User reviews

A box office phenomenon at the time (this was one of those movie that people reportedly waited in line for hours to see), LOVE STORY has continued to be ridiculed by cynics and adored by romantics for decades. The secret to the film's ultimate effectiveness is in it's simplicity. Director Arthur Hiller wisely films Eric Segal's screenplay (an adaptation of his own best-selling novel) in a concise and straightforward manner, allowing audiences to become enamored with the characters and involved with their plight. The film even manages to make subtle commentary on class struggles, personal identity, and even the changing attitudes of religion, all of which while never appearing preachy or obvious under Hiller's unpretentious direction.

Ali MacGraw brings an undeniable spunk to her characterization here which helps undercut the potential sentimentality of the picture, and lends the finale a greater emotional punch. The natural handsomeness and effortless charm of Ryan O'Neal is used to exceptional effect, and the supporting performances of Ray Milland and John Marley (as two very different types of fathers) are terrific. This is a film that never attempts to disguise it's own thematic manipulations, which may very be why it remains so effective. French composer Francis Lai's haunting original score further enhances the film, which is justifiably considered by many to be one of the all-time tearjerkers.

To be honest I was quite surprised as the low rating the movie gets her, since I've always been under the assumption that this movie is widely regarded to be the best and ultimate romantic movie ever made.

The movie has all the ingredients a romantic movie needs, even the most formulaic ones. Two totally different boy and girl from different social levels fall in love with each other and of course not everyone in the environment (mainly the parents of course) are happy with this. Their love life has a couple of ups and downs in which they have to weight some choices for themselves against choices for their love together. Further more the movie also features an unavoidable dramatic twist in which one of the characters get seriously sick (Don't worry, this is not really a spoiler since this is mentioned right in the beginning of the movie already). In other words this movie has all of the formulaic sappy sounding ingredients to make this a sappy formulaic romantic movie. Yet "Love Story" is not. Why? It's hard to put your finger on why "Love Story" is so much more and so much better than your average love story but I guess that you can still answer this question, once you start analyzing the movie. Although the story and all of its elements are sappy and formulaic the movie itself doesn't try to be sappy or dramatic. The movie doesn't attempt to make you cry, by putting in over-the-top dramatic filmed moments with dramatic loud music and all that sort of stuff. Instead the movie chooses to take a realistic approach, no real surprise, considering that this is a '70's movie. The decade in which the most realistic (and best) movies were made. It has as a result that the movie never feels forced or overdone. It even makes the most formulaic and predictable elements of the movie work out, as strange and unbelievable as it might sound. You also have to keep in mind that at the time it was released, this movie was not formulaic at all. It was a fresh approach on the genre and inspired many later movies. In a way "Love Story" was bare raising and set the standards for many later romantic movies. The movie was nominated for 7 Oscar (of which it won 1 in the end) not just for no reason.

The movie is obviously made on a low budget but it makes the end result look all the more creative. It's effectively directed by Arthur Hiller, who later went on directing lame comedies. A real waste of talent. The musical score by Francis Lai is a classic and the simple effective cinematography from Richard C. Kratina makes the movie feel all the more realistic.

The movie made Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal big stars for the moment and they were both even nominated for an Oscar. To be frank I didn't even always liked their characters in the movie and I've never been to fond of Ryan O'Neal as an actor. In that regard I liked the supporting cast way better with John Marley, Ray Milland and Tommy Lee Jones in his very first (and very small) screen appearance. He looked so amazingly young, that he was hard to recognize.

Although the movie takes some formulaic and obvious dramatic turns, the movie still always remain perfectly watchable, just not always emotionally involving enough. So I'm not to sure about it if this is a movie that can (still) make people cry. Nevertheless the movie still has its powerful moments, mostly due to the realism of it all. Everybody should be able to recognize the situations- and put themselves in the place of the characters of the movie. Everybody have been through similar events in their life at one point, in one way or another.

Now days lots of people actually complain about the tag-line and famous quote from the movie; 'Love means never having to say you're sorry'. People find this a stupid and illogical line. To those people I would like to say; Wait until you've truly falling in love once. If you've REALLY been in love, you'll understand what is the meaning of that line. Love is about mutual respect and also accepting each others less pleasantries and still love each other for it. This also means never having to apologies to each other. Actually when I was in love once and the girl felt the same way about me (Yes amazing, I know. It seems like ages ago now), whenever one of us said 'sorry' for something the other always said; 'You never have to apologize for anything to me'. None of us had ever seen the movie or heard of its famous line before, so I think that really says something about the line and the truth that is in it.

It in my opinion certainly is one the best and perhaps most influential romantic movie ever made. A must-see that deserves more objective respect and higher rating on here.

