Monday, February 14, 2011

The Infamous Tale of My Favorite Romantic Movie

I wrote the following post for another blog last year, but it's a favorite memory of mine—and it involves one of my absolute favorite films—so I thought I'd share the story with people who haven't yet read about my first encounter with A Room with a View.  A bonus for those of you who read the post last year: I'm attaching a short movie clip this time around.
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Now that Valentine's Day is here, I thought I'd share a quick mention of a story surrounding my favorite romantic movie, A Room with a View, the Helena Bonham Carter period piece based on a novel by E.M. Forster.

When I was a high schooler, my sister started making fun of me for my enjoyment of what she called "tea-drinking films."  In other words, costume dramas, usually set in England, that involved pretty clothing and people turning to tea whenever they needed a pick-me-up. 

I already knew about A Room with a View from the Academy Awards and all the shots of that to-die-for kiss between Bonham Carter and Julian Sands in the amber fields of Italy. But the first time I actually saw any sizable scenes from the film was in our local grocery store.  My mom and I were in the checkout line, and we looked up at a TV screen in the video section (this was before DVDs, downloads, and anything else that didn't require rewinding). 

Immediately, we were greeted with the sight of three grown, naked men chasing each other around a pond.  And I don't mean the American movie version of naked men.  We saw it allin motionwhile they were running.  We cracked up.  Clearly, the manager of Vons saw the movie's case, thought, "Hm, a tea-drinking film," and had no idea he or she would be showcasing the male anatomy.  In motion.  While running.

In any case, it's a fantastic love story, naked men and all, and that scene in the amber Italian fields is one of the most passionate kisses on film. 
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I'm including a clip of the kissing scene below.  The clip does NOT contain the scene with the naked men. Enjoy—and happy Valentine's Day.

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