a huge fan of Star Wars but the first 3, to me, are the best (not the sequel prequels). There are many who didn't care for one another-Bogie disliked Audrey Hepburn! I think he was trying too hard to be Bogie
DeleteI love Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. Lots of laughter and tears :) And a lovely sloppy happy ending - just my type :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a good choice! It is a nice movie
DeleteLove actually for me Birgit....watched it on Sunday afternoon all snuggled up on the sofa....but my favourite is Rebecca.....xxxxx
ReplyDeleteGlad you watched this movie and hope you liked it. Rebecca is a good one!
DeleteI don't get to see a lot of love movies, LOL, we tend to go for the action ones here, but I did see the Empire Strikes Back of the three here :) I might have read Wuthering Heights in school, but I'm having trouble bringing up the plot. So true how this is indeed the month of love :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Wuthering Heights is a good film but I like the Ralph Fiennes one better. Father brings home a homeless boy to his home to be raised. He has 2 kids a boy and a girl-Cathy. Cathy and Heathcliffe hit it off and fall in love but one day, while looking into a home that has a nice party, she falls out of the tree and is brought into that stately home. She is taken in by all the richness and soon rebuffs Heathcliffe. he takes off and she ends up marrying Linton. Heathcliffe comes back, rich and courtly but now they spew nasty towards each other and so on
DeleteEmpire Strikes Back was a good one indeed, never would have thought of it for a lovey dovey round though lol
ReplyDeleteI picked it for that reason since it is not so lovey dovey
DeleteI love the Colin Firth proposal in Love Actually. My favorite part is either Emma Thompson listening to "Both Sides Now", Laura Linney taking a private moment in the stairwell, or Hugh Grant dancing to the Pointer Sisters, but my favorite declaration of love is actually when Keira Knightley watches the wedding video. "It's self-preservation," SWOON. The cue cards were kinda creepy/stalker-ish, even if the moment totally works in the film.
ReplyDeleteI both love and hate the ending of Empire Strikes Back. Had I been alive to watch it in theaters, I probably would have gone apeshit at having to wait God knows how many years to get the next installment.
All the scenes you mentioned are great ones especially the heartbreak of Emma Thompson's character. Yup we had to wait a long time to find out Han Solo could be saved and all the men could see Leia in that bikini
DeleteI LOVE Love Actually! I don't think you could make a bad choice no matter which scene you chose from it. The sweet scene of the two actors on the doorstep when she says all I want for Christmas is you doesn't get mention, I think because it's such a quiet little snippet, but I find it enchanting. Love the one you chose too and every other one in the film.
ReplyDeleteWuthering Heights is such an intense tale. I've seen several versions-Ralph Fiennes was good in his as was Tom Hardy but this is the gold standard as far as I'm concerned, the mood Wyler creates is so fitting, and Olivier the best Heathcliff. The problem I have with it is that Heathcliff is such a cruel bastard it's nigh impossible to sympathize with him after a while. But it is all about the passionate declarations.
The Empire Strikes Back never even occurred to me, but then I'm not much of a fan of any of the films. It fits in very well though.
Sirk films are great but thinking about them I think they're more about strained relationships and repressed or unrequited love than declarations of said love. I can't put my finger on that silent film you mention, I haven't seen many Colleen Moore films-I thought most of them were lost actually. That scene from Say Anything that you noted would be perfect, again I never thought of it...ugh! there's SO many choices this week, and the film is a nice little romance but nothing to go out of your way to catch.
When I saw Wuthering Heights as a kid I got really freaked out by the end and didn't want to go downstairs to my bedroom for fear of an icy hand touching mine. It doesn't take much for me:) I know that scene with the cute innocent couple who are "porn" body doubles(not sure if it is porn and probably not as they don't do rehearsals:)). Their scenes are great and also one of my favourites. I almost went with that actually but I love Colin Firth's declaration and his love's sister is a hoot(Ms. Donut). I thought Empire worked here and that is what popped into my head. It seems many others thought the same thing. I wonder if it was Lilic Time with Gary Cooper??
DeleteOops! I forgot to put in my choices for the week! So many possibles and a few I thought of I'd chosen before but I love these three.
ReplyDeletePride & Prejudice (2005)-Lovely adaptation of the Austen classic with Keira Knightley & Matthew MacFayden well matched as the headstrong Elizabeth Bennett and the reserved Mr. Darcy who secretly loves her. They are surrounded by a perfect supporting cast.
*Memorable Declaration-During a sweeping rainstorm in an isolated pavilion the drenched Darcy declares that he loves Lizzie most ardently!
