TIME FOR LOVING [1972 / 2022] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
This is a Bittersweet Romantic Three Love Affairs Comedy-drama!
Filmed in Paris by Oscar-nominated director Christopher Miles from celebrated French dramatist Jean Anouilh's first original screenplay, these bittersweet romantic comedy-drama stars Joanna Shimkus, Mel Ferrer, Britt Ekland and Susan Hampshire.
A tale of three love affairs seen from the viewpoint of a small studio room in Montmartre. ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ showcases a classic film score from legendary composer Michel Legrand (with vocals from Dusty Springfield and Matt Monro) and is featured here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original 1.66:1 theatrical aspect ratio.
FILM FACT: After the success of ‘The Virgin and the Gypsy,’ Dimitri de Grunwald, who had arranged the finance through his European Consortium, teamed up with Christopher Miles again, who in gratitude agreed to direct ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ as long as a meeting could be arranged with Jean Anouilh to discuss the screenplay. Dimitri de Grunwald arranged in the Hotel Provençal in the South of France near where Jean Anouilh lived. This 1930’s hotel, in which the bar hosted Scott Fitzgerald where he wrote “Tender is the night” was to close the following year, and reflected that elusive bygone era which Jean Anouilh was trying to capture. Jean Anouilh agreed to meet Christopher Miles at the bar at 5:00 pm the night of Bastille Day 1970 and see if it was possible for him to reconsider some aspects of the screenplay for the modern audience. Christopher Miles reports that at 5:00 pm sharp a sixty year old moustached man with gold-rimmed spectacle and a twinkle in his eye, shook him by the hand saying in French “Eh bien,” and I have re-read the scenario and I find it enchanting” – so there was little else Christopher Miles could say to the great man, but to toast the project, and watch the fireworks from the hotel. In fact Jean Anouilh did help later with some rewriting by improving the interlocking dialogue for some of the sequences, which were needed in a hurry as shooting was to begin in Paris on Pont Alexandre III which had to be closed to the public for filming on the 4th August, 1970, a studio built on an existing house in Rue Berthe, Montmartre, as well as it’s interiors to be designed and built by Theo Meurisse at the Studio Boulogne, all to be co- ordinated by Christopher Miles’ friend from their Paris film student days, Patrick Bureau. Jean Anouilh had set his script in Montparnasse, but by the 1970s the modern towers dominated the exteriors, so Christopher Miles moved the location to Montmartre which he knew well from his student days. This meant getting helpful co-operation from his old friends, the local vegetable market sellers, the butcher, the local artists and the poet Pierre Jacob and his wife Josia to play small roles and appears in the film.
Cast: Joanna Shimkus, Mel Ferrer, Britt Ekland, Philippe Noiret, Susan Hampshire, Mark Burns, Lila Kedrova, Robert Dhéry, Michel Legrand, Didier Haudepin, Ophelie Stermann, Jany Holt, Eléonore Hirt, Lyne Chardonnet, Gilberte Géniat, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Jacques Marin, Laurence Badie, Pierre Bertin, Renée Gardès, Robert Le Béal, Jean Aron (uncredited), Lefebre Bel (uncredited), Georges Beller (uncredited), Pierre Bertin (uncredited), Roger Bertin (uncredited), Georges Bever (uncredited), Madeleine Damien (uncredited), Jean Daniel (uncredited), Janine Darcey (uncredited), Janine de Waleine (uncredited), Olga Dimitrievitch (uncredited), Suzanne Doukhan (uncredited), Steve Eckardt (uncredited), Sean Hepburn Ferrer (uncredited), Martine Ferrière (uncredited), Solange Fitoussi (uncredited), Pierre Jacob (uncredited), Isabelle Kloucowski (uncredited), Roger Lumont (uncredited), Pierre Maguelon (uncredited), Vincent Munro (uncredited), Edward Myers (uncredited), Paule Noëlle (uncredited), Jean Obé (uncredited), Gisèle Préville (uncredited), Pierre Rich (uncredited), Sacha Rozanoff (uncredited), Josia Saint-Clair (uncredited), Uta Taeger (uncredited), Laurent Weisman (uncredited) and Jean-Pierre Zola (uncredited)
