Notebook, The (DVD) (WS)

History is riddled with lovers who overcame the odds, be they social or cultural, to be with each other. Think Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, West Side Story, Beauty and the Beast, and now, love it or hate it, Twilight. It's their courage and faith in their love that makes these stories so memorable to billions down through the centuries. It's a story that's been told a thousand different times with a thousand different variables thrown in. And yet somehow it never gets old. The Notebook is nothing new. It's been done before. But somehow it captures the essence and passion that goes deeper than mere obsession into the real purpose that lovers find in each other. To quote a main character "Our love can do whatever we want it to". With society's rising skepticism and disillusionment with real, true love and commitment (demonstrated by the decreasing number of relationships making it to marraige and the staggering increase of divorce), it's stories like these that lend a glimmer of hope and belief in a darkened world. There is such a thing as love and there is someone out there who's made for you. This is an unambitious, simple film about love but it's that very simplicity that makes it so charming and extraordinary. The story centers around Noah (Ryan Gosling) a quiet, simple Southern small-town boy, and Allie (Rachel McAdams), vivacious Southern belle born into Southern money. Their improbable summer romance might be viewed as mere infatuation by some, but watch these two scenes: the beach scene where Allie insist that she could have been a bird in another life and Noah delivers one of the film's most memorable lines. He might not know about reincarnation but he knows this much: "If you're a bird then I'm a bird". The second is the first love scene in the old house when the tell each other "I love you" for the first time. You can feel it's true. Such an emotionally rich scene. But at their age, there's just too much to overcome and Allie's rich and protective parents put an end to the imprudent match. The rest of the movie tells how their live's path led them in different directions but ultimately wound up bringing them back to each other. However, in the seven years that have past there is now a fiance in Allie's life and she must choose which path to follow. Apparently a very difficult decision to make. In my opinion, if you're having trouble deciding between two men it's not likely that the right choice lies with either but I've never been in Allie's position. Regardless, the storyline is great, music is effective, beautiful without being cliche or predictable. The script could have used some revision I thought. I couple of key scenes are golden, but some would have been better if the lines were different. The acting is good, especially Rachel McAdams with her convincing portrayal of the wild, impulsive, but carefully brought up society belle in emotional upheaval. This was her breakthrough film that opened up her career to movies such as Wedding Crashers, State of Play, and Sherlock Holmes. Ryan Gosling does a good job with the homeboy role. Even though I'm a guy, a romance film is very difficult for me to enjoy if i don't like the guy (How to Lose a Guy.., The Proposal) but not only is he a heartthrob with my sisters, he's an unpretentious and honest performer. So while this film will not be received with tireless enthusiasm by everyone (especially us guys) simply for the fact that it's such a common Hollywood theme, it's so beautifully crafted that I would recommend at least viewing it once. You don't have to like it, but I did, my sisters did. And I think, if you keep your heart open, then just like love it might catch you by surprise.

A Timeless Love Story Such a beautiful, emotional movie. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, it still hits me right in the heart. The acting, the story, the ending — everything about it is unforgettable. A true classic for anyone who loves a deep, meaningful love story.

Wow, this movie is timeless. Generations of movie goers have fallen in love with this cassic.

