Must See Movie Monday - An Affair to Remember

Film: An Affair to Remember
Released: 1957
Director: Leo McCary
Starring: Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr
Short Summary: While sailing on a cruise ship to meet their significant others Terry and Nicky meet and fall in love. They agree to break off with the people they are already with, get new jobs, and reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months.

Why It's A Must See Movie

One of the reasons An Affair to Remember is a must see is because it has inspired so many other films and stories. Most notably the movie Sleepless In Seattle. I read that there is a Bollywood film inspired by it. Even the popular TV series Gossip Girl made a reference to this movie. This leads me to believe that it's a very important part of cinematic history. What gives me a giggle is that An Affair to Remember is actually inspired by another movie itself. Yes, An Affair to Remember movie is actually a remake of 1939's Love Affair. A movie that I'm sure not nearly as many people have seen, myself included. What I'm trying to say is that An Affair to Remember is something pretty special if it is more well known than it's predecessor. I guess the key to making a re-make awesome is to just have the same director both times around.

Anyway, Let us move on to talking about what I love about the film. Firstly the dialogue is amazing. It's witty, meaningful, occasionally adorable, and has a poetical feel. I read that some of it was improvised by the actors. You would never be able to tell because it's that natural and seamless. The dialogue is at times exactly what you could imagine saying if you were in the same situation as the characters. Which means a lot of the characters saying things they don't really mean, or saying things that mean more than one thing. The dialogue also expresses so much about who the characters are, and why they might be attracted to each other.

I think that this film is a great example of how to use cinematography as a part of the story telling. An Affair to Remember does this perfectly. So many shots and camera angles have meaning. I particularly like the way reflections were used in this movie.

I love the actors. Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant had such a cool on screen chemistry. Not only is it a lot of fun to watch, but it makes you feel for the characters deeply. They made the characters so relate-able that you feel their joys and sorrows.

I'm going to stop there before I can allow this to become a long essay on all the fun facts I know about this film. I'm one of those obsessive people that learns movie facts and watches movies on commentary. If you like quirky romance, stuff that pulls at your heart strings, minor hilarity, and catchy tunes I hope you check this movie out. I promise you it will give you a lot more insight on several other movies to might view.

Bonus Sleepless In Seattle Clip! I love this scene in reference to An Affair to Remember.  I seriously can not think of An Affair to Remember without thinking  "Her shriveled little legs." Lol! If you didn't already know how An Affair to Remember ends you will if you watch this clip.