IMDb RATING
7.2/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
20th century computer games designer Scott exchanges love letters with 19th century poet Elizabeth Whitcomb through an antique desk that can make letters travel through time.20th century computer games designer Scott exchanges love letters with 19th century poet Elizabeth Whitcomb through an antique desk that can make letters travel through time.20th century computer games designer Scott exchanges love letters with 19th century poet Elizabeth Whitcomb through an antique desk that can make letters travel through time.
- Awards
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This is a lovely movie -- the story is well-thought and although it seems tortuous, they pull it off nicely and make it entirely believable. I very much enjoy Leigh and Scott together. I've seen it several times already, and will continue to see it over and over.
Unknown in Europe, this movie was recommended by someone from the States and I certainly wasn't disappointed once I'd received the DVD and watched it! On a par with "Somewhere in Time" and similar in some respects to "A Message from Charity" which was one of the "New Twilight Zone" episodes, this film is beautifully made and a real pleasure to watch over and over again. In fact nowadays, many of these so-called "TV Movies" are actually better than those made for the cinema !!
Plots in time-travel movies cannot of course be logical but this film had a very reasonable and believable plot ( bar, of course the way the letters were supposed to travel in time ) but when you watch films of this nature, there is no point in worrying about details of that kind.
The sets and picture quality were magnificent and I found the ending totally satisfactory although I would have perhaps wished the movie to continue on so that we see romance developing between Campbell Scott and the lady in the cemetery. I had already seen Campbell Scott in a film called 'Dying Young ' and do like this actor very much. This film was just suited to me as I don't really like time-travel movies with tons of special effects as they dont really appear believable ! So I hope people will make more movies like this because at present it is true that they are rather thin on the ground. And we do need doses of romantic fantasy to whisk us out and above of the dreariness of modern life !!
Plots in time-travel movies cannot of course be logical but this film had a very reasonable and believable plot ( bar, of course the way the letters were supposed to travel in time ) but when you watch films of this nature, there is no point in worrying about details of that kind.
The sets and picture quality were magnificent and I found the ending totally satisfactory although I would have perhaps wished the movie to continue on so that we see romance developing between Campbell Scott and the lady in the cemetery. I had already seen Campbell Scott in a film called 'Dying Young ' and do like this actor very much. This film was just suited to me as I don't really like time-travel movies with tons of special effects as they dont really appear believable ! So I hope people will make more movies like this because at present it is true that they are rather thin on the ground. And we do need doses of romantic fantasy to whisk us out and above of the dreariness of modern life !!
I love romance movies. I'll spend boring weekends just popping them in the VCR. I love time travel romances and after watching SOMEWHERE IN TIME for the 10th time spent an entire weekend debating where "the watch" originated with my husband and friends. I happened to catch THE LOVE LETTER on cable one rainy afternoon and by the end of the movie I had gone through an entire box of Kleenex. The "romance" between Scotty and Lizzie was so touching. I did think that the poems Lizzie wrote were pretty sappy but we're talking about the 19th century here. Whenever you watch a time travel movie or read that type of book, you really have to learn to suspend disbelief, but the way this movie was handled it seemed so possible. That they could actually feel each others presence across time was so beautifully handled. The music was hauntingly beautiful as well. My only quibble with the whole story was if the time portal worked from the past to the present, why couldn't it work from the present to the past. I felt so sad that Lizzie had to live all those years without Scotty. All in all it's a great movie. I would, and have, recommended it to anyone who loves romance.
What a story! A love that transcends time. If you are a romantic you are in for a treat when you watch this film.
Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh play two people who fall in love by corresponding with one another. This would not be totally unheard of except that she is living during the civil war period and his is living in the present day. He buys an antique desk which belonged to her and finds a letter hidden in one of its secret compartments. The letter was written for no one to read - she is merely venting about her life (she is unmarried, 28, and expected to wed a man she does not love). Magically they start writing each other and gradually fall in love.
To tell you anymore would be giving away some major plot lines. Just be prepared for the last five minutes and make sure you have plenty of kleenex on hand. I guarantee you are going to need them!!
Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh play two people who fall in love by corresponding with one another. This would not be totally unheard of except that she is living during the civil war period and his is living in the present day. He buys an antique desk which belonged to her and finds a letter hidden in one of its secret compartments. The letter was written for no one to read - she is merely venting about her life (she is unmarried, 28, and expected to wed a man she does not love). Magically they start writing each other and gradually fall in love.
To tell you anymore would be giving away some major plot lines. Just be prepared for the last five minutes and make sure you have plenty of kleenex on hand. I guarantee you are going to need them!!
My wife and I were very tired, after a long day of work and coming home from dancing. We decided to have a quick look at the TV movie I taped, to see if it was worth keeping. What a surprise: it kept us awake late at night, in spite of our tiredness. A lovely movie!
There are a few annoying flaws. The music at the beginning was out-of-date and I don't know how the director let a few shoddy scenes slip by, but they were probably on a tight budget. These are mainly due a script that, while generally good, was too stilted in parts. However, considering this is a made4TV movie, it is exceptionally good.
So get your loved one, cuddle up, and have let some warmth into your hearts with this little gem.
There are a few annoying flaws. The music at the beginning was out-of-date and I don't know how the director let a few shoddy scenes slip by, but they were probably on a tight budget. These are mainly due a script that, while generally good, was too stilted in parts. However, considering this is a made4TV movie, it is exceptionally good.
So get your loved one, cuddle up, and have let some warmth into your hearts with this little gem.
Did you know
- TriviaBased on a short story of the same name by Jack Finney. The story was first published in "The Saturday Evening Post" on August 1, 1959, and reprinted in the same magazine on January/February 1988.
- GoofsLizzie's hair is historically incorrect. She wears it in loose curls and has her photograph taken with her hair down. No woman in 1863 would wear loose curls or be photographed with her hair down. Hairstyles for women in the time period wore hair severely parted in the middle, draped over the ears in order to hide most of the ear except a small part of the earlobe, and fastened in the back of the head in a knot, either smooth or braided. All young women who were eligible for marriage and certainly married women wore their hair up.
- Quotes
Elizabeth Whitcomb: The hard truth is we are doomed to be chaste. To never touch each other, hear each other, see each other... so what harm can there be to write to each other?
- ConnectionsEdited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)
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- Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Love Letter (#47.3)
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