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42 out of 45 people found the following review useful:
Beautifully Rendered Postcards With a Peerless Audrey, 16 December 2005

Author: Ed Uyeshima from San Francisco, CA, USA

I read in Danny Peary's "A Guide for the Film Fanatic" that some people have formed a strong emotional attachment to this 1967 film. I am one of them. From the opening notes of Henry Mancini's evocative score (personally I think it's his best work) to the end where the main characters drive off into Italy after some verbal sparring, this movie still provides the same pleasure it did when I first saw it on TV in the early seventies. "Two for the Road" is a time capsule of Carnaby Street fashion and French new wave scene juxtaposition, but it remains timeless in its emotionally piercing view of marriage and in the beguiling presence of Audrey Hepburn. There will unlikely be an actress with more style or grace on screen, and never has she seemed more sexy, playful or innately human. It's a shame she never played a role as rich in texture as Frederic Raphael's script provides here. His dialogue is sharp and insightful, as he has the main characters often repeat one another for the sake of getting a different meaning from the same line of dialogue.

As Joanna and Mark Wallace, Hepburn and Albert Finney get to live out more than a decade in their characters' lives from initial meeting to near-divorce. What makes the evolution more impressive is that the story is not a linear narrative but rather a series of five road trips that volley the viewer back and forth in the relationship. Finney provides a formidable match for Hepburn, and he plays with the right mix of roguish insouciance and insecure ambition that doesn't make his character always likable but certainly believable. Their chemistry is palpable, especially in the early days of their courtship as the movie makes hitchhiking the most romantic of adventures with the couple cutting through the entirety of France in various vehicles in record time. Only in the movies. The episode with the pretentious American tourist couple and their bratty daughter provides some biting and funny moments...ironically, the actress portraying the wife, Eleanor Bron, is British. Not surprising that this movie was not such a huge hit stateside since the four Americans in the movie are portrayed in such an unflattering light.

Regardless, credit needs to go to director Stanley Donen (himself an American), who somehow pulls all these disparate elements together and uses his extensive Hollywood experience to bring a nice glossy sheen to the whole film. His third collaboration with Hepburn (after "Funny Face" and "Charade") really turns into a tribute to her as she makes a remarkable transformation from naïve choirgirl to jaded jet-set housewife that goes well beyond the changing hairstyles and clothing. This is one to treasure.

This wondrous film has been lovingly restored for its much-delayed DVD release. The print quality has been significantly improved over the VHS tape I've had for over a decade. A nice bonus feature is a split-screen before-and-after short that shows the visual improvement. Best of all, there is finally an audio commentary track to accompany the film, and Donen provides illuminating insight on the elliptical narrative structure and the non-chronological juxtaposition of the scenes. He explains that the characters are reliving their memories by association with the feelings they are having in the present. His adoration of Hepburn is pervasive and understandable, as he claims rightfully that this was her best performance (they worked together three times). I just wish Finney was available to add his perspective. Moreover, if you ever wondered why the young Jacqueline Bisset's voice doesn't sound like her at all, he admits she was re-dubbed by another actress due to the blaring noise of generators during the location shooting. She apparently had already moved on to shoot her first Hollywood film. For those like me who adore this film, the DVD is a must-buy.

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41 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
wonderful, 4 May 2003

Author: iluvcrayons07 from United States

This is my favorite movie of all time. I just saw it 2 weeks ago, and I've already watched it about 7 times. The way that Mark and Joanna's relationship is displayed through the time changes is excellent, and while you'd think that keeping track of the time would be difficult, it's actually quite simple if you look at the hair and the attitudes of the couple. Audrey Hepburn is magnificent, one of her best performances ever, and Albert Finney is charming as her workaholic husband. The Maxwell-Manchesters are hilarious, especially the little girl Ruthie. Audrey is the bored wife, trying to save the 12-year marriage, while Albert is the overworking, bad tempered husband. The movie takes you through their three trips, the first when their love affair began, the second when she is pregnant with their first child, and the third when their marriage is beginning to fail. Their love is displayed wonderfully, and anyone can see that Hepburn and Finney were in love in real life, too. The music is beautiful, I love how it's played all throughout the movie. I think that it's one of the best parts of the whole movie, but there wasn't a moment when I wasn't completely wrapped up in what was going on. This is a classic, and I can't believe I'd never heard of it before I accidently picked it up at the video store. Anyone who is married (or who's looking for some laughs) should definitely watch this movie, it's a must-see.

