Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) User Reviews

Such a terrifically melancholy romance

[for_the_ages · 9/10 · 31 May 2005]

This movie is really great in how it conjures up so much tasteful melodrama through its structure and the unique way in that the main characters spend less time on screen together interacting than they do just being painfully tragic.

I really enjoy the structure of the piece, through the title letter which gives a sense of dated urgency if that makes any sense. We read along with the man who also doesn't not really know the whole story, and so we see through her eyes in a fresh sense his being while discovering the story along with him. It is an interesting way of making the movie. Fontaine is wonderfully vulnerable and believable as a woman who tries and tries and tries and matures and regresses through decades of life. My favorite part of course is the lovely "train ride" through different vistas, its cutesy but also a comment on how their romance is so supercilious to him but everything to her, in a fake box car. Depression may occur after viewing this film.

Everlasting love

[Lejink · 7/10 · 1 December 2016]

Preposterously plotted but stylishly directed and impeccably acted, this is vintage Golden Age Hollywood melodrama. So much of the story-line is improbable, as the young Joan Fontaine's poor young French teenager develops a lifetime crush on the debonair but rakish concert pianist Louis Jourdain, a fascination that has tragic consequences for both. Like another classic film from around the same time "Portrait Of Jennie" the mistake is made in initially having the female lead attempt to carry herself off as a much younger version of herself, but once she matures into adult-hood, Fontaine is effective as the quietly enigmatic woman forever drawn to Jourdain's debonair charms.

I found it equally hard to believe that Jourdain's character could forget his previous encounters with Fontaine, especially the way that Max Ophuls directs the telling scenes, never mind that she eventually goes on to father his child. Such a plot could only end in death and tragedy and while I couldn't believe a word of it, still it was wonderfully entertaining along the way.

The costumes and sets are excellent and Jourdain and Fontaine are to be commended too for their fine performances, but doyens of film-making will particularly enjoy the skill with which director Ophuls employs his camera-work, so fluidly at times that the action appears to float in front of the viewer's eyes.

In a way, this film reminded me of grand opera, a wholly unbelievable story brought to life by the skill of its creator.

All she hears is the music

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 25 May 2017]

Joan Fontaine and her husband William Dozier produced this film which contains a classic performance for Fontaine. In it she plays a woman who sees a lot more in the character of the man of her dreams than he really possesses. The object of her affection is Louis Jourdan, a womanizing concert pianist who when the film opens up is about to flee the scene rather than face an irate husband in a duel. Just as he's ready to take it on the lam, Jourdan receives a Letter From An Unknown Woman, one of many he's known in his life. He reads and the story in flashback begins.

Like in her performance in The Constant Nymph Joan starts her performance as a child. When and widowed mother Mady Christians were living in Vienna, Jourdan was learning his craft and the sound of his playing gave her romantic fantasies.

Later on when they meet as an adult they do have a brief affair which leaves her with child. True to his nature he leaves her and pursues his career and his romantic avocations. She was barely a blip on his radar.

During the course of Fontaine's off screen narration of her letter, the tragedy of her life unfolds and the causes are a combination of her romantic fantasies and his lack of character. I can't say more but the end is truly heartbreaking.

Letter From An Unknown Woman was a nice and truly original idea. It starts slowly, but you really get drawn into the story by Fontaine's off screen narration and on screen performance. Jourdan too is fascinating as a man who is less than the sum of his parts.

A really great choice of roles for Joan Fontaine.

A film of bittersweet charm

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 21 February 2005]

Max Ophuls was an exceptionally good director, best recalled for "Le Ronde", "The Earings of Madame D", "Lola Montez", and this film - his best Hollywood movie. He could capture the charm of the Europe of the 19th Century but he was realistic enough to admit two things: the social system was hardly fair with it's layers of classes and their appointed rankings, and love was glorious, but ephemeral. It is hard to select his best movie, but once you see any you can't forget them. I personally like "Letter From An Unknown Woman" more than "Le Ronde" and "Lola Montez", but I feel that both of the others are certainly worth watching and watching again.

