Love Story (1970)

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

Erich Segal (written by)

Release Date:

16 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love means never having to say you're sorry

Plot:

Harvard Law student/hockey jock (Oliver Barrett IV) meets Radcliffe music wonk (Jennifer Cavalleri)...

Plot Keywords:

Harvard | Marriage | Teacher | Dying Young | Wedding

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Ali MacGraw	...	Jennifer Cavalleri
Ryan O'Neal	...	Oliver Barrett IV
John Marley	...	Phil Cavalleri
Ray Milland	...	Oliver Barrett III
Russell Nype	...	Dean Thompson
Katharine Balfour	...	Mrs. Barrett (as Katherine Balfour)
Sydney Walker	...	Dr. Shapely
Robert Modica	...	Dr. Addison
Walker Daniels	...	Ray Stratton
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Hank Simpson (as Tom Lee Jones)
John Merensky	...	Steve
Andrew Duncan	...	Reverend Blauvelt
Charlotte Ford	...	Clerk, Mount Sinai Hospital
Sudie Bond		(as Sudi Bond)
Julie Garfield
Kevin O'Neal
Milo Boulton		(as Milo Bolton)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ellen Stretton
Stephen Dowling	...	Cornell Hockey Player (uncredited)
Bob O'Connell	...	Tommy the Doorman (uncredited)
Donald Warnock	...	Harvard student with big black glasses (uncredited)
Grant Willis	...	Harvard Student in Audience (uncredited)

Directed by
Arthur Hiller

Writing credits
Erich Segal		(written by)

Produced by
David Golden	....	executive producer
Howard G. Minsky	....	producer

Original Music by
Francis Lai

Cinematography by
Richard C. Kratina		(as Dick Kratina)

Film Editing by
Robert C. Jones

Casting by
Andrea Eastman

Art Direction by
Robert Gundlach

Set Decoration by
Philip Smith

Costume Design by
Alice Manougian Martin
Pearl Somner

Makeup Department
Martin Bell	....	makeup artist (as Marty Bell)
William A. Farley	....	hair stylist (as William Farley)

Production Management
Sal Scoppa Jr.	....	unit production manager (as Sal Scoppa)
Steven P. Skloot	....	unit production manager (as Steven Skloot)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter R. Scoppa	....	assistant director (as Peter Scoppa)

Art Department
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	chief property master (as Joseph Caracciolo)

Sound Department
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound recordist (as Bud Grenzbach)
Jack C. Jacobson	....	sound recordist (as Jack Jacobson)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lou Barlia	....	camera operator
Ed Quinn	....	key grip
Frank Schulz	....	gaffer (as Frank Schultz)
Vinnie Gerardo	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ed Brennan	....	wardrober
Linda Howard	....	wardrober

Music Department
Bob Bain	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)

Other crew
Robert Cleary	....	hockey technical advisor
William Cleary	....	hockey technical advisor
Nicholas Sgarro	....	script supervisor (as Nick Sgarro)
Gary Gillingham	....	production accountant (uncredited)
Dolores Rubin	....	script supervisor: California (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Love Story Company
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• Better Television Distribution (2006) (worldwide) (TV)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Argentina) (re-release)

Other Companies

• Botany 500  Ryan O'Neal's wardrobe
• National Screen Service  titles

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and a love scene.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Sweden:Btl | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Norway:11 (re-rating) | Norway:7 (original rating) | Peru:PT | UK:PG | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (2000) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

119 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Love Story Company

Trivia:

Director Arthur Hiller's first choice for Oliver was Beau Bridges, who turned it down.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Oliver is playing in the Harva'rd-Dartmouth game, the crowd is chanting "Go Leafs Go". The chant is obviously dubbed from an National Hockey League game in Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Oliver Barrett IV: What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant? That she loved Mozart and Bach, the Beatles, and me?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Carol Burnett Show: (#4.20)" (1971)

Soundtrack:

A Fair Rose Is Blooming

Timeless classic!

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