Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

marcslope Such credentials--fine writers, Cukor direction, Maggie Smith--and this 1972 adaptation of Graham Greene's novel is a sad misfire. It looks slapped together, filled with handsome compositions elegantly shot by Oswald Morris, but they don't flow. The misadventures of a stuffy young banker and his unconventional aunt feel haphazard and random, and Smith tends to overplay. Alec McCowen, actually seven years Maggie's senior, is fine, but he doesn't do anything to surprise you, and I kept waiting for the character to discover what we've been suspecting for several reels about his identity. Lou Gossett, as her pot-smoking aide-de-camp, didn't impress me. The transitions between past and present are clumsy, the humor's wispy, the musical score overbearing in that early-'70s way, and in one scene, it sounded like one actor had been overdubbed--his voice is so much louder than everyone else's. The screenwriters don't know how to end this one, so it literally ends with a freeze-frame of a coin tossed in the air, and we don't much care about how it's going to fall. It feels pieced together, and like several scenes are missing; I don't know if MGM did a lot of pre-release cutting, but what's left can't really be said to hang together.

Clothes-Off This is one of those filmed novels--like "The Prince of Tides", "The Object of My Affection", or "THe Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"--which readers of the book will find disappointing. I'm guessing, however, that most people who discover it now will not have read the book. And as a stand-alone film, how could you not like it? Maggie Smith is hilarious; and now that she IS the age of the character she was playing at the time, it makes her broad performance even more amazing. (There are hints of this character in the role she played 29 years later in "Gosford Park".)The real gift for first-time viewers will be discovering Alec McCowen's wonderful acting as the stiff, stodgy nephew. He's one of those actors you see once, and then immediately you'll want to find out what else he's done. Lou Gossett Jr, and Cindy WIlliams are also enjoyable in early career roles. This film was made in an era where greats like George Cukor were getting in a few last licks out of lengthy, distinguished career. (William Wyler and Joseph L. Mankiewicz were also showing they still had greatness in them during this period.) The film's score deserves mention, as it teleported me back to 1972, where I could imagine myself seeing this in a theatre wearing bell-bottoms and sporting a shag haircut (like WIlliams' in the movie). The theme song, "Serenade of Love", should have been nominated for an Oscar.So again, if I'd read the book--which I now plan to do--I might feel differently; but compared to much of today's dreck, this is a whole lot of fun. From the moment that portrait winked at me at the beginning, I enjoyed it.

HallmarkMovieBuff Graham Greene's novels can be so subtle as to tend toward the obscure. It's no wonder, then, that "Travels" translated to film tends to meander a bit. Greene himself admitted that he wasn't really sure where Henry and Aunt Augusta were going to land next.The travels here are of two types -- physical, across Europe, and temporal, as Augusta reminisces. One breaks up the other, while still advancing the plot, such as it is, although at times it seems to disappear.The chief enjoyments here are the travels of the physical kind -- the varied scenery, the sumptuous architectures, the brilliant photography, the geographically-appropriate costumes.The acting isn't bad, either. One can but wish they'd had more to work with.

sol- Somewhat of an intriguing film, as one is always trying to figure out what exactly is going on, it is a strange mix of flashiness and eccentricities overall, and not quite a fully satisfying combination. In an Oscar nominated role, Maggie Smith gives it her all, but yet comes off as bit over-the-top. Alec McCowen is better as the as a man who has never done anything outlandish in his life before. The vibrant costumes won the film an Oscar and perhaps are the best part of the production. It is very uneven in how fascinating the storyline is, with flashbacks that drag in a style that involves sharp zooms and fuzzy close-ups, and with a number of nasty events. It is rather shallow stuff: not emotionally involving, but neither very funny… just quite weird overall with a convoluted and contrived scheme as a backdrop to the events. The music choices are not exactly wonderful either. Make no mistake - this is not a terrible film, and there is enough worth watching for that the film arguably is worth checking out. It comes however best recommended to those who are into bizarre, unusual and somewhat silly films, wanting something different for a change. I cannot see this strange mix satisfying most tastes.