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Movies / On DVD / All That Heaven Allows
All That Heaven Allows

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All That Heaven Allows (1955)

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93 %
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Reviews Counted: 27

Fresh: 25

Rotten:2

Average Rating: 7.7/10

Runtime: 89 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: In ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS, Douglas Sirk's haunting suburban morality play, Jane Wyman plays Cary Scott, a wealthy middle-aged widow in love with a younger man considered by those around her to be... In ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS, Douglas Sirk's haunting suburban morality play, Jane Wyman plays Cary Scott, a wealthy middle-aged widow in love with a younger man considered by those around her to be far below her social standing. Her torrid affair with Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), a handsome, earthy gardener, quickly creates unbearable societal pressure for Cary. Giving in to the scathing criticism of her stodgy neighbors and her materialistic children, Cary severs contact with Ron. She then discovers--perhaps too late--that her heart cannot be so easily caged. Wyman delivers a strong, emotive performance, and Hudson smolders as her feverish romantic interest. ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS, marked by Sirk's distinctive, lavish visual style, stands as a searing example of how materialism can result in alienation from natural feelings. The film was remade in 1974 with additional interracial themes by German director (and unabashed Sirk fan) Rainer Werner Fassbinder as ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL; and later paid homage by Todd Haynes in his 2002 reworking FAR FROM HEAVEN. [More]

Starring: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Nagel

Starring: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Nagel, Virginia Grey, Gloria Talbott

Director: Douglas Sirk

Director: Douglas Sirk
Producer: Ross Hunter
Composer: Frank Skinner, Joseph Gershenson

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 19, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for All That Heaven Allows

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A classic and beautiful film for those who love romantic stories

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile

Romance novel in narrative this transcends its genre with visual depth and perceptive socio-cultural insights.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/16/07
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine

One of Sirk's finest films.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/16/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Hudson is handsome and somewhat wooden. Laconic of speech, and imbued with an angel's patience and understanding, it's at times hard to understand his passion for the widow, what with pretty girls just spoilingfor his attention.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/16/07
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

'Time, if anything, will vindicate Douglas Sirk,' wrote Andrew Sarris in 1968. He was right.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Solid and sensible drama plainly had to give way to outright emotional bulldozing and a paving of easy clichés.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/25/06
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Beneath the stunningly lovely visuals -- all expressionist colours, reflections, and frames-within-frames, used to produce a precise symbolism -- lies a kernel of terrifying despair

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

When Carey (Jane Wyman) first visits the Andersons, friends of Ron (Rock Hudson), Thoreau's Walden is placed on the table. She then reads a passage in which he describes the "mass of men living lives of quiet desperation," a summation of her life.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
02/07/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/04/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A masterpiece (1955) by one of the most inventive and recondite directors ever to work in Hollywood, Douglas Sirk.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/04/04
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/20/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Yet another mystifyingly lionized Sirkian soaper.

comment Comment
01/07/04
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Quite involving, overblown emotion and all, particularly due to Wyman's gentle sincerity.

Full Review Source: Mr. Brown's Movies | comment Comment
01/02/04
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies

The rich visual texture, using glorious Technicolor, and a soaring emotional score lend what is essentially a thin story a kind of epic tension.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/04/03
Channel 4 Film

No review available.

comment Comment
10/03/03
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/13/03
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

No review available.

comment Comment
05/30/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

The enjoyability of All That Heaven Allows is hampered by the fact that there's no real plot here.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
04/13/03
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

A potent story for the ages.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

No review available.

comment Comment
12/16/02
David Poland
Hot Button
 
 
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