Director: Christopher Miles
Producers: Dimitri De Grunwald, Louis Wipf, Mel Ferrer and Nat Cohen
Screenplay: Jean Anouilh
Composer: Michel Legrand
Costume Design: Rosine Delamare
Cinematography: Andréas Winding (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 103 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Hemdale Film Distributors Anglo-EMI / StudioCanal / Network
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ [1972] is a bitter-sweet nostalgic look at Paris just before and during the Second World War as seen by three couples, who over the years rent the same artist’s studio in Montmartre which is perched on the top of a small hill in the 18th arrondissement, the most famous Parisian district has lost none of its village atmosphere that appealed so much to the artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Here we meet for the first time an English man, Geoff Rolling [Mark Burns] arranges a rendezvous with his first love, Patricia Robinson [Susan Hampshire], to recapture their first affair in a Montmartre studio, the son of the La concierge [Gilberte Géniat] persuades his first love Simone [Ophelie Stermann] the young girl to climb up to the same studio bedroom window thinking it would be empty for the night. Meanwhile Geoff Rolling finds Patricia Robinson has grown bitter over the years, and that the warmth has gone out of their relationship, but when they disturb the two young lovers in the bedroom, the evening ends in a humorous and more light-hearted manner, as they are forced to crawl under the La concierge’s door in order to leave unseen.
Running late to school the La concierge’s son sees a young American girl, who is studying at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly, and who is having an affair with an older doctor. Not only must they keep the affair a secret from the concierge, but also from the disapproving general public by having to meet in shady “hôtels de passe.” However an escape to the seaside in Normandy brings matters to a head between them, as the Second World War begins.
In occupied Paris, Marcel Dutarte-Dubreuilh [Philippe Noiret], the managing director of an important cement business, arrives at the studio which he is renting for his mistress Josette Papillon [Britt Ekland], and bumps into a German Oberleutnant [Reinhard Kolldehoff] on the landing. As it is Christmas Eve, old enemies are put aside, but Marcel Dutarte-Dubreuilh has to get his other Christmas presents home to his wife Héloïse Dutarte-Dubreuilh [Eléonore Hirt] and also to his mother, who lives the other side of Paris. All of whom offer Marcel Dutarte-Dubreuilh the customary Christmas French dish of oysters, which are also given to him by his mistress for her party, along with her music teacher and her student Monsieur Grondin [Michel Legrand].
The only form of transport in Paris during those war years were the Velo Taxis, a type of bicycle rickshaws, which are unable to get the overweight Marcel Dutarte-Dubreuilh to all of his women in time for their oyster dinners. These he has to consume in a hurry, one after the other, in order to be on time, but Marcel Dutarte-Dubreuilh is now a bit green around the gills, for a secret meeting with the French Resistance. After the war all three men are reunited in the old same artist’s studio in Montmartre.
‘TIME FOR LOVING’ feels like a film well suited to a very specific mood: a relaxing evening in, or a rainy bank-holiday afternoon. It is a very nice romantic film, a relaxing film, and one of those old-fashioned film that people enjoyed in the 1970’s, and I hope modern audiences will feel the same what people felt at the time while watching the film, especially as it was filmed in Europe’s most romantic city that is Paris.
