This film is playing at my local cineworld as the Monday Classic. This cinemas choice of a monday classic has been somewhat debateable in the past e.g. Bend It Like Beckham (acceptable as a Wednesday Special but not a Monday Classic). So is Travels With My Aunt worthy of being a Monday Classic or not?
shareI think it is a lucious movie. It may have some faults but I do feel that Maggie Smith's performance is terrific and hilarious and Alec McCowen was wonderful too. It may not be considered a classic but it's a fun movie none the less.
sharei only saw a bit of it on tcm, looked like an enjoyable piece, hope it airs again. i didn't know what genre it was when i got into it. didn't realise until now that louis gotten jr was in it.
cleaver ending, like maybe there was a sequal setted for.
you feel so good to be around,
like you've been for such a long time,
and when you say my name,
i'll do anything you say,
you feel so good to have around,
but you're so far away now,
and i can't get excited like i used to do,
from that kind smile and blond hairdo,
but you still feel nice to be around.
I would say, yes, and it would also be a great opportunity to those who want to see it that haven't seen it yet. I, personally, enjoyed this film because I enjoy Maggie Smith but also comedies with both heartfelt and lightweight scenes from the 1960s and 1970s.
It was filmed beautifully by famed Hollywood director George Cukor; the outdoor scenery in many shots is magnificent, as well as some exquisitely extravagant interiors of hotel rooms and high-end restaurants. Maggie Smith's versatility is very evident in the role of Aunt Augusta Bertram, playing both Augusta's older self and very young roles in her early years through short flashback scenes of her former relationships.
If the viewer takes the film lightly, he or she will enjoy it.
I realize I'm nearly eight years late in replying to this question, but in case anyone is curious and happens upon it, the short and most obvious answer is: It's a George Cukor-directed film; therefore it is by that definition a classic!
...although I often consider 1969 the cutoff point for Old Hollywood versus New. (No more evident that year with the edgy Midnight Cowboy winning the Oscar for Best Picture, but Smith winning Best Actress for kind of an old-fashioned--but still excellent-- Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.)
The early seventies was just as that new breed of director was getting started: Coppola, Pakula, Fosse, Mike Nichols, Scorsese, Lucas But many of the "classic" film directors got a few more licks in 'em--like when William Wyler put new star Barbra Streisand in 1968.
"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns
I just caught this on TCM. I wouldn't say it's a "classic" ... more of a curiosity, but a very interesting and entertaining one.
1970's Maggie Smith initially drew me in. The luscious costumes and locales - especially the old-school European travelogue aspect - kept me riveted. There are many intriguing small moments in this movie. It's the cinematic equivalent of one of those second-hand shops full of interesting things that you just can't stop exploring. Even if you walk away empty-handed, you enjoyed your time there. This is the kind of stuff Wes Anderson likes to re-create for modern eyes.
I didn't know this movie existed, so I was happy to stumble across it, although I don't expect I'll watch it again.