84 Charing Cross Road

Helene Hanff's book 84 Charing Cross Road had previously been a TV program and a stage play before it was converted into this 1986 film. The scene is New York, 1949: Anne Bancroft plays a struggling writer and passionate bibliophile, who answers an advertisement from a rare-volumes bookshop at 84 ...more

It's hard to build an entire film around charm, but this is essentially what the makers of 84 Charing Cross Road have done. How well they have succeeded will likely depend upon one's appreciation of -- or tolerance for -- the two characters who make up the core of the film. Epistolary in nature, director David Jones has done an admirable job of opening up the static story, finding ways of framing the constant voice-overs by placing the characters in different settings or situations. Hugh ...more