Summer of '42

Rating:
Summary: summer of 42: a revisit
Review: I first saw this movie in the mid-1970s. I was like most young men who thought that being with an older woman would bring about a sense of excitment, fantasy, maturity, and to some degree, a sense of manhood.
This film, Summer of 42, is a good film about a young man coming of age. It is also one young man's personal journey in meeting an older woman, Jennifer O'neil. And along with this new experience a more heighten experience takes place: a young man is no longer a boy.
I would agree with other reviewers in saying this is a movie made for the period, 1970s; it is also a movie that sets the stage for what is to come of an unusual meeting between a young boy and an older woman.
I would recommend the film for viewers who are interested in how life sometimes takes one down one road and how one ends up on a different one coming back.

Rating:
Summary: a great father-son movie
Review: i first saw this movie in the summer of '82, when i was spending the summer with my father (i was 11 years old at the time). my father, born in summer of '42, introduced me to the movie and i never forgot it. most of the movies my father likes are a major bore for me, but this one has stuck with me. a great movie. it would be great for fathers to watch this movie with their teen (or pre-teen) sons.

Rating:
Summary: A Touching Story With A Wider Deeper Look In To A Teens Mind
Review: I loved this for many reasons and major thing is the way it looked in to the minds of three teens... it is superb. And i really enjoyed watching this movie because it reallys shows how it was back in '42....... i know i haven't been there since i've born in 80's,,,, but it's stil a marvelous movie. i think everyone should see it, those of who enjoy watching love stories that is so touching and psychologically impressive!!.....

Rating:
Summary: Timeless coming of age
Review: I saw this film on the theaters back in 1972, when I was turning 15. It had a huge impact on my views of what "growing up" really meant.

I recall it as a soft movie full of genuine feelings about life with an amazingly gentle lesson of awakening reality that goes beyond one's youthful dreams.

Jennifer O'Neil was perfect, she moved as a gentle breeze. The director creates an atmosphere of an almost dreamlike quality to this film. He has a longing, soft and Timeless way of expressing life as it was in 1942 that holds true even today: the brutality of war, life and death, sex and love. This movie is a must-see/must-have to all who admire beauty and simplicity in one package.

Rating:
Summary: I am back to being a Hermie....
Review: I saw this movie for the first time at age 14. I remember going back to the theater six consecutive days - coming out of the show each time with a sense of aching longing in my heart. Just as the middle-aged Hermie says in the movie, it took me longer those days to understand what I had felt. Looking back, it was to me, as it had been to Hermie, a new experience of growing emotions within me, the feelings that were crossing from the boyhood to adulthood.

I recently picked up the DVD, and saw this movie perhaps for the first time in about 20 years. I was astounded to observe that I once again became a 14 year-old. Dorothy, played brilliantly by Jennifer O'Neill, was again an older, wiser woman whom I adored, even though, at age 22 then, and my current age, she could have been my daughter. The rush of emotions returned, that same aching feeling of longing. Among those feelings were the words, "I miss you Dorothy.I wish I could see you again and thank you. I really missed you when I could not find you in the morning. My dearest Dorothy...." Quite amazing, since this is "just" a movie. And yet, my emotional reactions are so genuine, so deeply real. Such is the power, magic of "Summer of '42." This is one of those movies that have the ability to reach deep into your heart, and lets you live your Self that you thought you had long lived past. At least, that is what "Summer of '42" does to me. I cherish this movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Haunting Coming of Age Love Story
Review: I saw this movie for the first time with my fiancee (now my wife) when it was released in 1972 and thoroughly enjoyed it then. I've watched it many times since and bought a VHS copy and am currently awaiting a DVD release. Unfortunately, my kids (raised with the more fast-paced films of the 80's & 90's) think the movie's a bore but I continue to enjoy it. The '40's era atmosphere of the film is perfectly accompanied by the beautiful soundtrack and is enhanced by the atmospheric cinematography and acting of all those involved. The blend of comedy and drama remind us all of what we went through as teens, regardless of the era. I was confused by Dorothy's rationale for the love-scene at the time I first saw the movie but I've come to understand it over the years as I've matured. The climactic love-scene, while controversial at the time of release, still strikes me as one of the most touching, sensitive and poignant scenes ever filmed.

Rating:
Summary: A good nostalgic coming-of-age movie on DVD.
Review: I saw this movie in 1972 - in India. I don't think there was a boy my age who didn't have a crush on Jennifer O'Neill after seeing the movie, which is remarkable because she didn't appear in anything notable after this. This was my coming-of-age movie - along with Love Story (Ali McGraw) and The Graduate (Katherine Ross). What stuck in my mind was the haunting score (which won an Academy Award), the New England coast (which I now learn was the Mendocino coast - ...) and the hilarious theater and rubber scenes (lol). I bought the DVD as soon it was released and it didn't disappoint - the transfer is excellent. The memories came flooding back. I understand it better now - just as Dorothy's letter said it would. I plan to watch it again when I feel nostalgic.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie! Lots of nostalgia...
Review: I saw this on the 'big screen' back in the early 70's. Loved it then...love it now. The music is just right for the mood of the movie. I have this on VHS and just got it on laserdisc...now PLEASE Warner Bros. bring on the DVD! 5 Stars*****

Rating:
Summary: Sentimental, funny film will make you laugh, cry....
Review: In everyone's life, I often think, there is a Summer of '42 (or '52, or '62, and so on....), a time in which we discover the joys and sorrows of growing up...and falling in love. There are hijinks and pranks, jokes and playful insults...and always the bonds of friendship. But sometimes, in those days of discovery and self-awareness, we feel the angst of that first attraction, the bittersweet highs and lows of falling seriously in love for the first time -- sometimes with the right person, sometimes not. And of course, we feel the heartbreak of losing that cherished love...wondering what on Earth happened.

Based on Herman Raucher's autobiographical novel, Robert Mulligan's 1971 classic is one of those rare coming-of-age movies that stands heads and shoulders above those sex-obsessed, raunchy teen-oriented films (Private Lessons, Meatballs)that were released in later years. Starring Gary Grimes as Hermie, Jerry Hauser as Oscar, Oliver Conant as Benjie, and featuring the luminous Jennifer O'Neill as Dorothy, this lyrical, hysterically funny and heartbreakingly poignant film will ellicit both laughter and tears from all but the most stone-hearted viewer.

Summer of '42's plot revolves around the Terrible Trio of Hermie, Oscy, and Benjie, who live on a small island off the East Coast of the United States. It's the summer after Pearl Harbor, and all the men of military age are going off to the various fronts to fight the Axis powers. One of these is Dorothy's husband, Pete.

For Hermie, this opens up a whole world of possibilities. For in between all the usual boyish things he's done with Oscy and Benjie (among them, sneaking looks at "dirty books"), he's also fallen deeply in love with Dorothy. He spends time at her house, making himself useful by bringing in the groceries or helping her fix things...the "how do you like your coffee?" scene is a gem, evoking all those memories of how far we young guys would go to impress that "special" girl.

But before this movie fades to black to the strains of Michel Legrand's "The Summer Knows/Theme from Summer of '42," Hermie will learn that even heaven-sent (in this case, Pete's demise) opportunities come with a heavy price. Even though Hermie's fondest dream does come true (and the scenes of the preliminaries are among the funniest, particularly the purchase of a condom!), the results are somewhat sobering....and heartbreaking.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Outstanding. A tender journey to manhood; beautiful.
Review: It all comes together in this film; acting, music score, screenplay. The tenderness and emotion that accompany this young man's journey to manhood is how it should be, or should have been for all of us.