ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Maddyclassicfilms Griffin and Phoenix is directed by Daryl Duke and is written by John Hill. The film stars Peter Falk and Jill Clayburgh.Geoffrey Griffin(Peter Falk)and Sarah Phoenix(Jill Clayburgh)meet at a lecture, they enjoy each others company; after getting talking they realise they want to spend more time together. Their friendship turns into love. Tragedy lies just around the corner though, because they are both dying.Neither wants to tell the other the truth, they just want to enjoy the time left to them. They are forced to face the truth when Phoenix discovers Griffin has a book about coping with terminal illness; she thinks he has been snooping around in her life and has found out about her illness, the book was actually for him to read for himself. During an emotional confrontation and argument on the beach, they confront and discuss the truth.We see how they deal with their illnesses and how they work on their relationship.This is one of the saddest films I have ever seen. Falk and Clayburgh are both excellent, their performances are so honest; you feel their pain and fear and you want both characters to be happy, even though we know that is only possible for a short time. The argument on the beach is a highlight for me, so powerfully acted. The scene where Falk takes his anger and grief out on his car really got me too. The hospital room sequence completely tore my heart out, beautifully acted by both Falk and Clayburgh.A moving film about love and loss. There is a remake, which is good but doesn't come close to this version.

Reza kazemi When I was an 8 years old boy, owning video set was forbidden in my cursed country, Iran. Those days we were at eight years war with Iraq. In such bad situation, old movies on Betamax video tapes were our family's only fun whereas that was so risky due to country's law .You would have been arrested if it was proved that you have videotapes at home. My father was MD and one of his clients used to rent tapes although illegally. I watched so many great movies, mostly classics, in this way in that time. One of most memorable movies among them was "Griffin & Phoenix: A love story". It was a dubbed version & Its Persian title was "The kite" apparently because of emphasized presence of that motif in the storyline. This name had remained on this movie since before Iranian revoloution in 1979. After I saw the movie; I was stuck into that although I was so little. I watched that Betamax tape over & over again in the next years. Oh my god! It was amazing! The film's impact on me sustained so. I don't know anything about my childish reaction to this movie but now, I certainly can say It's brilliant, a film in the mood of 70s nihilistic cinema with anarchistic characteristics. This movie just made after a highly admired movie, "Love story" by Arthur Hiller, and after that Swedish director, Roy Anderson, Had made his own version of love story in the title of "A Swedish love story". "Griffin & Phoenix: A love story" is a deconstructive adaptation of love story, having less sentiment & added some intelligence with a mentored attitude toward the life. The message is straight: Nothing will be remaining from human except those moments spent on delight and love. I don't believe in an outside realm. All we can get is in this life although all the things have to be faded away gradually, Likewise me, likewise my Betamax videotapes. Unfortunately I have no longer a version of my lovely favorite movie. Sad but true.

johnnylinehan In the 70s, I worked offshore in the North Sea and I got to run the projector when we viewed films after coming off shift.Of the many different films we watched, only two caused the men to linger behind and talk about them. One was 'Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and the other was 'Griffin and Phoenix'.'Cuckoo's Nest' had an obvious appeal to the mad, bad and sad men who lived and worked on an offshore construction site. It was essential to be mad to work there. We were Cajuns, Texans, Spanish, Lebanese and men from all over the world. We worked a minimum of 12 hrs a day for months at a time building platforms and somehow surviving each other as well as the job and the sea and the weather.'Griffin and Phoenix' touched us all for one reason: It was real. On one plane, it is a straightforward love story with moments of deep sadness and even humour. However, the Reality we were affected by was not the story itself or how it was filmed. The thing that got through to all of us, was Peter Falk's anguish. The very things that made the world warm to Columbo; the rumpledness, the ordinary-ness, the hidden cleverness - Were all there in this film.It made us really feel that it was ourselves up on that screen; That it was our agony; our dilemma; our fate.I don't know why it is not shown more often, although I suspect it may be that it would 'interfere' with the Columbo image.Whatever the reason, I recommend that you seek it out if you want to see acting that transcends acting and becomes universal truth. No bullshit: Some of us cried. We didn't cry when friends got killed in horrible accidents or even when a few of us got the worst news you can get from homeBut, some of us cried over this film.

Jeannot ... that is a love story with a very grown-up attitude toward death. Falk and Clayburg are excellent together. A TV movie classic that has been repeated a number of times--but, alas, not lately (to my limited knowledge)Both are dying, but neither knows the other is, and some dramatic misunderstandings are the result. I won't say any more--except to note that the ending is a classic.