The film follows Louis Jourdan's last night alive. You don't realize this while the film goes on, but it is centered on that. A philanderer who has wasted a promising career as a concert pianist (he is an unsuccessful version of Franz Liszt, who also had many love affairs - including one with Lola Montez), he has received a challenge to a duel from the husband of one. Actually it turns out this is the Austrian Baron (Marcel Journet) who was married to Joan Fontaine, and (although it does not immediately register) the husband and his second are seen at the start of the film watching Jourdan's apartment. Jourdan has returned home to quickly pack a bag, in order to flee the outraged husband - as he has probably has done many times - but he would not have had a real chance.

Jourdan is interrupted by his silent servant (Art Smith) who hands him a letter. It is the last letter ever written by Fontaine, and it details her lifelong adoration and love for Jourdan, which was met by him only once or twice in all these years - once when they spent the night together in an amusement park, and once when they met years later, when she had gotten married. Jourdan was always charming and intense, but he was always looking for the immediate gratification of his sexual desires. Fontaine, of course, hoped for a lifetime's satisfaction. She has had a son by Jourdan, and it led to some economic difficulties, but Journet (whom she knew as a military cadet) has always loved her and is willing to accept her and the boy as his own. Part of the tragedy of the story is that the Austrian Baron's decency can't make headway against Fontaine's fatal fascination with this pianist. The boy dies from an illness he accidentally gets on a railway trip. Fontaine dies from the same illness while trying to care for the boy, but lives long enough to write her letter.

With full irony, after the shattering experience of learning he was this loved and had a son, and had thoughtlessly thrown both away, Jordan still does not know Fontaine's name. Art Smith's character, the loyal servant, has no lines. This may be due to his pronounced American voice (see his performances in "In A Lonely Place" and "Ride The Pink Horse" to hear his voice), but it makes his quiet, kindly role all the more effective as a representative of either conscience or humanity. Jordan asks what Fontaine's name was, and Smith writes it down and gives it to him. It is now daybreak, and Jordan can turn coward and run (supposedly - don't forget Journet is downstairs watching), or bravely go to the field of honor and die. He chooses the latter to be united with his family.

It is a wonderful film with lovely touches: the fake railway journey in the amusement park, and the musician's coffee club in Vienna are two of them. It is a lovely film, and one of the most tragic to watch. I can easily recommend it.

Subversive Romance

[limshun · 10/10 · 28 August 2004]

This has to be one of my all time favorite films. Ophuls is perhaps the most graceful and elegant film-maker ever. Here in Letter from an Unknown Woman, he is at his most romantic. Though the romance is only a fantasy (and so beautifully subverted by Ophuls graceful choreography and merciless sense of irony), passion is nevertheless king (or queen). I have never seen a film celebrate love in quite this way. It reminds me of one of the most beautiful lines in cinema from Altman's "Gosford Park" when Sophie Thompson says, "I believe in love. Not just getting it... giving it. I think as long as you can love somebody, whether or not they love you, then it's worth it." Ophuls' entire film plays with this very notion. Lise's fanatical love (and obsession) is requited not by Stefan but by Ophuls himself, and of course by weepy viewers like me and hopefully you too.

Vienna at its most romantic.

[dbdumonteil · 27 April 2004]

An admirable scene sums up the whole movie:Stefan and Liza are aboard a "train" and they "travel".It's actually a fixed train,and some kind of stagehand forwards a chocolate box scenery :Venice ,Switzerland... In the real world ,trains are ominous messengers of death and despair:it's a train which takes Stefan away after their affair,a train which takes the young boy to his death.

Stefan (Jourdan)lives his selfish life without seeing anything.Ophuls(spelled Opuls in the cast and credits) shows him as a handsome nice young man,but if you look with care,you'll notice it's always Liza(Fontaine)who's looking at him with love.Jourdan seems to care but actually he knows so many women that he acts as if he's in a play:Liza's admiration means nothing to him who is a ladykiller-see the scene when Liza comes back from the station- and a celebrated musician adulated by the crowds.Liza is the romantic woman,with a zest of touch of Madame Bovary thrown in -it's not a coincidence if Minnelli chose Jourdan as Madame Bovary's lover in his eponymous movie the very same year-For her,there must be only one love ,and she's prepared to give it all.