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39 out of 44 people found the following review useful:
Brilliant Dissection of a Marriage, 4 November 2005

Author: dglink from Alexandria, VA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Under the glossy sheen of what was sold as a romantic comedy, Stanley Donen's incomparable film, "Two for the Road," is at heart the dissection of a relationship between two people over a decade of their life together. During the course of the film, Mark and Joanna Wallace mature from two carefree young individuals into a union of two people, which is stronger than the sum of its parts. Frederic Raphael's Oscar-nominated screenplay relates the story of this couple through a series of car trips across France. The trips vary as the years pass, and most are taken together, although one is with another couple, and one is with their young daughter. As the couple's affluence grows, the cars become more expensive, the clothes more stylish, and the two partners more distant. Early in their lives, Mark and Joanna note a man and woman sitting in a restaurant without looking or speaking to each other. Joanna asks: "What kind of people sit in a restaurant and don't talk to each other." Mark replies: "Married people." After a decade together, Mark and Joanna sit in a restaurant together without speaking. While lacking the cynicism of Stephen's Sondheim's views on marriage, Raphael makes his point.

If the film had been told in a straightforward time line, the results would have been ordinary at best. However, Raphael has fractured time, and the stories unravel in bits and pieces that are inter cut to compare and contrast Mark and Joanna and their relationship as it grows and reacts to life. Some of the cuts are amusing such as a scene when the couple is hitchhiking and a car passes them without stopping. Mark says: "I'll never pass a hitchhiker without stopping." The film jumps to Mark who, during a subsequent trip, passes a hitchhiking couple without even a glance at them. The cuts are not flashbacks, however, because the characters are not remembering the past. As the director, Stanley Donen, put it, every scene is the present, which makes the film a revolving prism that reflects various facets of the union of these two people at different points in their lives. Perhaps this unique structure is what has made the film so appealing to so many viewers. Everyone sees the film from his or her own experiences and stage of life. As the viewer matures and changes, so does his or her relationship to the film and its characters.

With a sophisticated script to work from, the actors were at the top of their form. Arguably, Audrey Hepburn has never been better and displayed a range unrivaled in her other films as she matures from a young collegiate on tour to a sophisticated, but bored, wife of a successful architect. Albert Finney was never more attractive, and his chemistry with Hepburn is essential to the film's success. An American couple, played to perfection by Eleanor Bron and William Daniels, and their daughter, Ruthie, who travel with the Mark and Joanna on one trip, are the film's comedy relief. The anal husband, snobbish wife, and insufferable child comprise a family that Joanna desperately does not want to become or to share an automobile with.

Beautiful wide-screen cinematography of the French countryside by Christopher Challis and one of Henry Mancini's finest scores only enhance this masterwork further. The collaboration of Henry Mancini, Stanley Donen, and Audrey Hepburn, which worked so well on "Charade," reached a peak with "Two for the Road." Like other films that used fractured time, such as "Citizen Kane" and "Memento," "Two for the Road" does not pale under repeated viewings, because the structure makes it difficult to anticipate the order of sequences and the film always seems fresh. Only the screenplay's over-reliance on phrase repetition in the dialog exchanges and the ongoing gag about misplaced passports wear thin. But, despite any minor quibbles, this viewer is always willing to take another trip across France with Mark and Joanna. When the film draws to a conclusion and the couple cross a border both literally and figuratively, their final exchange is: "Bitch," "Bastard." To which all I can add is: Brilliant.

