(Spoiler warning: Please don't read this unless you have already seen this movie or don't care about spoilers.)
It's an anthology of three stories. In the first one, a ballet dancer is forbidden to dance because she has health problems. But when a famous ballet director (who doesn't know about her health problems) asks her to dance for him because he seeks inspiration in order to improve his latest production, she can't resist the temptation... It's the story of a love that can't be fulfilled. I liked James Mason as the ballet director, and I was impressed by Moira Shearer's dancing, although I'm not generally a great fan of ballet dancing. And I love the music they used for the soundtrack, the 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini' by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Next in sequence there is the story of a teacher (played by Leslie Caron) who hasn't known love yet. It's in the style of a fairy tale. Young Tommy (played by Ricky Nelson), the boy she teaches, becomes an adult for a few hours (through witchcraft). He meets his teacher and they fall in love, but when his spell as an adult is over, their love has to end. But the teacher has changed, and when she later meets another man, she might find lasting love... So it's the story of a love that might be fulfilled. I liked both the story and the actors.
The last story makes the sequence complete. It's the story of a love that is fulfilled. I liked Kirk Douglas very, very much; I found him very convincing as Pierre Narval, a disillusioned and retired aerial acrobat. I also liked Pier Angeli; she plays Nina Burkhardt, a woman who is so disillusioned she tries to commit suicide. But she is saved by Pierre, who later asks her to become his partner for his comeback. They are both haunted by memories of their past; Nina thinks she is responsible for the death of her husband, and Pierre probably feels he is responsible for the death of his former partner, although he says it was an accident. Pierre trains Nina. They fall in love, but then there is a very dangerous stunt they have to perform without a safety net...
I liked the third story best. The others weren't as good in my opinion, but I have still given ten points because I think that somehow (forgive the worn-out phrase) the whole is more than the sum of its three parts. I think the order in which the stories are told is well chosen for a sentimental love movie.
I think if you like the genre, this movie is well worth a look.
It's an anthology of three stories. In the first one, a ballet dancer is forbidden to dance because she has health problems. But when a famous ballet director (who doesn't know about her health problems) asks her to dance for him because he seeks inspiration in order to improve his latest production, she can't resist the temptation... It's the story of a love that can't be fulfilled. I liked James Mason as the ballet director, and I was impressed by Moira Shearer's dancing, although I'm not generally a great fan of ballet dancing. And I love the music they used for the soundtrack, the 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini' by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Next in sequence there is the story of a teacher (played by Leslie Caron) who hasn't known love yet. It's in the style of a fairy tale. Young Tommy (played by Ricky Nelson), the boy she teaches, becomes an adult for a few hours (through witchcraft). He meets his teacher and they fall in love, but when his spell as an adult is over, their love has to end. But the teacher has changed, and when she later meets another man, she might find lasting love... So it's the story of a love that might be fulfilled. I liked both the story and the actors.
The last story makes the sequence complete. It's the story of a love that is fulfilled. I liked Kirk Douglas very, very much; I found him very convincing as Pierre Narval, a disillusioned and retired aerial acrobat. I also liked Pier Angeli; she plays Nina Burkhardt, a woman who is so disillusioned she tries to commit suicide. But she is saved by Pierre, who later asks her to become his partner for his comeback. They are both haunted by memories of their past; Nina thinks she is responsible for the death of her husband, and Pierre probably feels he is responsible for the death of his former partner, although he says it was an accident. Pierre trains Nina. They fall in love, but then there is a very dangerous stunt they have to perform without a safety net...
I liked the third story best. The others weren't as good in my opinion, but I have still given ten points because I think that somehow (forgive the worn-out phrase) the whole is more than the sum of its three parts. I think the order in which the stories are told is well chosen for a sentimental love movie.
I think if you like the genre, this movie is well worth a look.