Joan Fontaine had perhaps never been so good as here.Her whole life ,as she writes her letter (the movie is a flashback ) could have been written in the past conditional.Main influence is certainly that of John Stahl and his "only yesterday" (1933)in which Margaret Sullavan wrote John Boles such a letter.Even the young boy is present in both movies.The last page of the letter,ink-stained (or tear-stained?)takes the audience to a peak of emotion.The final predates the ending of Ophuls's "Madame de" (1953),and the scene on the "train" ,an imitation of life ,the big circus of "Lola Montes" (1955)

This is probably Louis Jourdan's best part as well.A French actor,he was never that much popular in his native country ,and he found his best parts in the US ,be it artistically (Ophuls ,Hitchcock and Minnelli) or commercially (Octopussy) speaking.

Max Ophulus' American Masterpiece

[Rigor · 10/10 · 4 July 1999]

All of Ophulus films are remarkable achievements of content and form, but, this film is certainly his greatest contribution to cinema in the USA, and arguably his greatest film of any period. It is the intoxicatingly bittersweet tale of the obsessive love a young girl (Joan Fontaine) develops for a rougish pianist (Louis Jordan) that remains throughout each charcters life, long after most school-girl crushes have faded away. Fontaine charcter is so convincingly and sympathetically drawn that we are pulled into her desire for this rather self-possessed artist against our own rational thoughts. And as the film progresses Fontaine's attraction to the artist begins to deepen and humanize the audiences response to him. This film is deeply concerned with a woman's role under patriarchy and the limitations of "romantic" love as a form of fulfillment. It is also a well thought out examination of the idea of the "artistic" life as offering the possibilities of either liberation or entrapment.

Marvellous period romance

[john-703 · 10/10 · 11 November 2003]

From the (strangely neglected) master of romantic period confections- Max Ophuls-, an exquisitely beautiful and poignant tale of a teenage girl (played by Joan Fontaine) in late 19th century Vienna who falls in unrequited love with a concert pianist (Louis Jourdain)...

The sets, lighting, smooth gliding camera, costumes, subtly matched musical accompaniment and delicate but aching emotion make for something quite wonderful; it's a film of supreme elegance and extraordinary luminous fragility, a tiny hidden jewel box filled with moonlight.

"Honour is a luxury only gentlemen can afford"

[ackstasis · 7/10 · 26 November 2008]

'Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)' signals a tragedy from its earliest moments. The film's carefully-constructed narrative structure, with the entire story unfolding through flashbacks narrated by a dying woman's final letter, prematurely reveals a romance doomed from the outset. Whatever meetings take place, whatever promises are made, whatever hope is afforded us, we are always fully exposed to the knowledge that misfortune is only just around the corner. As such, a blanket of melancholy has descended upon every scene in the film, and all emotions seem stifled and distant; not through any fault of the filmmakers, but rather through the audiences' individual empathy for the heroine's ill-fated affection, towards a charming womaniser who can't even recall her name. This was undoubtedly the tone for which director Max Ophüls was striving; if you're looking for an uplifting romance to conclude a bright and happy day, this isn't it. However, there's a certain sedateness that the film struggles to overcome, the hollow feeling of a story not going anywhere, a train having already arrived at its destination.

Not surprisingly, given the director's nationality, 'Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)' has the feel of a European film. It's a bit difficult to put my finger on exactly why this is, but the Viennese setting probably contributed. Additionally, American romances – both of that time, and today – usually seem so anxious to please, doling out hope with every new meeting, and typically ending with the heroine carried off into the sunset in her eternal lover's arms. It's for its acknowledgement of the hopelessness of love that Ophüls' film, and others such as Lean's British-made 'Brief Encounter (1945),' are regarded above most romantic pictures; after all, is there any love more poignant and memorable than unrequited love? Joan Fontaine, a favourite actress of mine, is as delicate as a flower, a quality that Hitchcock notably exploited twice in both 'Rebecca (1940)' and 'Suspicion (1941).' Her love for the dashing French pianist Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan) is so incredibly passive that you already know that she's going to lose him.