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40 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
Sixties Gem, 30 April 2005

Author: moviegurl16 from United States

In 1967, Audrey Hepburn had gotten into the "swing" of things by being with Peter O'Toole in "How to steal a million" and did not want to go back to being in flops like "paris when it sizzles" or wearing the same old Givenchy clothes. In this film you see a change in her, a new haircut, clothes from the grooviest designers of Mod London and elsewhere like Mary Quant and Paco Rabanne, you see her eat! eating casually bread, grapes;making funny noises,etc. you actually see her having fun in this picture.She plays Joanna Wallace who with her husband played beautifully by Albert Finney reflect on the good times and the bad times of their twelve-year marriage.This film is must see because it goes beyond the happy ending and into actually imitating life where marriage is not always perfect. where marriage has fights and arguments and sometimes infidelity and hurt but love usually conquers all.must see.

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28 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Standing the test of time, 29 September 2004
Author: mroselli from Nigeria

Thank God that Audrey Hepburn made this film before slipping off into an extended temporary retirement. Was she too old for this movie? Not for the segments that deal with the latter part of the married relationship. The movie spans eleven years and, yes, it is a bit of a visual stretch to see a 37 year old Audrey portraying a 22 year old college woman, but her performance throughout was nothing short of brilliant. This film was a tremendous departure for her. In Two for the Road she does not play the part of the doe-eyed delicate creature of her earlier movies. She even abandoned, reluctantly, her trademark Givenchy wardrobe to sink her teeth into a gritty, visceral part. Many critics of the time remarked on its art house appeal, due in large part to the back and forth sequence editing and the clever juxtaposition of similarities, parallels and contrasts in scenes spanning eleven years. The film must have been incredibly fresh and jarring in its day, abandoning a linear narrative approach to the history of a marriage. Even today it comes across as very "contemporary." Albert Finney delivers an equally strong performance. There is genuine chemistry between Finney and Hepburn. The viewer sees all that is wonderful and horrible about the dynamics of a couple that comes to realize that despite mutual infidelity they still love each other and belong to one another.

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19 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
underrated classic ahead of it's time, 17 November 2005

Author: lippp from United States

The two here are Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney at their prime. The road is the bumpy road of relationships and marriage. As this couple travel this rocky road you, the viewer, observe how a charming, charismatic couple can change and evolve and hurt one another while still being in love. Stanley Donnen, director, does a masterful job in moving things along. The storyline is not linear. You get to see the couple a various times in their relationship revisiting them at crucial stages. The result is an engaging film that demands your attention. The European setting is romantic, the humor balancing the pathos of their life, and the viewer coming away with perhaps some universal truths of what it means to be connected. Audry Hepburn is class personified and Finney, in a word, a hunk!!!

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23 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
One of the Best Film Explorations About Marriage, 11 May 2004
Author: gregorybnyc from United States

1967 was a clearly Audrey Hepburn's final peak as a leading lady. With "Wait Until Dark," and 'Two for the Road," finished, she would quietly divorce Mel Ferrer and sit out her final productive years as a movie star, eventually marrying Andrea Dotti, having another child and semi-retire to her Roman apartment to raise her sons. Eight more years would pass until she finally agreed to do 'Robin and Marian." Well Audrey Hepburn is my all-time favorite movie star. This ethereal beauty with the dark expressive eyes, elegant clotheshorse figure, and unforgettable voice rarely made a mistake in her career. Here's another example of her infallible ability to find the right script. If only Julia Roberts had paid closer attention.

If you're going to draw your career to a close, and I'm not sure she realized this was it, no actress could do better than 'Two for the Road,' and 'Wait Until Dark." Audrey was such a natural screen presence, and with 'Two for the Road,' she had a wonderfully

handsome leading man in Albert Finney (there were strong rumors of a relationship during this film), and completely at ease with a director she had successfully worked with in the past--Stanley Donen.