8/10

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I had been avoiding watching 'Love Story' because I thought it would be another one of those corny sugarcoated love story with excessive melodrama. After hearing a friend's recommendation, I decided to give it a chance and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a simple film in terms of everything: execution, performances, background score, direction, dialogues...The writing is incredibly great as the dialogues are creatively and amusingly witty. The movie stays focused on Jennifer's and Oliver's relationship that is portrayed with the utmost simplicity. A movie like 'Love Story' could have easily gone wrong but kudos to director Hiller for his fine execution and for pulling all the ingredients together so effectively with the help of whimsical cinematography, impressive soundtrack and fine actors. The chemistry between O'Neal and McGraw sizzles on screen. Both actors complement each other brilliantly and convincingly portray the 'opposites that attract'. Hiller has done a commendable job by bringing these two actors together and a strong rapport with them to enhance their work. Of the supporting cast John Marley and Ray Milland stand out by their strong presence. Overall, I liked the film a lot for its subtlety, ambiguity and simplicity that makes it feel more genuine. Clearly it stood the test of time as there are hardly any more movies being made these days that could reach anywhere near the level of this classic.

'Love Story' is not your typical romance film, although it is a story about a boy and girl from different backgrounds who fall in love. Jenny is an intellectual music major with a passion to travel, and Oliver's parents are well-to-do, and he enjoys sports. It seems like an unlikely match, but the two of them hit it off and travel through the perils of relationships. It is a touching story, and the direction and coordination of some of the scenes is amazing. (Particularly the scene with Oliver sitting outside in the playing field and narrating the story is a classic moment in this film, and it is possibly one of the most memorable scenes in film history.) If you have never seen this film, you should. Anyone who has ever been in a relationship can relate to it, but if you are a sensitive person and cry in nearly every film you have ever been to, keep a full box of tissues handy.

Everyone dreams of that love of a lifetime, which is perhaps why this film was so phenomenally successful. It features a young couple in love--in unabashed love--without a hint of that then-trendy lust or flaky passion. These college kids are not beatniks or rebels; they have family members who disapprove, but they forge ahead with their marriage plans while not seeming too reckless. At least not to us. We see that they have the kind of desire for each other that is so well-meaning it's practically G-rated (only some of Ali MacGraw's tart language keeps the film from being so). It's a moving film, not particularly warm or fuzzy (and by that, I don't just refer to the chilly Eastern locales). The couple face cynicism and tragedy, and director Arthur Hiller (doing his only truly great work behind the camera) is wise not to shift too much away from these two. The audience ends up hanging onto their every word in preparation for what's on the way. No wonder that final line of dialogue ("Love means...") is so legendary: the entire picture rests on it. *** from ****

I wasn't even alive when this came out. I'd never even really heard of MacGraw nor O'Neal before (though they both looked vaguely familiar). The "Love Story" theme, I was definitely aware of though.

I saw it for the first time in 2002, and bawled like hell. I saw it for the second time a few weeks ago (2005) and cried like a baby again. I instantly needed to get my DVD copy. My parents always say that they don't do movies (or music, for that matter) like they used to, and on this occasion, I had to agree.

The movie's premise is simple: the typical boy meets girl love story, with the cliché rich boy, poor girl angle. But I think its simplicity is part of what's so great about it. I fell in love with Oliver and Jenny (and as corny as it may sound, I think their undying love for each other is ultimately what we're all searching for), and their tragedy became my devastation as well. It's generally your typical soppy chick flick (with the exception that the pair don't "live happily ever after"), but probably the best one of its kind. A story like this has become so banal today, 35 or so years later, but it was surely one of the first of its kind. It hits all the right emotional buttons, and although I'm not one to usually cry over films, this one certainly had me in tears.

The two very attractive leads make a cute couple, and have good chemistry. O'Neal and MacGraw both turn in very solid performances, and I quite enjoyed the foul-mouthed MacGraw. Good writing, solid acting, great music (I could listen to the musical score all day), beautiful scenes.

I love "Love Story". Hee! 10 out of 10 from me.

I somehow saw this in the theater during it's initial release as it must have been the allure of Ali McGraw and I've seen it probably three times since over the years to make sure I didn't miss something about this film but I don't think I did. How could this small film have been nominated for eight Academy Awards? It was nominated for most of the biggest awards in Best Picture, Best Director for Arthur Hiller, Best Actor in Ryan O'Neal, Best Actress for Ali McGraw, Best Supporting Actor for John Marley and Best Screenplay for author Eric Segal as well as Best Score and Best song for Francis Lai. Well, Lai was a deserved nomination and in fact won those two Oscars but the rest of the nominations were a cinematic joke. The novella story by Segal never had enough material to be a full length feature film. He could have at least added a mindless car chase or a flying saucer scene to the screenplay to give the film some depth. This was McGraw's only third film and her follow up role in The Getaway with husband Steve McQueen was a far better performance. After that her career stalled and she never made of film of note again. Ryan O'Neal had made a couple of minor films before and was most noted for his television roles and he like McGraw turned in a stiff, wooden performance here and there was no on screen chemistry between them. John Marley and Ray Milland were good in supporting roles. Director Arthur Hiller had made the leap from television to feature films with a string of mediocre movies until moderate success with the Out of Towners before Love Story and after would see more moderate success in comedies in The Hospital, The In-Laws and Silver Streak but any success he ever had were in comedies. This as a serious film tries to be so serious it goes overboard. I would give this a 6.0 for good music and set direction and for sentimental reasons for once having had a teen aged crush on Ali McGraw.

