84 Charing Cross Road

Based on Helene Hanff’s best selling bittersweet romance, comes this film from 1986. Surprisingly, this book was all told in letters; pieced together from a relationship that spanned over 20 years between writer Hanff and a bookstore in London at the address of the title.

Failing to find any decent English literature in New York, struggling writer Helene Hanff writes to a bookstore in London after seeing an ad in a local newspaper stating they deal in rare volumes. What starts in a very humble manner swiftly becomes a lasting friendship between Ms Hanff and Frank Doel, a well-read bookseller for Marks and Co. As their letters progress with Ms Hanff requesting books, subtle details of their lives are revealed until what develops is a penfriendship of sorts that encompasses many people in both the participants’ worlds.

It’s a sweet, deliberately literate story that has been well adapted for the screen, utilising voiceovers of letter dialogue, rather than text to portray the point. Other subtle nuances also come to the fore, in the clever and detailed use of historical landmarks to gauge the passage of time. Simply filmed, roaming shots of London or New York are abandoned in favour of the store itself and Ms Hanff’s apartment. This helps us focus on the story at hand and works well for the film.

There are no doubt many comparable tales encircling the Earth as I write, between myriad penfriends and Internet junkies. So perhaps the story feels a little trite to us as modern viewers; yet this fable does hold a certain inalienable truth within that is all too often overlooked in similar stories.

Time is great and there’s a heap of it, but it runs out. Don’t let it get away from you.

This is perhaps the most disappointing transfer I’ve ever seen from the Sony DVD Center. There is a soft grain that runs through the film from beginning to end that makes the film look another ten years older. Shadow detail isn’t the best, but thankfully much of this film plays out in daylight or well-lit interiors. Blacks remain true to life, but these suffer the worst from the grain machine and may get a little irritating by film’s end.

Picture quality is okay, though nowhere near razor sharp and colours appear a little muted from reality and washed out; but then there isn’t much by way of pictures to really be too ruined by graininess. By the same token though, if I’m forking over money for a movie, I’d like it to look it’s best please. When stacked against the Sony DVD Center’s long, long line of visual successes, 84 Charing Cross Road does not fare well, I’m sorry to report.

Again, mostly told in voiceover, the audio has been handled adequately in its Dolby Digital stereo delivery. No horrible noises appear to ruin the dialogue (or monologues) with Anne Bancroft’s and Anthony Hopkins’ straight-to-camera deliveries nicely done.

Music has been scored by George Fenton, a widely recognised musician who has made a veritable plethora of movie scores which include Memphis Belle, The Crucible and Anna and the King. Here the music is understated and used well to affect mood for certain scenes or to paint the differences between cultures. In this regard, the film is worth seeing just for (Sir) Anthony Hopkins and (Dame) Judi Dench participating in a conga line.

Only a couple of trailers for a couple of ‘similar’ films in Remains of the Day and Sense and Sensibility. So, not really much to grab us as consumers unless we can’t live without the film.

This is a truly sweet film that infects us with its friendly atmosphere as it progresses. However, its treatment is a real disappointment here and feels rushed out to me. Costumes and period detail are well handled and do commit the viewer to the time described well. Performances from Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft are, of course, superb, though Judi Dench is but a minor player really as Hopkins’ character’s wife. Still, there isn’t a great deal for these fine actors to get their teeth into, so if you’re looking for some serious dramatic acting, this isn’t your film. I’d recommend renting this baby before you commit to purchase to test your personal levels of acceptance toward picture quality.