CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Sherparsa stupid title for a review?maybe ...well, it's not DL's works that have issues (they don't really, he's one of the best directors ever!) but it's me ...i have been in this kind of 'over-saturated sensational mood' for at least four decades now, i just can't control bursting into tears (or laughs) when watching a great movie ...so, that's why i say don't watch David Lean's movies if you like his (or any other great director's) works in fact ...i mean just as there is a limit to how things can go wrong, there's also a limit to how something can be so good just as well ... but in case of masterpieces of cinema or music or painting whatever, that's how it works: it is SO good it knows no boundaries and floats across the entire Universe like Dark Energy or Sunlight so strongly i can't watch it or i may get a heart attack or something! i remember when i saw Doctor Zhivago for example (and i saw it at least two decades after it was made, on videotape and on a 24" monitor) i couldn't sleep the entire night, thinking and wondering about what i had just watched ...this movie here, Passionate Friends, is not as 'big' as DZ or Laurence of Arabia in terms of big screen production and fame, and it's older than both too, but it's no less great either imo! and that's what makes it even more deeply penetrating into the viewer's mind and heart when you think you're dealing with a regular movie for entertainment purpose only but then you find out you're there for much more than that ... surely the original story itself by Wells is great too, so, we're having two masters of story telling here working together to dig deep into humanity's most intimate moments of love, desire, yearning, insecurity, lost opportunities and ...

howardmorley When I saw the trailer for this 1948 film on "UTube", I was immediately struck by the similar musical format to "Brief Encounter".In the latter film, Lean wisely increased the dramatic tension by adding a classy soundtrack by selectively dubbing on Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto in C minor (played by Eileen Joyce).In "The Passionate Friends" he dubbed on the adagio second movement of Grieg's famous piano concerto in A minor.By casting Ann Todd as the leading lady he added more verisimilitude in the minds of the paying public who had previously seen her play a concert pianist in "The Seventh Veil (1945).As I have only seen the trailer I have graded it 7/10 which was the average universal rating of other informed reviewers many of whom have given very sagacious comments above.

Maddyclassicfilms The Passionate Friends is directed by David Lean, has a screenplay by Eric Ambler, is based on the novel by H.G Wells and stars Ann Todd, Claude Rains and Trevor Howard.The Passionate Friends bears many similarities to Lean's earlier film Brief Encounter. There are some similarities between the two and this could almost be a sequel to that, Howard again plays a doctor who falls for a married woman who is married to a dull but good man.Ann Todd is perfect as the young woman torn not just between two different men,but two types of love, the physical and the emotional.It is her performance that carries the film as she struggles to decide which man she want's causing deep sadness and tragedy.Mary Justin(Ann Todd)begins an affair with the dashing Professor Stephen Stratton(Trevor Howard)who is in every way different from her husband Howard Justin(Claude Rains.)Justin is a kind and well meaning gentleman who knew his wife just wanted friendship from him when they married and didn't expect her to love him, never the less he is deeply hurt when she begins her affair.Your sympathies are with all three characters equally and you see that they all have faults and good points, this makes Mary's decision of which man to choose all the more difficult as they are both good men and each loves her deeply in their own way. In addition to the story and unforgettable performances the film is a visual treat with beautiful location work and photography. This is one of Lean's best films and a fine romantic drama.

samhill5215 Invariably this film is bound to be compared to "Brief Encounter" and I guess that's to be expected given they were both directed by David Lean, starred Trevor Howard and featured adultery. Frankly I think any comparison to be unfair because that's where their similarities end. I've seen both and I favor "Passionate Friends". I should add that Ann Todd is not one of my favorite performers. Her demeanor can be expressionless and somewhat off putting. But here she truly shines. In Lean's extensive close ups she reveals inner feelings without uttering a word. And her smiles are explosively radiant. She utterly owns this part. The male parts are equally excellent. All the performances wrap the viewer with their passion and involve him in the characters' fates. This is not light viewing. It's an emotional roller coaster and as the climactic finale unfolded I found myself talking to the screen trying to influence the outcome. Without a doubt this is a story by adults, for adults. Highly recommended.