84 Charing Cross Road

1987
PG
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

12K

YOUR RATING

Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft in 84 Charing Cross Road (1987)

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Biography Drama Romance

Based on the true story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books, which later developed into a close, long-distance friendship that evolved over the course of two decades.Based on the true story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books, which later developed into a close, long-distance friendship that evolved over the course of two decades.Based on the true story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books, which later developed into a close, long-distance friendship that evolved over the course of two decades.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

12K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 3 wins & 3 nominations total

Trivia
Mel Brooks bought Anne Bancroft the rights to the book "84 Charing Cross Road" for her birthday one year. They were husband and wife from 1964 to her death in 2005.

Goofs
Helene says that she wishes Geoffrey Chaucer had kept a diary of his time in the court of Richard III. Chaucer served Edward III and Richard II, more than 150 years before the reign of Richard III.

Quotes
Helene Hanff: [reading from John Donne's "Meditations"] "All mankind is... one volume; when one man dies, one Chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every Chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand... shall bind up all our scattered leaves again, for that Library where every book shall lie open to one another."

Crazy credits
The production teams in New York and London were almost completely separate, and the closing credits reflect this: in front of a split screen showing Helene in New York and Frank in London, the crews for the two cities scroll side by side. In most cases the same jobs are shown in both columns, and the job titles are then shown in the center.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Over the Top/84 Charing Cross Road/Death Before Dishonor/Working Girls (1987)

Soundtracks
For unto us a child is born, Messiah HWV.56, act 3, No.12
Composed by George Frideric Handel

User reviews108

Review

Featured review

A love story, but not the way you're thinking

Helene and Frank never actually say they love each other - hell, they never even meet - but they love each other in an unspoken way that people today would not understand. The movie never plays it for sappy romance; its way better than stooping to that level of convention. They are good to one another and enrich one another's life - isn't that love?

Hopkins has an amazing moment when Helene has to cancel her trip to London due to some much-needed dental work. His face shows so many things, all at once, that it really is beautiful and breaks my heart, no matter how often I see it.

For Oscar fans - this movie has four winners - Bancroft, Hopkins, Mercedes Ruehl and Judi Dench.

I am grateful that this movie got made with such care and humanity.