Product Description

NAIVE CELLIST AUDREY HEPBURN DEVELOPS AN INTEREST IN AMOROUSMAGNATE GARY COOPER.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5947 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2002-01-08
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 130 minutes

Amazon.com
Fairy-tale Paris doesn't get more enchanting than Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon, an ode to picnics on the grass and champagne at the Ritz. Audrey Hepburn (who had already made Sabrina with Wilder) is at her best as the inexperienced cellist with a fascination for millionaire American playboy Gary Cooper. Maurice Chevalier (who else?) is Hepburn's father, a private detective with ample evidence of Cooper's crowded history of l'amour. Alongside the sheen of the romance is Wilder's unerring sense of craftsmanship; watch how inanimate objects such as a liquor tray, a white carnation, or the little dog in the suite next door are developed into sublime running gags. The age difference between the two leads has often been questioned, but perhaps this is what gives the gossamer material the whiff of welcome melancholy. The final three minutes leave no doubt that Wilder hatched the best endings in Hollywood history. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

Gary Cooper too old? Blasphemy!
The common criticism of this delightful film is that Gary Cooper, one of the icons of Hollywood, was "too old" to play the lead against the youthful Audrey Hepburn. This is, quite frankly, ludicrous and almost laughable. Though Coop was 56 when the movie was filmed, he was still incredibly handsome, well-preserved, thin and as sexy as he had been in his prime. There isn't a single moment where the viewer would doubt that this man wasn't utterly believable in the role or womanizer and seducer extraodinaire. Audrey Hepburn would have been a fool to turn her nose up at this choice male animal, even if he was 30 years her senior.

Coop and Hepburn's scenes together are all marvelous, especially the famous film-ending train scene, this one still makes one's toes curl, even after 20+ viewings over the years. Maurice Chevalier is also charming in his role as Audrey's father. The music, script and stellar direction by Billy Wilder make this an essential movie to watch, to own, and to treasure.

Wilder's Parisian souffle
With two of Hollywood's most glamorous stars, and (despite the silly plot) a sharp and witty script, this film is an evergreen, and one I never tire of watching.
Audrey Hepburn is enchanting as the spunky "Thin Girl", a cello student who falls in love with a millionaire playboy bachelor, played with grace and charm (and quite a bit of humor) by Gary Cooper. Hepburn was 28 at the time, and looked younger, Cooper was 56, and looked perhaps older, but despite the age difference, their chemistry together sparkles and sizzles.

The romantic cat and mouse game played by Hepburn to intrigue and win Cooper's heart is all very innocent and sweet, and I always shed a few tears at the magical ending.
Maurice Chevalier as Hepburn's father, a private detective specializing in matters of love and deception is fabulous, and gets most of the funny lines, and John McGiver, as one of Chevalier's jealous husband clients, is also very amusing.

The b & w cinematography by William Mellor is exceptional, and how the camera loves Audrey, looking exquisite in an array of beautiful gowns. There is also a quartet called "The Gypsies", who serenade the lovers throughout the film with some terrific czardas, and the melodic song "Fascination".
Light, frothy, and thoroughly enjoyable, this is one of Billy Wilder's most delightful films, and it's a treasure for Hepburn and Cooper fans.
Total running time is 130 minutes.

Fascination is in the air!
I loved this movie lots! Despite the difference of age between Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper I think they made a real cute couple. Audrey is perfect, how can you not love her? Of all her films, this is one of my favorites, it's funny and yet very romantic. And Maurice Chevalier is great as Audrey's beloved father. So, if you're a Audrey Hepburn fan and also a hopeless romantic -I'd rather say hopeful, though -, you'll love this movie. Let's put it this way: if you don't have it, buy it now! You won't regret it!