Cinematic affairs of the heart don’t come easily this Valentine’s Day. Three great films depict some kind of suffering in the name of love. The seductive lure of the vampire, a tragic clone love triangle, and a star-crossed romance top the list of this month’s best new DVD releases for February.
Let Me In (Widescreen and Blu-ray)
This 2010 romantic thriller about an adolescent vampire is based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s best-selling novel Lat den Ratte Komma In. Set in New Mexico in 1981, two alienated adolescents begin a romance unlike most other first crushes. He is a lonely boy, bullied at school, with no friends or family – except a distracted mother preoccupied with her messy divorce. She is a centuries-old vampire trapped in a girl’s body, who craves a male companion to satisfy her blood lust. Beautiful cinematography elevates this film from the average teenaged vampire story.
- Starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas, Carla Buono, Dylan Minnette, Jimmy “Jax” Pinchak, Seth Adkins
- Director: Matt Reeves
- Writer: Matt Reeves (screenplay); John Ajvide Lindqvist (screenplay and novel)
- Genre: Horror, Romance, Thriller
- Discs: 1
- Run Time: 115 minutes
- Rating: R (for strong bloody horror violence, language, and a brief sexual situation)
- DVD Release Date: February 1, 2011
- Additional Information: This version is an American remake of the 2008 Swedish film, Let the Right One In. Click here to read a review.
Never Let Me Go (Widescreen and Blu-ray)
In this 2010 sci-fi romantic drama, three students at an English boarding school learn the shocking truth about their origin and their future. In the midst of learning about and preparing for the inevitable burden awaiting them as clones, the students (two girls and a boy) develop an uncomfortable love triangle. As they mature, the dangerous secrets of the past threaten their limited future. This disturbing drama portrays the darker side of love and lust.
- Starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Isobel Meikle-Small, Charlie Rowe, Ella Purnell, Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins, Kate Bowes Renna
- Director: Mark Romanek
- Writers: Alex Garland (screenplay); Kazuo Ishiguro (novel)
- Genre: Science Fiction, Romantic Drama
- Discs: 1
- Run Time: 103 minutes
- Rating: R (for some sexuality and nudity)
- DVD Release Date: February 1, 2011
- Additional Information: For background information about the book and movie, read Keira Knightley to Star in Never Let Me Go.
An Affair to Remember (Blu-ray)
From 1957, this tear-jerking classic romance (a remake of the 1939 original) inspired two other films, the 1993 romance Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and another remake, the 1994 version of An Affair to Remember with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. When two strangers meet and fall in love on a cruise ship, they can’t be together because they’re already involved in other relationships. They agree to meet six months later on top of the Empire State Building to see if their initial attraction can stand the test of time. Tragedy gets in the way of the would-be lovers, and things don’t go as planned.
- Starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning, Neva Patterson, Cathleen Nesbitt, Robert Q. Lewis, Charles Watts, Fortunio Bonanova
- Director: Leo McCarey
- Writers: Delmer Daves, Leo McCarey, Donald Ogden Stewart (screenplay); Leo McCarey, Mildred Cram (story)
- Genre: Romantic Drama
- Discs: 1
- Run Time: 119 minutes
- Rating: Not Rated
- DVD Release Date: February 1, 2011
More Information About Romantic Dramas
10 Best Historical Romance Movies
Best Classic Romantic DVD Releases of 2009
Leslie C. Halpern - Leslie C. Halpern, Romantic Films/Comedies Topic Editor, authored Passionate About Their Work, Reel Romance, & Dreams on Film.
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