Great movie

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that should be schmaltzy and beneath you, but ends up being a totally, surprisingly, guilty pleasure (I WILL review Titanic one of these days, when I get up the nerve). The Notebook is my very wonderful, totally guilty pleasure. I will also make a case for it being possibly the movie of a generation and possibly a movie headed to becoming a classic in film. To go over the story once again at this point, would be boringly redundant. I'm doing this review many years after its release. But as I was going through my recommendations for ratings, I stopped here and decided it was time to give this beautiful movie its due. First of all, I am not a fan of Nicholas Sparks' books. No offense intended here because opinions are all relative and I know he has a huge fan following. I have read several of his books and have found them to be just a bit too simple and in need of a grammar lesson for me. The movies made from many of his books are worse and maybe eventually I will review one of them. But it is so much more fun, for me, to give the good reviews. I never read the book this movie is based on, so this review is strictly on the movie as it stands. The Notebook, as a story, is brilliant. From the moment it starts with Duke, played with a heartbreaking sensitivity I'm not sure I've ever seen from the wonderful James Garner, wandering around in his nursing home, smiling at his friends and joking with the staff. It's a little confusing because we aren't let in on the depth of his suffering and the center of the story yet. *SPOILER ALERT* There will be spoiler alerts from here on out, but if you haven't seen or read this yet, get out from under your rock AND DO SO! I think the beauty of this movie starts at the beginning because we love Duke immediately. There is no building of a relationship. It just is. We also learn pretty much right out the door that his beloved wife also lives in the nursing home with him, but in another room because she is in the end stages of Alzheimer's Disease, the 5th largest killer of the world's population. That this movie shows explicitly the horror and agony of Alzheimer's for both the caretaker/lifetime partner, and the family surrounding them is an incredible bit of public service very necessary and appreciated by those touched by this evil disease. However, the beauty of this story is that at the center of it, is a love story so powerful, so touching, and, as we learn, so surprising, that the disease, while an evil villain, is only a facet of the story. For me, the movie starts when the story becomes about Noah Calhoun, played by Ryan Gosling in, to me, one of his best acting parts (and I've seen too many of his movies), who meets the young and beautiful Allie, played by Rachel McAdams in, to me, one of HER best acting parts. Their romance is wonderful, fun, funny, lighthearted, everything most women dream about who want love, have loved, or have love in their lives. The love story isn't atypical of most love stories written and acted for centuries. But this one is touching in its portrayal of the depth and breadth of its intensity. Most love stories today, include a plethora of sex scenes to punctuate the depth of feeling. This story doesn't need it. It is implied as well as portrayed, but manages to show decades of love as a reality and not a fantasy. We do learn, of course, that this is the life love story of Duke and his beloved Allie, but not right away. And I think that lag is a brilliant part of the story woven here that attracted me and so many people. The Notebook is as beautiful in story as a breathtaking painting is to those who gaze upon it. Each stroke is carefully placed, each color chosen to accentuate what are the most important aspects the artist wants portrayed. From the moment The Notebook opens to the closing scene, I cannot find one stroke out of place. One color that doesn't blend in perfectly with the scenery on the canvas. I am a person who does not like sad endings to any story. But in The Notebook, once again, the portrait of the relationship between Duke and his Allie is perfect. No other ending would do. Yes, it is sad. But as a painting can also be excruciating in it's honesty and painfulness, so, too, is the ending of this movie. The Notebook is simply not just a love story. Love stories abound in the world of fiction told in many shapes and forms. I have to make a little observation here that today, we see the proliferation of what is called erotic romance. Fantasy romance. Supernatural romance. And while I am not normally a fan of romance books, preferring thrillers and a good mystery, there are few stories today that can compare with The Notebook. I believe it will enter the realm of a classic romance along with the Bronte sisters who wrote so few books, but each one was like a portrait described above. These stories are rare and beautiful and are meant to expand our hearts and souls. They are meant not to titillate to read and be forgotten within minutes, but to savor for a lifetime. I haven't seen The Notebook in at least 7 years and yet, what I have written has been from memory. A book, a movie, a portrait that stays with you, that you will remember for a lifetime. I would encourage all of you to watch this movie, even the men here, if you have not already done so. It wouldn't hurt to watch or read Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights as well. For those who might not understand why these stories resonate - all of them - even today, it wouldn't hurt you to do some research. While contemporary romance is exciting and sexual, I doubt they will hold up for centuries. I believe The Notebook, as movie or book, will be around far longer and will stand up with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights as a beautiful portrait does, for many, many years. DO please watch this movie and keep your mind and especially your heart open because beauty, while being in the eye of the beholder, can move even the hardest of hearts.