TIME FOR LOVING MUSIC TRACK LIST
PARIS WAS MADE FOR LOVERS (Composed by Michel Legrand) (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
THE STREET WHERE THEY LIVED (Composed by Michel Legrand) (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
1937 WHERE LOVE BEGINS (Composed by Michel Legrand) (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
A PLACE IN PARIS (Composed by Michel Legrand) (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra) [Performed by Matt Monroe]
DO YOU COME HERE (Composed by Michel Legrand] (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
CONCERTO FOR CABS (Composed by Michel Legrand) (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
PAVANNE FOR PEOPLE (Composed by Michel Legrand) (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
SEA AND SKY (Composed by Michel Legrand) (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra) [Performed by Dusty Springfield]
1939 LOVE IN NORMANDY [Composed by Michel Legrand] (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
OLD LOVERS NEVER DIE [Composed by Michel Legrand] (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
THEY SIMPLY FADE AWAY [Composed by Michel Legrand] (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
1942 WHERE LOVE . . . ENDS [Composed by Michel Legrand] (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
FANFARE FOR A CHRISTMAS OYSTER [Composed by Michel Legrand] (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra)
1945 PARIS WAS MADE FOR LOVERS [Composed by Michel Legrand] (Conducted by Michel Legrand and Orchestra) [Performed by Michel Legrand]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Hemdale Film Distributors Anglo-EMI, StudioCanal and Network present the film ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ with a wonderful colourful 1080p image. We are informed that ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ has been newly transferred in High Definition from a 35mm Internegative in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Although some basic image restoration work was carried out, the picture image still displays many faults, including colour fluctuations, dirt, scratched, film movement, light drops and missing frames amongst other issues. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Hemdale Film Distributors Anglo-EMI, StudioCanal and Network brings us the film ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ with one standard 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio which offer sterling fidelity and excellent clarity, though prioritization is occasionally a minor and transitory and where for example, lines of dialogue during musical moments can get just slightly buried at times. There are no signs of damage like dropouts or distortion. When it comes to the dance numbers and makes the soundtrack sparkle, especially when The Shadows make an appearance, and the speakers get being used superbly for some of their lyrics and the instruments. So definitely gets a superb five star rating.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: A Time Remembered [2021] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.37:1] [29:18] With this featurette, we get to view a brand-new interview with award-winning director Christopher Miles and was produced, directed, edited and recorded by James McCabe. We get to meet Christopher Miles in his home and says there are reasons why people want to make films, and one of the other reasons is that something burns inside you that makes you want to make a film, and of course you first have to get the finances to start making the film, but of course if you asked to direct a film, you of course are not going to turn it down. Christopher Miles now gets round to talking about the film ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ which he of course directed, and the screenplay was written by Jean Anouilh and Christopher Miles says the film is really about his life during the Second World War and of course it consists of four sketches set in a certain part of Paris in a certain apartment, which experienced four sets of lovers who meet there over the years and the apartment is central core of the subject matter and in America they made a similar film entitled ‘Plaza Suite’ which was written by Neil Simon for a play and of course the all goings on with the four couples in the Plaza Suite hotel in New York. But of course Christopher Miles chose that part of Paris where he spent his youth and a lot of artists were also in that area of Paris before the Second World War and the film was all about a time remembered by Christopher Miles, but of course with rose tinted glasses. Christopher Miles then goes on into great detail how the film came together, and over a period of time there were many changes to the screenplay. In France when making a film, it is totally different from other countries working practice, because in France you start after lunch, then at midday you work on without a break until 6:00pm. On top of all that, the screenplay was originally written in French, but Christopher Miles demanded it to be rewritten in English so they get more International actors, who speak English, but of course there were some French actors, but of course they had to speak English. Christopher Miles now says that that actress Susan Hampshire had just had a baby and between shooting scenes was found breast feeding her child. To shoot scenes of the time period the film was set and there were hardly any cars driven about Paris, but in the time of shooting scenes, cars were parked either side of the main streets of Paris where the filming was done and had to get permission to have the parked cars removed, and was very time consuming and held up shooting the actual scenes. For the composed film score they were keen to get Michel Legrand and of course was so pleased that he accepted, but Christopher Miles wanted the composer Michel Legrand to be in a certain Christening party scene where he plays a trombone and was also in a scene with a French actress playing the piano and wanted Michel Legrand to sing along with her. As one gets to the end of this featurette with the director Christopher Miles, he comments that the film ‘A Time For Loving’ opened in London to rave reviews and said it was the best French film to be in English and the London premiere was a great success, and that point the featurette with Christopher Miles ends. All in all, the featurette was sort of okay, but Christopher Miles went into a massive amount of information about the film ‘A Time For Loving’ and also about the behind the scenes information that to me was extremely very boring and so all I can give this featurette is a two star rating.
