Cheap Two English Girls (DVD) (Jean-Pierre Léaud, Kika Markham) (François Truffaut) Price

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Customer Reviews of Two English Girls

Not as good as Jules & Jim, but still worthwhile...
This is the story behind Jules & Jim. It is a fictionalized account of the author who wrote it. So, instead of being one woman for two guys, it is one guy for two girls. Let me say this right off the bat - this is not in the same league as Jules & Jim. The other reviews of this movie which cite it as one of Truffaut's best are overly generous. Even the look of this film cannot compare to J&J, which was shot in timeless, glorious black and white and it still looks just as fresh today. Two English Girls is shot in color, which has faded somewhat and it makes the picture look cheaper.

In his book, The Films in My Life, Truffaut pledges his admiration for Henry Miller. He has a fascination with eroticism and it always troubled him that Miller could be frankly erotic in prose, but on screen it loses something and becomes [more erotic]. This movie is an exercise in testing the boundaries of artistic eroticism. It is a hit and miss affair: sometimes it comes off as a letter to Penthouse Forum and there is a scene which is disturbing to modern sensibilities involving two little girls. However, at its best I do think the film captures some of the awe of physical love that it aspires to.

I hope I don't seem too down on this film. It is still a Truffaut film, which means that it is better than anything you are going to see in theaters now. It's just that he is competing against himself, which is alas, too much competition.

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Truffaut's Best Film
Only Truffaut could have made this film. It is very sad, but it has all his charm and tenderness, his very French appreciation of love and happiness, and his literary cast of mind. He said that he liked to make films about "the sentiments". If that was his goal, this was his best film.

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A BEAUTIFUL SENSITIVE MOVIE
Arguably the director's best movie,LES DEUX ANGLAISES ET LE CONTINENT is both charming and moving.TRUFFAUT always loved stories about love triangles(his own life was like that).It is not surprizing that he added the scenes that were originally missing when the film was first presented in 1971.He was obviously very fond of that movie.JEAN-PIERRE LÉAUD his alter ego from the DOINEL series was miscast to be sure,but it doesn't diminish the quality of the storytelling.A common TRUFFAUT device here is the use of the voice over that comes off perfectly.Very few films have succeeded in presenting the theme of love in all it's cruelty and physical aspects.MURIEL and ANNE the héroines are reminiscent of the BRONTÉ sisters.A good choice for anyone who wants to understand the psychology of women.