Throughout the film, Lisa Berndle watches her lover from afar; she listens to his music through the physical barrier of a door; she quickly comes to know him, but only later comes to meet him. Fontaine's character is simply too weak to succeed in love, and only in her dying moments does she realise that her strength of will was required to bridge the gap between herself and the womanising, forgetful Stefan, who probably loved Lisa but never realised it. Though Ophüls' narrative framing device suggests the intervention of fate – that faceless, indifferent force to which most failed cinematic romances are attributed – into the couple's doomed romance, the blame instead falls to the two lovers. Their personal failings not only denied them love, but ultimately granted them death. That we are alerted to these inevitable eventualities in advance (both through the framing device, and a coldly-brutal sequence that indifferently alerts us, but not Lisa, to a typhis outbreak) makes it all the more difficult to bear.

The Illusion of innocent love !!!

[avik-basu1889 · 8/10 · 26 October 2016]

'Letter from an Unknown Woman' is the first Max Ophüls I have seen. The film certainly gave me a lot of things to think about. In a nutshell, I thought the screenplay and plot written by Ophüls and Howard E. Koch which is based on the novella of the same name is good, but what makes the film special is Ophüls' direction and choice of camera movements and visual rhythm.

The screenplay is not something that completely blew me away. There are a lot of things that felt familiar due to my acquaintance with some other films belonging to the label of 'melodrama' made during the 40s, 50s and 60s. The film does give off the familiar vibe of inevitable tragedy right from the early scenes. The screenplay for the most part works, but there are moments which felt a bit weak. The strength of the film lies in the way Ophüls beautifully gives us the elaborate sequence of Lisa's ever growing infatuation for Stefan, it is believable and sweet, Ophüls doesn't shy away from the bitter eventualities of a doomed infatuation,etc. Ophüls also somewhat handles the potentially sexist element in the film well and gives the character of Lisa growth and strength as she gradually matures. Although initially her life seems to completely revolve around the man and she is shown to pretty much worship him, but later she gets to take a bold decision to uphold her self-respect which undercuts the lack of layers in her character in the initial part of the film. But there are certain elements in the screenplay that felt a bit weak, for example there is a scene where one character departs via a train with the promise that he/she will return after two weeks, we then suddenly jump to another scene with a jump in the timeline which felt rushed and not seamless. There is another railway station sequence which comes later in the film which does a callback to the previous railway station scene, but the scene ends with a bit of a foreshadowing of what's to come and it felt a bit too on the nose, and heavy handed.

For me the best part of the film is Ophüls' sophisticated use of the camera. He composes and choreographs a lot of scenes in a beautifully symmetrical fashion. Music plays an important role in the narrative as Stefan is a musician and it is his musical prowess that initially attracts Lisa to him even before she has seen him in person. I believe Ophüls' intention was using a symmetry that is found in classical musical pieces in the way he stages movement and composes frames by referencing,mirroring and juxtaposing earlier scenes. Apart from the aforementioned railway station scene, every other scene involving symmetrical touches work. Some examples of this visual symmetry is the sequence in Linz which starts with the dialogue being muted out by the noise of a horse drawn cart and ends with the dialogue being muted out again by the marching band playing the 'Radetzky March'. Another brilliant pair of symmetric scenes are the stair case scenes where the camera captures movement from the same position in both scenes but with completely different perspectives. Even the first and last shot of the film are beautifully symmetric and bookend the film very well. There is a famous scene in an amusement park where Stefan and Lisa have a conversation on a virtual train ride which pretty much succinctly summarises the theme of the film which is how love can be an illusion just like the illusion of visiting different cities and countries that they were enjoying with the ride.

Joan Fontaine is brilliant. In the initial part of the film, she plays the adorable girl next door. Although she plays a simple woman who pretty much thinks about nothing but catching the attention of Stefan, but she is so sweet, that one can't help but like her in spite of the thin nature of character at the beginning of the film. However thankfully she does go through a transformation and becomes this regal character belonging to high society who takes bold decisions and she goes through this transformation effortlessly. Although the character of Stefan is not the most likable character, but Louis Jourdan emotes a sense of disillusionment and dissatisfaction extremely well which makes us care a bit about him too so that Stefan doesn't just become the stereotypical handsome jerk.

'Letter from an Unknown Woman' by Max Ophüls is a very stylishly made film. Ophüls' style of camera movements and scene composition is very musical in its rhythm and symmetry. The storyline itself was something the likes of which I am familiar with, but it is Max Ophüls' directorial style that impressed me and I certainly intend to explore his filmography further.