Special Feature: A Time For Loving in France [2021] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.37:1] [4:57] With this featurette, we get to view a brand-new interview with award-winning actress Susan Hampshire that was produced edited and recorded by James McCabe. Here Susan Hampshire informs us how she was cast in the film ‘A Time For Loving’ and played the character Patricia Robinson, and found the director Christopher Miles very very good natured, very charming, and very nice to work with and it was really a happy experience. Just before filming had started, Susan Hampshire had a baby four weeks before shooting the film and while in the hospital got a telephone call to ask Susan Hampshire would you like to be in the film, recklessly decided to except the role in the film and you will have to bring your two day old baby with you and her husband at the time actually lived in Paris, but sadly passed away passed away some time ago and had worked with Christopher Miles on a project and so Susan Hampshire was happy to take the baby with her to Paris to make the film. The problem was that Susan Hampshire was insistent on feeding her baby, especially in the make-up chair that people were not happy about in between shots, and especially was quite large at the time and had large breasts, but despite this Susan Hampshire really enjoyed making the film, and also there were not many days shooting scenes with Susan Hampshire and found it a great treat and especially doing something different and especially just after giving birth to her child. In the mid 1960’s Christopher Miles did a film the French singer/actor Charles Aznavour in the 1966 film ‘Paris in August’ [‘Paris Au Mois d'août’] and Susan Hampshire was married to the director Pierre Granier-Deferre of that film, so was commuting to Paris a lot from London at the time for that film, and long time after that film was finished, Susan Hampshire’s marriage to Pierre Granier-Deferre had started to wind down and eventually went their separate ways, and it was all very amicable. Before they started shooting the film ‘A Time For Loving,’ there was a get together to get to know each other and Susan Hampshire says when you are on the set of a French film, it is fantastic and you have great hours and you don’t start shooting a film until midday, so you do not have to get into make-up until 10:00am or even 10:30am especially if it is a quick make-up session and you have a fantastic spread of lunch, which you find when you arrive on the set and people are offered wine and then you could finish work at around 8:00pm and it is very civilised, and again Susan Hampshire says that working on a French film is very civilised. But when you work on a film in England, you have to get up at 4:00am and at the studio by 5:00am and until 6:00am you have to have the make-up put on and by 8:00am you are doing your first shot and you are not feeling your best, and so Susan Hampshire does not feel very nice, but would rather work in Europe for a film, and those were the days. The only thing Susan Hampshire can remember is that she was quite large after giving birth to her child and in away when you are quite large and you have a completely different look and her head of hair was much more luscious and was very content because she had a child, and at that point the featurette with Susan Hampshire ends and I really enjoyed hearing Susan Hampshire’s experiences of being in the film ‘A Time For Loving.’
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Special Feature: The Six-Sided Triangle [1963] [1080p] [1.66:1] [29:39] With this featurette, we get to see an Oscar nominated British short film written and directed by Christopher Miles, produced with Sara Bennett and features cinematography Oscar winner David Wilkin. It parodies a favourite theme of the cinema – the eternal triangle – and shows how six different countries might deal with the moment a husband returns home unexpectedly to find his wife with a lover, with Sarah Miles, Nicol Williamson and Bill Meilen. It was a seminal short film which broke through the Rank/ABPC distribution cartels and was theatrically released by British Lion and world-wide by Lion International, and Nominated for an Academy Award. The idea for ‘The Six-sided Triangle’ came to Christopher Miles when studying at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques in Paris. As it became clear to Christopher Miles that when the same script was given to several film students of different nationalities, they all ended up directing very different films, clearly showing the influence of a director’s interpretation of a script. We are informed that ‘The Six-Sided Triangle’ has been newly transferred in High Definition from the 35mm original camera negative and remedial restoration was carried out, but some faults still remain. Post Script: How this short film was Oscar Nominated I will never comprehend, because I thought it was the biggest load of old balderdash rubbish and should of ended up on the cutting room floor.
