Three Coins in the Fountain

Rating:
Summary: BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A NICKEL?
Review: "Three Coins In The Fountain" is one of those big and brassy, but oh so velvety smooth and glossy-glazed confections from 20th Century Fox's stable of Cinemascope love-making; circa 1954. The film stars Dorothy MacGuire (Miss France), Jean Peters (Anita) and Maggie MacNamara (Maria) as a trio of lovelorn American ladies working at a consulate in Rome. Naturally, this pining for testosterone doesn't go unheeded for very long. After the girls take their hard earned dimes and nickels and toss them into the Trevi Fountain, they are not so miraculously visited by the likes of three studly gentlemen; John Frederick Shadwell (Clifton Webb), Georgio Bianchi (Rosanno Brazzi) and Prince Dino de Cessi (Louis Jourdan). Not all the romance goes sugary sweet, though make no mistake - this is a film in which predictability is the order of the day. As is the case with tripe and treacle befitting any mind-decaying fancy like this, "Three Coins" is greatly benefited by its anamorphic Cinemascope projection, capturing Rome in its illustrious and vivid splendor and making at least half of the film a dreamy travelogue. Director Jean Negulesco, lulls his audience with Oscar winning cinematography showcased under Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn Oscar winning title song performed by Frank Sinatra.

Though time has not been kind of previous issues of this film, on DVD most of the folly and age in prior home video mishaps has happily been corrected here. The Cinemascope image is generally sumptuous and at times even startling in its clarity. Colors are rich, at times eye popping, and on the whole palpable to the quality of the original source material. Contrast levels do tend to be a bit weak with blacks coming off more deep brown than black. There is also the very annoying momentary degradation of color between jump cuts, fades and dissolves that are inherent in all Cinemascope productions of this vintage. Contrast levels are nicely presented. A hint of edge enhancement will not distract. The audio is a remix of that melodious six track wonder that was Cinemascope stereo. Despite the soundtrack's obvious shortcomings in fidelity when compared to today's technological wizardry, there's great admiration on the part of this reviewer for the slippery ease with which Sinatra's vocals envelop the home viewer aggressively from all five channels.


Rating:
Summary: Fine romantic story and slice of post-WWII life
Review: Although I had been touting this movie to my (somewhat younger) Wife for years as a charming "chick flick" I remembered my Mother taking me to in the 50s (when I was much younger), I was surprised at how good it was when we watched it the other night. I had searched stores for it with no luck, finally located it on Amazon.com, and brought it home. In addition to keeping my Wife's rapt attention with the fine romantic story lines (3, as in Coins), the movie is an excellent slice of both post-WWII American expatriate and Italian life. It stands up well on all measures to what is out there today. It's a must-see for a woman, and a can-easily-sit-through for a guy.

Rating:
Summary: a great film
Review: Clifton Webb and Dorthy Macguire are great in thos film, a lovely romantic couplle in "Three Coins in the Fountain," which takes place in Rome. It's so romantic and beautiful scenery. The songs are lovely and it's well worth seeing, just for the music alone.

Rating:
Summary: a great film
Review: Clifton Webb and Dorthy Macguire are great in thos film, a lovely romantic couplle in "Three Coins in the Fountain," which takes place in Rome. It's so romantic and beautiful scenery. The songs are lovely and it's well worth seeing, just for the music alone.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Romantic Beginnings in Any Hollywood Movie
Review: I don't think you'll find much to top this opener, with the fountains of Rome being turned on one by one while Frank Sinatra croons an ulta-smooth rendition of the title song. Ohhhh!
This movie has a lot going for it after the opening song too, (unlike "Raintree County" for instance), so you'll be riveted to the screen. For starters, it's a wonderful travelogue of Rome, in glorious technicolor. And then, it boasts three of my favorite actors, none of whom ever gave a bad performance: Clifton Webb, Louis Jourdan, and Rosanno Brazzi.
These men each figure in a love story with one of three American secretaries living in Rome, respectively Dorothy McGuire, Maggie McNamara, and Jean Peters. In Webb's case, he is McGuire's boss, and has been totally unaware of her real feelings these past ten years. Jourdan is a wealthy playboy used to preying on innocent young girls who's having the tables turned on him by the very predatory McNamara. And lovelorn Rosanno Brazzi--who always makes my pulse flutter--has been pining after Peters, but afraid to tell her of his love, since he believes her engaged to another. How these unlikely scenarios resolve themselves is a delight for the viewer. Take my advice on this one: If you want to be swept away some night by romantic escapism, "Three Coins in the Fountain" is your best bet.