Last of the Mohicans (1992)-Exciting, intense beautifully filmed reading of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel. Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe bring an electric chemistry to their characters which enhances all their scenes but particularly their romantic ones. Pitch perfect music score adds an extra dimension to the effectiveness of the film.
*Memorable Declaration-Under a waterfall fleeing from attacking Indians Nathaniel tells Cora when he must leave her “You be strong, you survive... You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you.”
Somewhere in Time (1980)-At the premier of his first play writer Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) is approached by a mysterious old woman who presses a locket into his hand with the words “Come back to me!” Years later Collier now a successful but blocked playwright impulsively takes a trip to an old resort where he spies a picture of once famous actress Elise McKenna (a breathtakingly beautiful Jane Seymour) from 70 years hence and becomes obsessed with her. Believing she is his destiny he searches for a way to travel back to her time. Preposterous but uber romantic time travel fantasy with the well matched leads and the gorgeous Mackinac Island selling the plot’s various implausibility’s for those able to suspend belief. Very involving if you like romantic movies.
*Memorable Declaration-In the guise of the character she is portraying on stage Elise goes off script and staring straight at Richard says: “The man of my dreams has almost faded now. The one I have created in my mind. The sort of man each woman dreams of, in the deepest and most secret reaches of her heart. I can almost see him now before me. What would I say to him if he were really here? "Forgive me. I have never known this feeling. I have lived without it all my life. Is it any wonder, then, I failed to recognize you? You, who brought it to me for the first time. Is there any way I can tell you how my life has changed? Any way at all to let you know what sweetness you have given me? There is so much to say... I cannot find the words. Except for these: I love you."
I still have to see this version of Pride and Prejudice. Great choice for Last of the Mohicans! He was so romantic and perfect with Stowe. It is a real romance set during a time that we often don't see. I LOVE Somewhere in Time! I think I talked about that film quite a long time ago but you hit the nail on the head with this one. In fact, I have this film set aside to use for another day:)
DeleteI think that something might be wrong with me. I saw Love Actually once quite a few years ago (shortly after it came out?), and I didn't really care for it (too much hype???). I think it was too many stories. I don't really know, but I finished the movie unsatisfied enough that I still mentally roll my eyes when I come across this movie. I don't know if seeing it again would change anything or not.
ReplyDeleteI thought of Pride & Prejudice (both are good), Daniel Day Lewis in Last Of The Mohicans ("I will find you!"), and I pretty well cried through P.S. I Love You (the entire movie). Honestly, I can't imagine loving and being loved like that and having that person die. Well, I can, because I did imagine it... and I sobbed all the way through!
One of the best love declarations on TV is this one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d11OZMLHXKo
I know what you mean about movie hype. I didn't see it in the theatres for that reason alone. Finally, one time I decided to see it and was pleasantly surprised but I had to wait for the hoopla to go. I will check out the TV one you left for me to see:)
DeleteHan Solo, yay!
ReplyDeleteOf course-Han was my hubba hubba
DeleteEmpire Strikes Back is my favorite of the Star Wars movies by a mile. So good!
ReplyDelete"To me you are perfect" is my favorite declaration in Love, Actually. Those cue cards! So sweet. And I guess I can relate to the poor guy with the unrequited love LOL.
I can relate as well and thank God that is in the past:)
DeleteI still have to see or read "Wuthering Heights". I'll probably end up liking it just like I did "Jane Eyre" when I finally read that one. That one is a great love story. Right now, my favorite love story is the Harry Potter series. So many love stories going on -- Hermione and Ron, Harry and Ron's sister, and most of all, the unrequited love of Snapes and Harry's mom.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter is a great way of showing love as well. I never thought of that
DeleteThe Colin Firth story line may be my favorite in Love Actually. That's a movie I watch yearly. And that Empire line. So great!
ReplyDeleteYes the Empire line is perfect actually since he can be a cad
DeleteSay Anything is a pretty decent film. Really. I read Wuthering Heights when I was in the 7th grade, and have not seen any movie version. Love, Actually I think I've seen once. I don't recall it all that well.
ReplyDeleteAha That's the film! Say Anything which I have not seen.
DeleteMy wife has watched Love Actually so many times I can't stand it anymore...except for when Billy Bob Thornton receives that great speech from Hugh Grant.
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I love that scene and I wonder what will be done when Trump is your new President(gulp)
DeleteThese are all great picks. Wuthering Heights is just filled with so much tension and emotion. And you're right about Empire Strikes back. I was very frustrated with Hans about that:)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend, Birgit.