Cast: Sarah Miles, Nicol Williamson and Bill Meilen
Director: Christopher Miles
Producers: Christopher Miles and Sara Bennett
Screenplay: Christopher Miles
Composer: Michael Dress
Costume and Wardrobe Department: Maureen Roche
Cinematography: David Watkin (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 30 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Studio: British Lion Film
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Special Feature: Rhythm 'n' Greens [1963] [1080p] [1.66:1] [31:50] With this featurette, director Christopher Miles followed up ‘The Six-Sided Triangle’ with another short film, this time featuring “The Shadows” at the height of their popularity. Also featuring cinematography Oscar winner David Wilkin, and it sports narration by the inimitable Robert Morley and an unbilled guest appearance of the singer Cliff Richard as King Canute! We are informed that the beaches of England have often been the key to Britain's island history so on right through to Julius Caesar and the Second World War. These events showed that the beaches of England, as Churchill pointed out, have often been the key to Britain's island history. This short film takes an idiosyncratic point of view of this, using humour and the music of the most popular group in the country at that time, the group “The Shadows” to point out that not much has changed since those early caveman drum beats. We are informed that Rhythm 'n' Greens has been newly transferred in High Definition from the 35mm original camera negative and remedial restoration was carried out, but some faults still remain. Post Script: Once again this short film is a right load of old garbage rubbish and should have been left on the cutting room floor.
Cast: Robert Morley [Narrator], Brian Bennett [The Shadows], John Rostill [The Shadows], Hank B. Marvin [The Shadows] (uncredited), Bruce Welch [The Shadows] (uncredited), Joan Palethorpe, Sally Bradley, Audrey Bayley, Wendy Barry, Peter Lipscomb [1920s bather] (uncredited), The Pamela Devis Dancers (uncredited), Cliff Richard [King Canute] (uncredited) and Vick Vance [BBC Radio reporter] (uncredited)
Director: Christopher Miles
Producers: Lionel Hoare and Terry Ashwood
Screenplay: Christopher Miles
Composers: Norrie Paramor and The Shadows
Costume and Wardrobe Department: Dora Lloyd
Cinematography: David Watkin (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 31 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Studio: British Lion Film
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Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer [1972] [1080i] [1.66:1] [3:12] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘TIME FOR LOVING.’
Special Feature: Image Gallery [1972] [1080p] [1.37:1] [7:11] With this featurette, we get to view items related to the film ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ and mainly consists of International Posters, as well as images from the film in both colour and black-and-white and there are a total of 144 images.
BONUS: Reversible printed Blu-ray cover featuring original artwork for the film ‘TIME FOR LOVING.’
PLUS: A beautiful collector’s 16 page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Laura Mayne entitled A ROOM IN PARIS – Christopher Miles ‘TIME FOR LOVING.’ We also get to read THE CAST and THE CREDITS listing. ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ Synopsis. TIME FOR LOVING’ Production Information. LONG PLAYING ALBUM TIE-UPS. Cinema Poster. Plus lots of wonderful colourful promotional photosgraphs.
Finally, ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ is from an original screenplay by the French playwright Jean Anouilh, commissioned by the producer Anatole de Grunwald before he died in 1967, which was finally produced by his younger brother Dimitri de Grunwald with Christopher Miles directing in 1971. It is a bitter-sweet nostalgic look at Paris just before and during the Second World War as seen by three couples, who over the years rent the same artist’s studio in Montmartre. ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ meanders through its 104 minute runtime with urgency of a pair of lovers who are dawdling in bed over innocuous conversation, and in fact, this is the film’s protagonist seem to spend a lot of time doing. 1971 was a defining and controversial year for cinema, and it seems fair to say that the film ‘TIME FOR LOVING’ is slightly more chaste and thoughtful film than any British cinemagoer might have expected from an “AA” rated film that is set in Paris and with the word “loving” in its title. “AA” rated films were awarded in the United Kingdom by the BBFC in 1971 and stated a film’s suitability for those for those aged 14 years of age and over. It was felt that the BBFC raised the “X” certificate to 18 rather than 16 years of age. The BBFC rating system was abolished in 1982. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
