Summertime

Perfect summer romance
Summertime pairs Hepburn with Italian hunk Rossano Brazzi in a delicious, sad, funny and ultimately very adult film about a Plain Jane who finds romance in Venice. Hepburn is a joy to watch here as she gets to show so many facets of her character. Jane Hudson is socially self-assured; she has a funny quip for every occasion and she's not afraid to speak her mind; she really is the quintessential American spinster of the early 20th century. She has a romantic side that longs for moonlight trysts in a gondola, dancing at midnight, and coffee and small-talk with her lover in a sidewalk café, but there's an element of prudishness which holds her back from a love affair with a married Venetian who assures her that he and his wife have an "understanding." Ultimately Jane recognizes that she's not likely to get her dream of love intact and that she'd be a fool not to take the one on offer, and she blossoms into the happy, loving, passionate woman she (and the viewer) always...

A wonderful 50s time-trip to Venice
Venice has never been more beautiful; Katherine Hepburn has never been more poignant, and Rosanno Brazzi has never been sexier. And this DVD version of the film captures the Techni-colors in ways they've not been seen since the film was released in the mid-50s. What's surprising about seeing the film today (for anyone with a knowledge of where screen morals were in the 50s) is the fact that it deals with adultery in a way that was rarely seen in its time. Spinster Hepburn goes off to romantic Venice, sort-of-but-not-quite looking for love, and when she finds it, it's with a middle-aged, married man. While she doesn't "get the guy" in the end, she isn't "punished for her transgression" either. It seems a miracle that the Church allowed such a movie to be made in the 50s--and in Italy no less. Watch this in a double bill with "Roman Holiday" and you'll be booking a flight to Italy before the end credits finish rolling.

The Best of Hepburn ? Possibly !!
SUMMERTIMEis the film version of the hit Shirley Booth Broadway success "Time of the Cuckoo" and it later would be the basis for Richard Rodgers & Stephen Sondheim's "Do I Hear a Waltz?" Obviously, there is substantial reason for the longevity of a simple romantic plot in a remarkably romantic setting. It simply works, but David Lean's film version works the best of all. Never has Venice been captured on screen as well, and, certainly, never as effectively as a "character" in a lovely tale that is made perfect for even the most anti-romantic audiences by the superlative, career topping work of Katharine Hepburn as a spinster who discovers "true love" with an unacceptable partner during her Venice vacation. The color is absolutely perfect; the music is splendid; everything works. The cast rises to Hepburnian heights -- including Rossano Brazzi, Mari Aldon, Isa Miranda, Darren McGavin, and an adorable youngster. Key scenes are...

Click to Editorial Reviews