Wuthering Heights has tons of passion. When Han Solo said that I wanted to smack him-lol
DeleteI've never seen Wuthering Heights, any of the versions, nor have I read the book, though I tried. Well, really I love Leia and Han. I mean, come on - how classic now is the "I love you." "I know." haha
ReplyDeleteMy movie pick? Not sure. I have a weird thing for Owen Wilson, so basically any romcom he's been in.
Yes Han Solo..I wanted to go through the film and smack him:) Owen Wilson is good in his quirky way especially in Wedding Crashers
DeleteBIRGIT ~
ReplyDeleteI've seen the first two, but not the third. I think 'WUTHERING HEIGHTS' is kind of chick flicky - I couldn't get into it.
I liked 'THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK' better than the original 'Star Wars', but not enough to see it a second time, nor enough to bother seeing any of the other movies that followed it in the series. SciFi is really NOT my thing except under rare circumstances.
In this category, some movies that jump to mind are 'WHEN HARRY MET SALLY', 'THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR', and again, 'SOMEWHERE IN TIME'.
Many good to great movies fall into this category.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Somewhere in Time is one of my favourite romance films of all time! I can never say enough of the Ghost and Mrs. Muir and When Harry Met Sally is quite sweet. Wuthering Heights is a chick flick but a good one even though you want to smack both of them
DeleteHave I seen Love Actually? I actually don't remember. I know I saw The Empire Strikes Back when it first came out, but I haven't seen it since so I couldn't say what was in that film.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of films that fit this category. I'm thinking right now, but can't immediately come up with an example.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
It's hard to think these up and sometimes I have had to look them up:)
DeleteI've certainly seen a version of Wuthering Heights but I don't remember who or what. That is certainly one of the moodiest stories ever. Definitely saw the Star Wars episode but didn't see Love Actually. Watched An American in Paris the other night, nice love theme in that film.
ReplyDeleteI love An American in Paris! It is such a great movie with superb dancing especially the 20 min ballet sequence done to the Impressionist paintings
DeleteI'm not familiar with Wuthering Heights (don't like bad boys), but I love your other two choices! Yes, the Leia and Han thing had to happen. They were the perfect opposites-attract couple. Have a great weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteHeathcliffe was more of a misunderstood bad boy and you may like it since it comes from a classic book.
DeleteI saw two out of three! That might be a record for me. :) I haven't seen Love Actually this year, but I usually catch it on tv at least once a year. Say Anything also comes to mind for this movie category. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
Yes I thought I would see that film a lot but no one picked Say Anything
DeleteI think I saw the third one but can't remember that much about it.
ReplyDeleteOh! I thought most have seen Love, Actually. You should give it another try
DeleteOK, I'm with you on #1. This one is my all time fav of any versions that I've seen. Can't beat those 2 actors. My DH would vote for #2 instead (and I think this Star Wars is the only one I've seen.) Haven't seen #3, but find that I prefer the oldies (usually) to anything from today. TFS
ReplyDeleteYes, Wuthering Heights made me swoon for Laurence Olivier. I think you may like Love Actually
DeleteInteresting choices. I've seen this version of Wuthering Heights and also read the book. Not a Star Wars fan, so haven't seen that one, but Love Actually is one of my favourite movies of all time. ♥ We watch it every Christmas.
ReplyDeleteOf all the Star Wars films this is the most liked by non fans. The book is so much more because the movie only deals with the first part
DeleteI've never seen Wuthering Heights. It's been on the to-do list for years but I've never gotten around to it.
ReplyDeleteI could go on about Empire for days on end but I'll spare you for now. For me, it is nothing short of the greatest film ever made.
Love Actually: it is a very sweet film and the Keira Knightly story is certainly the most memorable one. Can't help but wondering what happened next. My wife is a Colin Firth devotee so of course she loves that one.
I hope you see WH one day. Empire is my favourite of all the Star Wars films. My wish is that the Keira Knightly character leaves her husband and finds true love with the other guy and that Laura Linney's Brother in the film dies of a heart attack
DeleteAdmittedly, the only one of these I've seen is Empire Strikes Back (which I definitely would NOT have thought of for this), and I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, so it was just okay for me. As for Wuthering Heights, I remember that I read the book in school, but... I don't remember anything but that. I know, shame on me, but back then I wasn't exactly a fan of the classics.
ReplyDeleteAh yes....Empire is my favourite. One day you may see WH and give it a chance:)
DeleteI liked "The Empire Strikes Back," but my biggest complaint about it? Good glory, talk about an ending which just screamed, "THERE'S A SEQUEL COMING!!!!"
ReplyDeleteI love love Love Actually. And yes I love the flashcard scene, but really all of them have pretty sweet endings.
ReplyDelete