I know the famous line from Love Story is "love means never having to say you're sorry," but I think everyone who made this the highest-grossing movie of 1970 owes the rest of us an apology. This is a melodramatic mess. Jenny (Ali MacGraw) is so aggressively antagonistic that I have no idea what Oliver (Ryan O'Neal) sees in her, and Oliver is awful to Jenny in return. They're an unlikeable couple. And aside from the film being completely drenched in sap, it also features choppy editing, cheesy overacting, and stilted soap opera dialogue. It's no wonder this movie has been mostly forgotten to time.

I remember when this movie came out when I was in high school in 1970. It was wildly popular. The theme from Love Story played on the radio 24/7. Author Eric Seagal appeared on all TV talk shows all the time, as did Ryan O'Neil and Ally McGraw. Every teenage girl in America copied Ally McGraw's hairdo:long, straight, and parted in the middle. Some blonde girls even dyed their hair brown. Teenage boys carried around the Love Story paperback in school and got all the chicks because they thought he was sensitive. But the truth is, this was an awful movie. The acting was bad and so was the script. Scene after scene was so melodramatic...poor Oliver working in a Christmas tree lot...oh, the indignity! Big deal..like a strong 24 year old man can't carry a Christmas tree to a lady's car? And when the doctor broke the news to Oliver...so unintentionally funny...she has no symptoms at all and he announces she will die soon because they took three blood tests and found...what? Doctors don't announce a patient will die unless all extended treatment is exhausted. He didn't even begin treatment or tell Oliver what was killing her. Later on, they mentioned white blood cells and a lack of platelets, but even a veterinarian would treat your dog before giving up on it. Then, she seemed her usual bright eyed and bushy tailed self n her deathbed before she just croaked. Even if she had lived, I don't see how this marriage could have survived more than a few years.Oliver was passive, and Jenny was aggressive, rude, and teased him constantly while saying "goddamn" to punctuate everything. Best comedy of 1970.

I rarely give 10s on a first view, but I have to say that I absolutely loved this film. I loved the story, and the fact that it really is just a simple love story, nothing more to it. That somehow made me appreciate it even more. I'm utterly fascinated with the 70s aesthetic, it has an unique charm that drawns you to it. The acting is fantastic, but for me, it's Ali McGraw who steals the movie. She unveils a magnificent charisma and a real strong screen presence that it was intoxicating for me. You can easily see how and why Ryan O'Neal's character falls in love with her. I mean, who wouldn't?

The score is a classic. I knew it, it was familiar to me even without having seen the movie. It is so moving that I found myself shedding a couple of tears everytime it was on.

Regarding the story, it is so inspiring to see how they decide to put their love first above all things. Both of their characters struggle with their own backgrounds and upbringings, and their love and devotion for one another it becomes even stronger when tragedy strikes.

The script while not perfect, goes rather well with the simplicity of the story, and that iconic line, while not entirely true, it's a perfect description of the love and passion they felt for each other. I guess you could say that it was applicable to them, in their specific context.

Very pleasant surprised by this wonderful and brilliantly acted "Love Story". Owkay, the title captures everything of the movie. You instantly know what it is about. But that doesn't bother. This movie is almost twice my age and before I started watching this movie, I wasn't sure if I would like it. After all, I want a movie to be recognizable (at least with a movie about a love story, I'm not talking about movies in general. You can't expect a movie like "The Godfather" to be recognizable) and the acting has to be real. With certain movies from a couple of decennia ago, I sometimes have the feeling the acting isn't real, you're all the time aware of the fact that they are acting, and I think a movie can't have that.

The acting here was amazing. Ali MacGraw as well as Ryan O'Neal were both excellent in their roles as Jenny and Oliver. I thought both fathers were quite good as well, specially Jenny's father Phil, performed by John Marley, who surely deserved his Academy Award Nomination. The music was also terrific in this movie. I think it's, beside the acting, one of the most important points to make this movie timeless.

Unfortunately, this movie became the only success of the leading actors. It could have been the beginning of a brilliant acting career, but "Love Story" became the highlight of their career. To conclude I can only repeat that "Love Story" is a brilliant and timeless romantic classic!