Magnifique

DVD perfetto. Film stupendo

Franchement, Un Pur Chef-d’œuvre Ce Film Romantique et Amour, Des Acteurs au Top , Histoire qui vous tiens vraiment en haleine, beaucoup de moments joyeux et très triste à la fois … bref evidament je raconte pas l’histoire. Juste perso c’est vraiment un film à avoir dans sa dvteck ! Vos Femmes vont adorées ! Même les hommes romantiques au bon cœur ! Ce Film mérite vraiment d’être vu , et même Sortir en 4 K ( mais je pense pas …) Déjà très heureux d’avoir pu le trouver en Blu-ray !!! Car je l’avais déjà en simple Dvd… que du coup j’ai offert… evidament l’image et le son , je vous apprends rien un blu-ray c’est déjà vraiment Top 👍 Et si vous avez un home cinéma, bahhh c’est la cerise sur le gâteau !🤗

金持ちだけど好きではない彼氏を選ぶか？それともお金はないけど大好きな彼氏を選ぶか？ 自分の人生の決断は難しい。

I don't remember what made me buy The Notebook on DVD in the first place. When it arrived from Amazon it sat in its cellophane for some time, before eventually being taken along on a girly night in. The wrapping was finally opened... and wow, was it worth the wait! I haven't read the novel by Nicholas Sparks, but now I definitely will. Therefore, the story was a complete surprise to me. So imagine my confusion at the beginning of the film when, after seeing two bright young things on the DVD cover, I am confronted with elderly people in a home. It soon becomes clear, though. In the nursing home, the tale begins when a kindhearted man goes to read to another resident, who is suffering from senile dementia. The woman is quickly entranced by the tale, spurring the reader on, and the story unfolds... In the book, set in the early 1940s, a country boy catches sight of a girl and is immediately drawn to her. However, she is rich and he is poor, leading her to turn down his offer of a date on several occasions. Eventually, though, two of their mutual friends set them up and Allie realises that Noah is in fact a fine young man, despite his background. The two become close and fall deeply in love. They are inseparable and spend all the time together that they can, knowing in the back of their minds that the summer will soon be over and they'll have to make some tough decisions. Presently, though, Allie's parents intervene. On discovering their daughter is not in her bed at 2am, a full-scale search is launched, leading them ultimately to a deserted house in which Allie and Noah are on the brink of making love for the first time. However, it is not to be and the two rush back to Allie's parents' summer home - to be faced with two very angry parents now determined to force them apart. They succeed and take Allie away - leaving the pair broken-hearted. Noah, still desperately in love, writes to Allie every day for a year, determined not to lose her. However, her mother hides the letters and Allie is devastated to think that the man she thought was her true love has forgotten her so easily. On the arrival of World War II, Noah heads abroad to serve his country. In the meantime, Allie becomes a nurse, looking after sick and injured soldiers, knowing that in a way she is helping Noah by aiding his fellow fighters. The tale takes a twist when Allie falls for another man after helping him in the hospital. Lon (played by James Marsden) pursues Allie, easily winning over her parents, then pops the question. Noah's face fleetingly passes through Allie's mind as she accepts. On returning from the war, Noah discovers that his father has sold his house to help his only son fund his lifelong dream - to restore the beautiful mansion he promised Allie he would one day own. He rebuilds and decorates the house to her specification, securing a photograph and an article in the newspaper, which by a strange coincidence ends up next to Allie's wedding announcement. After seeing her wedding announcement, Allie flips open the paper to see Noah's facing peering out. Instantly, she is thrown into turmoil, particularly as she sees that he has fulfilled his dream of owning and fixing up the mansion. She decides to pay him one last visit before her wedding. Noah is delighted to see Allie, although he's unsure of her motives. Awkward at first, the two soon become accustomed to one another's company again and after being caught in a freak rainstorm, their passion is reignited. Allie is torn. She realises her feelings for Noah never went away, but she's now promised to become the wife of another man. What will she do? Decades later in the nursing home, the story reaches its highly emotional conclusion. This is an absolutely beautiful story. The DVD cover claims that The Notebook is the most romantic film since Titanic. I wouldn't disagree. Girls, there won't be a dry eye in the house after watching this film. I loved it and can't wait to get my hands on the book.