One serious stalker

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 29 March 2011]

Lisa (Joan Fontaine) recounts her life story in a letter to Stefan (Louis Jordan) who is scheduled to fight a duel in a few hours as a result of their acquaintance. As the story unravels, we follow Lisa's tragic tale of unrequited love and, if you ask me, mental illness. Stefan, who hardly notices her, is blind to her obsessive love for him. However, by the end of the letter, he's got the message and he can now see her.......literally.....

The cast are all good and the film has a stamp of quality in the way that each scene is constructed and filmed. Memorable scenes include the period where Lisa And Stefan have a whirlwind romance. They spend time on an amusement train which pretends to go to different countries by having a man peddle the scenery alongside the window. I want a go! The ending also sticks in the mind as Stefan leaves his apartment and sees a ghostly image.

There are a couple of daft ideas that are set down in the story. Firstly, we are encouraged to sympathize with a lunatic of a woman who actively stalks her victim for a whole year by showing up outside his window every night. Just watching for him. What a freak! Yet I found myself wishing for her to get acquainted with him. Secondly, how could Stefan possibly forget his love affair with Lisa? It's just baloney. Or else he has lived one seriously fun alcohol and drug-fuelled life - but he is presented as a wreck of a man, so it can't be that.

It's a bit slow-moving at times but I liked this film and it contains some great-looking scenes and images that stay in your head.

Lettre D'Une Inconnue : Max Ophuls films the tribulations of a woman in love !!!!

[FilmCriticLalitRao · 8/10 · 8 July 2015]

Based on Austrian writer Stefan Zweig's novella 'Brief Einer Unbekannten', Ophuls uses all his creativity at disposal to enable his technicians to capture the cowardice of men and vulnerability of women. It is not only the leading pair who serves as a good example of cowards and vulnerable people. There are also some secondary characters who provide fitting description to words such as coward and vulnerable. The names of the woman's mother and her husband come to mind to provide a suitable description. In 'Letter from an unknown woman', Max Ophuls celebrates the immense power of a letter to convey feelings of disappointment arising out of a failed love affair. The letter in question is quite a long one. It was drafted by a woman to tell her doomed life to her lover. Ophuls depicts all the troubles which a woman is compelled to take in order to get love. It would not be wrong to state that love is out of fashion in current times. It has been replaced by something which resembles love but has a certain amount of physical force. There were times in the past when intense feelings of love were appreciated. 'Letter from an unknown woman" is one such film which has the ability to transport viewers to a time when love mattered a lot.

A Brilliant Love Story

[mcganns2 · 7/10 · 8 April 2014]

Max Ophüls' film, Letter from an Unknown Woman, is tragic love story about a woman who becomes completely enchanted by her neighbor. Set in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, the film encompasses the true culture and spirit going on in the city during this time. Although it ends in tragedy for all parties, one cannot ignore the undertones that speak to love and its consequences. While Ophüls' film may be old, I believe it is a timeless work of art that many people can still relate to their own lives.

It begins when a man named Stephan Brand moves into his new house. He is a wonderful concert pianist that has an affinity for women, many different women. Lisa Berndle is his young naive neighbor who, after seeing his furniture being moved in, becomes immediately intrigued. From this point on her character is frequently portrayed making all attempts possible to hear Stephan's beautiful melodies floating from his piano into her apartment. Soon however Lisa's mother finds a man who she decides to marry, and the family is going to move to a new city. While waiting for the train with her family, Lisa's infatuation gets the best of her, and in a moment she is on her way back to her old home.

When back in Vienna Lisa finds a job and makes daily attempts to get a glimpse of her secret love. When she finally manages to grab Stephan's attention, he manages to charm her even more, and that night they go out on a date. After a romantic dinner and night in the Vienna amusement park, they return to his apartment together and conceive a son. The following day, Stephan finds her working at the dress shop and asks to speak to her when she finishes work. Lisa soon finds out that he is leaving for a concert, but he promises that he will return to her in two weeks.

