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Thierrybazzanella.com - Love With the Proper Stranger
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $55.99
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
Starring: Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, Edie Adams, Herschel Bernardi, Anne Hegira
Directed By: Robert Mulligan
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786301216111
Format: Black & White
ISBN: 6301216113
Label: Paramount Home Video
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: 1998-01-13
Running Time: 102
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1963-12-25
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Light and breezy entertainment that is sure to please...
Comment: It feels very light, but it manages to pack a punch, and for that I give it major props. `Love with a Proper Stranger' is a very sweet and moving film that is easily enjoyed and very memorable. Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen are a wonderful pair, playing off one another beautifully with charm and sincerity, and the script is wonderfully moving (if not a tad corny in scenes).
The film focuses on Rocky and Angie. Rocky is a ladies man, a bachelor who floats from one girl to another without any real commitment involved. That all changes when he gets Angie pregnant and is forced to start making some intelligent decisions. Angie has to deal with a family that is far too interested in her business, her brother especially making it his business to watch and protect her to a fault. Rocky is almost detached from the whole situation until his guilt gets the better of him and he starts to invest himself in Angie and her predicament. What follows next is a delicate look at a blossoming relationship.
Like I mentioned, the film feels very light. It is not one of those movies that is heavy with thought provocation so it tends to breeze right on by, but there are moments that pack a wallop, especially the `attempted' abortion scene.
The performances are delightful here, especially by the two leads. Natalie Wood (who received an Oscar nomination for her performance) is stunning as Angie, managing to balance out her emotions quite effectively. Steve McQueen had a busy year in 1963, and this is just one of a slew of very well crafted performances. Herschel Bernardi is great as Dominick, Angie's overly concerned brother and Tom Bosley (from `Happy Days') is magnificent as the kind hearted Anthony Columbo.
Parts of the script are a tad over the top and unsuccessful when attempting to be funny (the dinner scene with Anthony's family is particularly irritating) but the films warm moments make up for that. It's briskly paced and very enjoyable; a nice way to pass the time. I'd recommend it to anyone who can get their hands on a copy.
When are these great classics going to get the DVD treatment they deserve?
Customer Rating:
Summary: i love this movie!
Comment: i love this movie, Nataile Wood is great in this!
a one night stand ends in a pregnacy, Angie and Rocky are now trying to find a way out and fall for eachother in this great romantic movie!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good movie & good delivery system
Comment: love with the proper stranger . A pity in my case there are no french subtitles . Well, I will be obliged to be better in English language .
FVD
Customer Rating:
Summary: USING LOVE TO DEAL WITH AN UNWANTED PREGNANCY
Comment: Two films that tackle the difficult question of how to deal with an unwanted pregnancy are the 1963 classic Love With The Proper Stranger, starring Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood, and the 2006 film Bella, starring Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard. Both films are wonderful for different reasons. I give Love With The Proper Stranger 5 stars simply for the script and acting, which are superb. I give Bella 4 stars overall.
In Love With The Proper Stranger, directed by Robert Mulligan, McQueen is a musician that has to face the responsibility of having gotten a girl he can barely remember (Natalie Wood) pregnant; and Wood has to decide what to do about it so her overly protective Italian-American family doesn't go berserk. She and McQueen decide to seek an abortion during a time when that was illegal; so it means sneaking around alley ways and dealing with less-than-reputable people. When they come face-to-face with the horrors involved, they change their mind. Plan B for Wood is to marry another man that is in love with her (Tom Bosley), making him fully aware of what he's getting with the deal, but keeping the truth from her family. In the mean time, McQueen has fallen in love with her. But they have a hard time getting along. And Wood has told him that if she can't have "banjos and bells" from him - a line from the fantastic theme song by Jack Jones - she's not interested.
In Bella, directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, Verastegui is a cook that has to overcome a tremendous setback: in a previous time of life, he was a soccer star that was involved in a car accident on the day he was turning pro - ending his career when he has to do time in prison. Now he is working in his older brother's restaurant, just trying to "find himself." Meanwhile, one of the waitresses in the restaurant (Blanchard) is fired for being late and supposedly drunk, but it turns out she's pregnant. She decides an abortion is the only way to deal with the issue because she will not bring a child into a loveless life like hers. But Verastegui is her friend, and will not allow her to deal with this crisis alone. Over the course of a day spent together, Verastegui shows her a lot of love, helping her find a new job and taking her to meet his family - one that is very proud and rich in heritage. Blanchard has no family, so the love she experiences with his overwhelms her - and changes her.
Both of these films take place in New York City and both are beautifully shot - Love With The Proper Stranger in black-and-white by Milton R. Krasner, who was nominated for an Oscar; and Bella in very strong color. Both are also comedies - which is interesting, considering the subject matter. But it takes humor to cut the seriousness of an issue like abortion. Both couples seriously contemplate abortion, but both change their minds because of love. The big difference between these two films, other than the time periods in which they are set, is the fact that in Bella, the child factors in to the decision; whereas, in Love With The Proper Stranger, it does not. As a matter of fact, the expectant child is not even mentioned, which is strange. The only thing McQueen and Wood are concerned about are their own lives; both Verastegui and Blanchard are concerned primarily with the child.
So, you could say that Love With The Proper Stranger is pro-abortion and Bella is pro-life; except that in both cases, the couples end up doing the right thing. And in Love With The Proper Stranger, the parents of the child end up together. Both films are interesting from the standpoint of how the couples deal with the question both personally and culturally; and both are interesting from the standpoint of how they change. As I said, it is love that changes them in both cases.
These are great films for mature audiences. Love With The Proper Stranger is unrated and Bella is PG-13. As far as awards, Love With The Proper Stranger was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Actress for Natalie Wood and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay for Arnold Schulman. Being an independent film, Bella won the Heartland Film Festival Crystal Heart Award, and the Grand Prize for a Dramatic Feature; MovieGuide's Faith and Freedom Award, and their Grace Award for Eduardo Verastegui's acting; and Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award.
Waitsel
Customer Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL MOVIE
Comment: This is one movie I never get tired of watching. Natalie Wood and Steve McQuenn have great on screen chemistry together. The perfomances of the leads and supporting cast are just wonderful. The story follows a Macy's sales girl and a musician as they try to deal with an unplanned pregnacy after a one night stand. The film deals with the issue of abortion in an era when it was still illegal. It's great to watch this couple as they start to form a bond and find love in the midst of the crisis. It's a great movie to watch, even for non McQueen or Wood fans. I don't understand what's keeping Paramount from releasing this title on DVD.
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