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Holistic Guidance - Love With the Proper Stranger
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $74.30
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: 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.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Compelling Though Uneven Romantic Dramedy Spotlights Strong Work from Wood and McQueen
Comment: Coming off the success of their 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee's classic remembrance novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan J. Pakula immediately teamed again to make this semi-forgotten 1963 blend of topical drama and romantic comedy. Set in working class Manhattan, Alan Schulman's perceptive screenplay focuses on the travails of a couple of young Italian-Americans - Angie Rossini, a Macy's salesgirl feeling suffocated by her family and Rocky Papasano, a loose-cannon jazz musician living with a stripper. A one-night stand has produced an unwanted pregnancy, and the movie is frank in how it deals with abortion, an option that was illegal and done dangerously in backrooms back then. Instead of focusing on the moral questions, the movie deals primarily with how the two stumble toward a relationship that neither are prepared to accept in light of the circumstances. It's this uncommonly mature perspective that prevents the film from feeling overly dated 45 years later. On the other hand, the plot structure is uneven as it moves from a character study to a social drama to a romantic comedy in pretty quick order over its 102-minute running time.
Fortunately, the movie boasts two attractive leads to carry the storyline to the finish line. Although her pronounced New York accent wavers at times, Natalie Wood gives a strong performance as Angie, especially in the scenes where she silently conveys her character's emotions. Just beginning to take on leading roles, Steve McQueen proves to be a surprisingly adept comic actor as Rocky. Together, their chemistry is combustible. Except for Edie Adams' comic turn as slatternly, dog-loving stripper Barbie, the rest of the cast falls into stereotypical ethnic roles. However, Herschel Bernardi (the voice of Charlie the Tuna on the Starkist commercials) creates a vivid impression as Angie's overprotective brother Dominick, while Tom Bosley (Mr. Cunningham on Happy Days) makes his film debut as the poor, all-thumbs schlub competing with Rocky for Angie's affection. Milton Krasner's crisp black-and-white cinematography is noteworthy here, in particular, with the compelling use of real locations. Still not on DVD, the film is most worthwhile to see Wood and McQueen in their prime. Sadly, they would both die prematurely a year apart in 1980-81.
Customer Rating:
Summary: DVD Please!!!
Comment: This is and has been a terrific movie and it is shocking that it has not been made into a DVD. Realizing that Steven McQueen's other movies are more action-packed, let everyone see what his other side was. He deserves that recognition as does the beautiful and talented Natalie Wood.
Little Guppy
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nostalgia and Romance
Comment: I first discovered this movie in 2001, and even now, I still love see it. I can't wait until the DVD comes out so that I can skip to my favorite scenes. I am a BIG Natalie Wood fan. She wasn't the best actress of her time, but she had this uncannily, spellbinding beauty, vulnerability and sweetness that emanates on the screen. This particular film epitomizes and captures those traits that are hard to find nowadays with the new crop of actresses. Though you can study this film from a feminist and cultural perspective, I watch it for its romance and great chemistry between McQueen and Natalie. I also fell in love with Steve McQueen in this movie. As cynical as I am about the "knight in shining armor" motif, I like that his character was flawed and that he had genuine affection for Natalie's character. Someday I may not be the dreamy, nostalgic person that I am now, but I will always love the unabashedly poignant and romantic ending of this classic film.
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