Vertical viewing—Love Affair

Love Affair is another suggestion in my vertical viewing* series.

Love Affair is one of those nostalgic, old school films that require at least three hankies. There are three versions of the film that I know of—two called Love Affair, and one called An Affair to Remember. Puuhh-LEESE tell me you've seen one of these film adaptations already, yes? It's a good story, good enough to remake twice. All three of these adaptations are each very well done, and although I enjoy all the actors and the costuming in each I think the first two adaptations are the best. I love the piano theme song from the third film though. In all three films of this love story some details change, such as names, occupations, and locations, but the basic story is this:

An aimless playboy and a singer, each romantically attached to someone else, meet and fall in love on a journey far from home. They both agree that if the affection is real and true (and after they dump their respective partners of course), they would meet several months later in New York, at the top of the Empire State building. Well, the months pass, and on the appointed day, one of the lovers shows up, but the other has an unfortunate accident and is a no show. Has their love and destiny passed, or will they some day reunite? You'll just have to watch to find out. Here are the film versions:

The famous boat balcony scene from each film adaptation.

—the 1939 version with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer

—the 1957 version with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant
                                  (called An Affair to Remember)

—the 1994 version with Annette Benning and Warren Beatty

In the meantime, watch the trailer from the 1994 version—the piano theme music is beautifully melancholic.

*Vertical viewing defined by me—In wine tasting, there is a term called vertical tasting—sampling one wine varietal from the same producer from several vintages. So I call it Vertical Viewing when I watch and compare several different versions of films. It's great to really get into the storyline and compare the acting and the strengths and weaknesses of each film. 

Click on "vertical viewing" label below for other vertical viewing suggestions!

Or click to read my vertical viewing posts of Emma, Anna Karenina, 
A Christmas Carol, Cyrano de Bergerac and Shakespeare's Tempest!