Rating:
Summary: Great story, great cast and superb cinematography
Review: I LIKED THIS MOVIE BUT I THOUGHT THE REMAKE WITH LONI ANDERSON WAS MUCH BETTER. I'D LIKE TO BUY THAT VERSION BUT DONT SEE IT LISTED. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Rating:
Summary: CinemaScope wonders!
Review: I love this DVD. The restored image looks gorgeous, very colourful and sophisticated. The only distracting thing is the dissolve & fade out shots where the resolution, contrast and colours are off. Also, overall colour balance of this transfer is a bit too yellowish. I think if the original cut Eastman color negative has fade, they should restored the whole thing using the existing YCM color seperation. Perhaps recombined them digitally, with frame-by-frame clean up.
The 4-track CinemaScope stereo soundtrack sounds very impressive. I love directional sound field. Overal, well done. A must have DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Italian Postcard.
Review: I must be honest--I bought "Three Coins in the Fountain" because I thought my wife would enjoy it. How right I was ! At the risk of sounding sexist, this 1954 production is definitely a movie aimed at women--and men wanting to impress women--it was probably a great "date flick" !

The plot is quite conventional, standard soap opera fare. Three young and single American women are employed as secretaries in Rome. They are played by Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, and--as "the new kid on the block"--Maggie McNamara. Of course, all three find romance, not to mention ever-changing wardrobes and lavish living accommodations. In 1954, secretaries must have made a bundle in Italy ! For gorgeous and seductive Ms. Peters, romance comes in the form of a ruggedly handsome Italian law student, Rossano Brazzi ( later to have Mitzi Gaynor swooning in "South Pacific" ). Young, naive Ms. McNamara attracts the attention of an Italian prince with a womanizing reputation
( Louis Jourdan, a poster boy for charm and sophistication ). She has to wait for much of the film, but Ms. McGuire is finally "noticed" by her stuffy, self-absorbed boss and best-selling author ( Clifton Webb, very badly cast as a romantic lead ). These relationships go through various predictable complications, with the steamy Peters/Brazzi pairing as the most realistic.

However, at this point, we should mention the real star of this film--Italy. Has that country ever been photographed more beautifully than in "Three Coins" ? This is one of the earliest Cinemascope productions, shot on location in colour--the views of Rome, the Italian countryside, and spectacular Venice are breath-taking. I agree with other positive technical reviews of this DVD--the film has been restored to its original glory, and this is a beautiful disc to own.

Of course, the film is still fifty years old, and dated in a number of ways. I still got caught up in it though because of the fabulous scenery and the three leading ladies are certainly attractive--I'm also sure that female viewers won't mind watching those two continental "hunks", Louis Jourdan and Rossano Brazzi !

The title song won an Oscar, and was a big hit for both Frank Sinatra--his version opens the film--and the Four Aces.

So--bottom line--a light, frothy confection from the fifties in a most beautiful package. There is one serious drawback--for us guys, this disc could become very expensive--my wife wants to spend our next holiday in Italy !

Rating:
Summary: A working girl's dream job!
Review: I recently bought this tape again after I wore out my old one! The scenery in this film is truly beautiful as well as that of the many fountains. The movie starts off with three young ladies, one of which just arrives in Rome to start a new job taking over for another girl returning to America to be married. All three young ladies go through the trials and errors of finding love interests in the romantic city. One finds her handsome prince, one finds a hunky, floundering student and the third falls for her novelist older boss. All three ending up with their heart's desire. Guess those coins in the fountain paid off! Sure wish it was that easy these days!! Truly a delightful film.

Rating:
Summary: A working girl's dream job!
Review: I recently bought this tape again after I wore out my old one! The scenery in this film is truly beautiful as well as that of the many fountains. The movie starts off with three young ladies, one of which just arrives in Rome to start a new job taking over for another girl returning to America to be married. All three young ladies go through the trials and errors of finding love interests in the romantic city. One finds her handsome prince, one finds a hunky, floundering student and the third falls for her novelist older boss. All three ending up with their heart's desire. Guess those coins in the fountain paid off! Sure wish it was that easy these days!! Truly a delightful film.