84 Charing Cross Road [DVD] [2002]

An extremely enjoyable and comforting film to watch. Well acted and presented.

I read this book many years ago and found the simplicity of the story charming and quite heart-warming whilst the subtlety of the emotional undertones beautifully conveyed a genuine mutual respect and love. These self-same sentiments shine through in this 'page to screen' adaptation and I'm pleased to say none its charm has been lost in the process. The story principley entails the real life correspondence that occurred in the 1940s-1960's between Helene Hanff, an American scriptwriter living in New York with a passion for second-hand books, and Frank Doel a knowledgeable bookseller living in London, working at an antiquarian bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road. Frustrated at her inability to get the sort of books she wants (at the price she's willing to pay) in New York she tries her luck by writing to a firm in London. The reply she receives inspires her and leads to a witty and touching correspondence spanning 20 years. Although she's making business enquiries, Helene's style of communication through her letters with the bookstore is conversational and warm and this encourages different members of the bookstore to correspond with her in like fashion. This film is a delight to watch, perfect for those quieter, more contemplative moods. The humour is mild and the humanity rich and at times genuinely touching as the letter writing relationship (note, they are not 'pen friends') between the principle characters deepens and matures. Overall, a very gentle yet satisfying movie where the strongest 'character' is perhaps the words of the letters themselves. I watched this film with a friend and we were both so engrossed we hardly spoke a word to each other throughout! If the 95 minutes run time is not enough for you, you could watch again but it in any of the 4 dubbed languages; French, German, Italian, and Spanish as well as a whole host of subtitled languages.

If you haven't seen this film it's a classic. Well worth a watch. Dvd was perfect, packaging perfect and delivered in great time .

I have just discovered 84 Charing Cross Road -well better late than never - via Audible (a very good listen, read beautifully by Juliet Stevenson and John Nettles - I recommend it). Like her correspondents, I found Helene Hanff a completely compelling person and want to know more of her, so I've ordered more of her books - all second hand, of COURSE. I watched the film while I'm waiting for them to arrive. The film doesn't reproduce all of the letters in the book, but is faithful to those it does, and I enjoyed the extras we get in the film - a little 'behind the scenes' with Helene's friends and Frank's family. I don't know New York, so I found the film excellent for helping me put Helene in her correct context. The only reason it lost a star was I didn't feel that Frank and Nora's marriage was very fairly portrayed - it was obviously a happy one, while the film version lacks spark, and Nora as portrayed in the film fades into the background a lot more than she does in the book. Nora reports in her own letters that she talks a lot; you wouldn't know that from this near-silent character! It's Judi Dench, folks, for goodness' sake, give her a bit more to do. Hopkins and Bancroft were however pretty near perfect as Frank and Helene. I thought the film was a worthy addition to the various 'versions' of the story. Now I must wait patiently for more of Helene to come to me in a parcel, just as she waited for her books from Frank. There's something very appropriate about that.

This is a wonderfully engrossing film. All great actors, no bad language, just a lovely film. Well worth watching.

This is such a lovely gentle film, far removed from the noisy and violent themes that seem to dominate today. The true story of writer Helene Hanff and her search for lovely old books that she just cannot find in America. She discovers a bookshop specialising in exactly what she wants and writes to the shop asking for certain books. This begins a wonderful relationship between The shop manager Anthony Hopkins and herself (played beautifully by Anne Bancroft). Over the years (the 50s and 60s) Helene manages to add more and more books to her collection, making her desire to actually come to London and visit the shop and all the staff stronger and stronger. I won't say more as I do not wish to spoil the film. This is a must for anyone who just wants to be entertained by a brilliant film, well acted and directed.

A lovely Sunday afternoon film. A lovely story about friendship across the seas.

A beautiful, poignant film. One of my favourites!

After being told it would ship on 02 May 2020, the film finally arrived on 18 August 2020. Not sure what happened as the vendor only sent form emails but happy to receive this very hard to get film at last.

Excellent product as described. Shiny new undamaged delivery. Of course I got great quality media at very cheap price. So thank you so much Amazon seller.

Il ne faut pas attendre du spectaculaire et de l'agitation mais c'est un film original et qui ne manque pas de charme. Tout en calme et sentiments, des films comme il en manque, à notre époque, et qui fait du bien par son calme reposant.

This is a special movie. If you liked "The Shop Around the Corner" or "You've Got Mail," you will like this movie. Pay special attention to the books Helene discovers as the wrapping of other books she orders.

Great movie, wonderful story, amazing actors. I was very happy to get a good quality dvd of the movie in India at last.