by 20th Century Fox
| Average Rating: |
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| Sales Rank: | 3689 (lower is better) |
| Price Used: | $6.97 |
| Shipping: | Free Shipping on most orders over $25* |
| Availability: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| Director: | Jean Negulesco |
| Release Date: | 2004-11-02 |
| Label: | 20th Century Fox |
| UPC: | 024543119746 |
| Binding: | DVD |
| Published By: | 20th Century Fox |
| ASIN: | B0002B15Y2 |
| Category: | DVD |
Actors and Actresses
Editorial Reviews and Product Descriptions
Description
A charming romantic comedy about three American roommates working in Italy who wish for the men of their dreams after throwing coins into Rome's magnificent Trevi Fountain.
Amazon.com
Velvety and glazed like a fattening pastry, this 1954 love story concerns three American women who make wishes for love in Rome, and end up having three romances. The cast is fine, but as for the film, what you see is what you get. There's no mystery to any part of this movie--like everything director Jean Negulesco made once CinemaScope entered his life (e.g., How to Marry a Millionaire, A Certain Smile), Three Coins is designed to lull rather than stimulate. (It did, however, win Oscars for cinematography and the Jule Styne-Sammy Cahn title song performed by Frank Sinatra.) --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
A romantic melodrama, very much of its time - Reviewed on 2007-12-12
1 customer found this review not to be helpful.
"Three Coins In The Fountain"
(Twentieth Century Fox, 1954)
This glossy Technicolor romance follows three American women living abroad in Rome as they search for love and encounter roadblocks along the way. The obstacles are mostly social: this Eisenhower-era potboiler is steeped in the restrictive, sexist mores of the time, where "good girls" aren't allowed to go on dates with the locals, or even go out unescorted through the streets of the city. All three women work as secretaries (the only job option available) and ultimately their entire lives are subsumed by the need to get married. (There's one great line, where the oldest of the three, a loveless spinster in her late '30s, is asked by her employer if she had ever thought of marrying him, and she replies that "every woman looks at every man she meets that way" -- my wife and I both did spit-takes when we heard that little nugget!) In addition to the retro gender views, there's also a quaint, old-fashioned condescension towards Italians (the "bad" Americans are looked down on for their prejudice towards Italians, but the movie itself has a fair amount of bias as well...)
Which isn't to say this movie isn't enjoyable. Indeed, it's fun both as a silly melodrama, and as a time capsule, looking back into a much more restrictive social culture. (Was this really only fifty years ago? Wow.) Wonderful cinematography, too -- some lovely portraits of mid-50s Italy and beautiful composition. If you love those old Douglas Sirk films, you'll like this, too. (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue film reviews)
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Book Subjects
- Atmospheric
- B&W
- Bright
- Color
- Drama
- Fanciful
- Feature
- Feature Film-drama
- Light
- Looking For Love
- Movie
- Questionable for Children
- Romance
- Romantic Adventure
- USA
- Warm