Frederik Raphael's edgy comedy-drama about a young and successful couple's courtship and marriage was completely in step with the time, and when I re-watched it recently, I was totally drawn into their world. The young and carefree early years had the breezy romance and charm of Hepburn's early romantic comedies. As the story criss-crosses throughout the various years, you can see Finney withdrawing as he doggedly pursues his architecture career. You can see Hepburn's disappointment as she loses her husband to his work and most devastatingly to other women. She is finds the right reaction when he discovers she has finally taken on a lover of her own, and just when it looks like he's ready to forgive her, Finney's character lashes out viciously. Hepburn's look of utter horror at his cruelty is amazing. There's no violence here except emotional devastation and both actors deliver detailed and moving performances.

I like the fact that they seem to stay together, the humor of their early years often in evidence (he's always losing things, and when she finds them, he calls her "bitch" and she replies, "b**tard"). I also like the fact that the script doesn't demonize Finney's character, or the lack of it. Marriage is a two-way street here.

I'm a bit confused as to some of the criticism I read here of this movie. TWO FOR THE ROAD is an adult movie about adult relationships and stars two of the most appealing film stars of their era. It is well directed, and I was never confused about what is going on in any scene. Eleanor Braun and William Daniel's are outstanding as the perfectly awful couple you'd never want to be stuck with in a car trip, especially when their odious little girl comes along ! This, I believe, was Jacqueline Bissett's first film, and you can tell right away, she's got star quality. But this is Audrey and Albert's show all the way.

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18 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Not your typical sugary Hollywood love story, 8 August 2003

Author: Michael Morad-McCoy (mmckaibab) from Albuquerque, NM

This is probably my favorite romance movie of all time. The film tracks a couple by showing us their varied trips together through France. But what is so wonderful is that this is no Hollywood, sugar-coated love story but the chronicle of a very real marriage that should be recognizable to anyone who is working at his or her own marriage. We see the bonding that forms from the NOT love-at-first-sight trip, the glowing honeymoon trip, and the us vs. them trip. But we also see the trips that involve estrangement, infidelity, discord and marital rapprochement.

Stanley Donen takes all these trips, chops them into pieces, and presents them in a fascinatingly scrambled chronology that takes several viewings to unscramble. He also gets excellent performances from all his actors, especially Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney.

At the end we appreciate this marriage so much more because we've seen all the work it has taken and learn that "bitch" and "bastard" can really be terms of endearment.

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19 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
The most beautiful film about being married, staying married and loving it and hating it all the way., 4 April 2003

Author: danland2 from Los Angeles, Ca.

An exquisite film about the complexities of love and marriage and all

that in brings, Two for the Road also boasts the best film of Audrey

Hepburn's brilliant career -- and certainly the best of Stanley Donen's.

Even by todays standards, the film hold its own and surpasses the

superficial garbage Hollywood cranks out on a daily basis. Maybe Matthew

MacConnaughey, Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts,

Ashton Kucher, Brittney Murphy, Nia Vardolos, John Corbett, and all the

directors that try this genre... Adam Shankman, in particular should be

tied to a chair and forced to watch this film. But, maybe, that's a bad

idea because from what they turn out, they wouldn't get it anyway.

They'd probably find it too dated.

This film has more soul in one frame than anything these artists will

churn out in their lifetimes. Hopefully 20th Century Fox will release

this on DVD for the world to see and experience with the wonder of

digital restoration and stereo sound. The score by Henry Mancini is one

of his best. For the true romantics, this film is a must. ......

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15 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
It's 2005 and "Two For The Road" is STILL not out on DVD, 26 March 2005

Author: elena-48 from United States

Am I the only one who wants this movie to be cleaned up and put on DVD but pronto!? The last time I rented this at Blockbuster the copy was so bad it was like watching it through a dirty window.

What a shame that such a carefully made, well-acted 60's flick has been so neglected.

Please Note: Albert Finney and Eleanor Bron are still around so the possibility still exists of a Special Feature interview segment. I'm sure they have some interesting stories about the making of this film.

And Stanley Donen, the film's director, is now pushing 81 (his birthday will be on April 13). He also directed Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face and Charade.

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