Watch this movie! 9/10

**plot giveaway but the first spoken line in the movie will do it too**

It's amazing considering all the hype that surrounded Love Story, first as a novel by Erich Segal, and then this film directed by Arthur Hiller, that thirty years later it is hardly thought of at all. While not the best romantic tear jerker to run through a projector, it is certainly not the worst either. It does have it's strong points, and if someone had dared to break away from Erich Segal's novella, then perhaps it would have been a very good film. Unfortunately, since Segal also wrote this screenplay, and he stayed faithful to his best selling book almost to the letter, it ends up with the same problems as his novella.

When the first line of your novel or screenplay, tells the audience that one of the main characters is going to die at the end, you had better put that death and what leads up to it on the screen in such a way that it will pull some kind of emotion out of those watching. Though I'm sure many people weeped heavily into their handkerchiefs at the end of this film, I am more or less inclined to believe that many of them did so because it was either expected of them, or maybe it was like some sort of communicable disease. I had read the book, enjoyed it, but the ending affected me little as did the ending of the film. More about that later.

Many reviewers have been extremely critical of both Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw in their criticism of Love Story. Though neither is a particularly gifted actor, I found them quite pleasant as Oliver Barrett IV and Jennifer Cavilleri. The role of the preppy son of a millionaire seems to have been made for O'Neal, and MacGraw's Jenny has just the right amount of brashness, that we actually like her spunk instead of being put off by it. MacGraw makes us believe that a baker's daughter could harangue a rich millionaire into falling for her, and that she could love him back. Most of Jenny's and Oliver's scenes together are of two people, who use their own brand of verbal sparring, to express how much they care for each other. Some say that is not possible, but speaking from experience I know for a fact that it is. And in this film, it's always fun to watch.

Ray Milland plays Oliver Barrett III, and does it with a cold austere demeanor, but yet we can still sense his love for his son. John Marley, as Jennifer's father, Phil, is delightful in his few scenes, and his relationship with Jenny draws a sharp contrast to that of Barrett III and Barret IV. His scenes near the end of the film, are the best Love Story has to offer, and won him an Academy Award Nomination.

So what went wrong? Since we know from the very first line in the film, that Jennifer is going to die (so you know I'm not giving anything away here), you would think that when we reach that crucial point, her death would be gut wrenching. Unfortunately, when Oliver learns of Jenny's impending doom, Segal in his novel and in this screenplay, rushes to the death scene so fast it's as if he had an airplane to catch when he was writing it. After Oliver returns from the doctor's office with the bad news, we get three quick meaningless scenes between Oliver and Jenny, so poorly written and staged even worse, that it leaves us feeling quite empty during the most important part of the film. Even at the end, when either director Hiller or writer Segal could have redeemed themselves in a scene between O'Neal and Milland, they totally blow it. A first year film student could have done better. So instead of being moved to tears, we are simply left high and dry. It also doesn't help matters that when Jenny does become ill, she never really looks it, and even in her final scenes looks as if she could get up and go out for dinner and a movie. It is frustrating that the way this ending was filmed, almost destroys the good will it had built up before getting to that point.

So what do we end up with? About two thirds of a good movie with good characterizations by the four main actors, and an involving story. It's just too bad the ending goes as sour as a fresh lemon.

I watched this movie by chance a couple of days ago. Me being a typical action-junkie, I would not intentionally have set out to watch this movie. Although I do enjoy the occasional romantic comedy, the word drama and the fact that the movie is 36 years old would have been enough for me to avoid this one. However, during one late night in front of the TV zapping, I stumbled over the beginning of this movie and got hooked.

I loved the lead characters and above all found the dialogue brilliant. I am not very good at analyzing actor performances and other aspects of the movie but judging from the Academy Award and nominations and the 709 other people that has given this movie a 10/10 rating I would guess that I am not the only one to like the movie.

Finally, I would not have lost any sleep if they had left out the part about "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Nice Feel-good/Break-your-heart movie.

I will admit this is not a movie for everyone, but for me at face value I liked the movie. Yes, some of it is slow, some scenes are overwrought and some of the characters aren't as well developed as they could have been. That said, it is nicely filmed, with pleasant cinematography, and Francis Lai's score is memorable. The song may grate on people's nerves, but even to this day it is one of those songs that has stayed with me for like forever, due to its hypnotic and haunting melody. The story is a very heady and simple mixture of true love and life-threatening illness, and I think it is quite effective, and the dialogue is bittersweet and touching. The ending is a real weepie, and requires at least 5 tissues. The acting is good, with Ali McGraw tragic and hot as Jenny and Ryan O'Neil appealing and somewhat sexy as Oliver. As his father, Ray Milland does a good job, he has been better, but he was still good here. Overall, not for everyone, but for those who aren't so cynical, it won't grate like nails on a blackboard as you think. 7/10 Bethany Cox