...I don't think I could have hung around for a long affair!
I was glad to see this film pop up on Amazon Prime. When I was a kid there were two actresses I always thought were the most beautiful women -- Sophia Loren and Lana Turner. So I was happy to see a flick of Loren's that I had seen before. Add in Richard Burton -- not a favorite of mine, but I hadn't watched him in decades, so I thought perhaps I could re-evaluate. Over the years I thought Carlo Ponti did a fine job directing Loren's career...but he sure goofed this time. She was still beautiful (and it's amazing that 47 years after making this film she is still making films!), and I still loved her laugh (which I remember so well from "It Started In Naples" with Clark Gable)...but otherwise, this was a horrible film for her to be in. Burton just seemed to wander through the story. "Nothing to see here", as a cop might say. I expect affairs to have a bit of passion...and I expect Loren and Burton to have a bit of passion. But this film just falls flat. Seems to be just two people in a mid-life crisis...and boring crises at that.
And then there's supporting actor (and here, Loren's husband) Jack Hedley...or as I think I'll call him...The Mumbler. How can actor speak so unintelligibly? No wonder Loren's character was bored with their marriage.
The older version of this film is a classic. This version is a mistake.
I was glad to see this film pop up on Amazon Prime. When I was a kid there were two actresses I always thought were the most beautiful women -- Sophia Loren and Lana Turner. So I was happy to see a flick of Loren's that I had seen before. Add in Richard Burton -- not a favorite of mine, but I hadn't watched him in decades, so I thought perhaps I could re-evaluate. Over the years I thought Carlo Ponti did a fine job directing Loren's career...but he sure goofed this time. She was still beautiful (and it's amazing that 47 years after making this film she is still making films!), and I still loved her laugh (which I remember so well from "It Started In Naples" with Clark Gable)...but otherwise, this was a horrible film for her to be in. Burton just seemed to wander through the story. "Nothing to see here", as a cop might say. I expect affairs to have a bit of passion...and I expect Loren and Burton to have a bit of passion. But this film just falls flat. Seems to be just two people in a mid-life crisis...and boring crises at that.
And then there's supporting actor (and here, Loren's husband) Jack Hedley...or as I think I'll call him...The Mumbler. How can actor speak so unintelligibly? No wonder Loren's character was bored with their marriage.
The older version of this film is a classic. This version is a mistake.