Because of her blinding love for Stephan she trusts his word, but to her dismay he never returns to her. Eventually she moves on with life, marrying a military officer who loves her, supports her, and even takes her son in treating him as he would his own. Stephan enters the story again when the couple attends a concert one night. Lisa notices Stephan quickly and feels the passion returning, but does not want to recognize it so she pretends to be ill hoping to get home before he sees her. Perhaps she knew that if they meet again she would not be able to control her feelings, but Stephan eyes her leaving and catches her before she does.

Once back at home with her husband, she realizes she must go see Stephan one more time. When they are together it seems for a small amount of time that he remembers who she is, but after Stephan uses the same lines he did before, she realizes that he has forgotten her. Knowing that her love was not returned she leaves before he can return with the drink he had promised her. Only when he receives a letter does he realize that she had been carrying his son and had loved him her entire life. Lisa's husband is knocking on the door as the movie comes to a close looking for a duel to defend the honor of his late wife and her dead son. It is only when Stephan realizes the folly of his ways that Stephan chooses to accept his fate and join his family in death.

Though terribly sad and ironic, this film shows the true power of love, whether it is reciprocated or not. Lisa lived her whole life for Stephan, and in the end lost everything because of it. Stephan on the other hand never realized what he had in her until it was gone. After learning what he had done, he must have found that there was no reason to live any longer. Finally, the soldier who truly loved Lisa also realized that his love would never be enough, losing his wife to another man and ultimately to a terrible disease. Ophüls' film is a wonderful love story that illuminates the delights and perils that true love often contains.

A good example of bad choices

[r-brostowicz · 5/10 · 15 April 2014]

At first glance, Letter from an Unknown Woman is a far-fetched tragedy, one vaguely reminiscent of the great romantic tragedies of the past. There are numerous examples throughout literature of love stories ending in tragic deaths. Lisa is another example of the love-struck woman who spends her entire life waiting for her one true love to realize that she is everything he's ever needed. Unfortunately, Stephan is too self- centered to see it and Lisa's heart is broken. Even when he chases her out of the opera, he cannot remember that she had been the woman he had met ten years ago. He knows that there is something about her but he can't place his finger on it. On the other hand, Lisa is too neurotic to speak up and tell him who she is. Just as with the case of Romeo and Juliette, a little bit of communication could go a long way. However, since Lisa is incapable of ever telling Stephan the truth, she is doomed from the beginning. Even as a child, she never attempted to speak to her neighbor. Instead, she sat outside of his window and spent an unhealthy amount of energy fantasizing about what Stephan must be like.

Part of me wants to reject this entire story as a pathetic example of how women fall in love and waste a lifetime of longing for someone who doesn't deserve their attention, yet part of me can relate to Lisa's dilemma. Every woman has met that man who never notices her or gives her the attention she so desperately wants. When Lisa looks wistfully at Stephan, she is embodying every bit of desire that a lovesick girl has ever felt. He does give her attention during their nighttime adventure, but it seems that she realizes that she is one of many women who have received his attention. Stephan is a lady's man, who always knows the perfect thing to say to make a woman feel like the only girl in the entire world. His charm is powerful and Lisa is under his spell. She says in her letter, that she wanted to be the only woman who never asked him for anything, meaning that she both understands that there are other women, and reinforces (to herself, at least) that she is the right woman for him. When she goes to his apartment at the end of the film, she expects him to remember her and confess his love to her. This never happens. The realization comes when he explains why he stopped playing piano. Lisa believed that when she left his life, some magic was lost and he was so heartbroken by her disappearance that he could no longer continue performing. Alas, he tells her that he simply found other passions to pursue.

Stephan is neither a villain nor a hero. He spends most of the film blissfully unaware that Lisa exists. He cannot be scrutinized for being a free spirited lady's man, which is simply his character. Lisa is her own downfall for having an impossible ideal of Stephan. She has him placed upon a pedestal and she also fails to open up to him. He asks her to reveal information about herself but she only cares to learn about him. This sort of fascination could never lead to a healthy relationship. Her obsession with him is both unhealthy and slightly alarming. For as much as I can relate to young Lisa's infatuation over Stephan, her inability to cope with the world around her and move on is too unrealistic. There are many outlandish elements of this film which point out the impossibility of it all, while reminding me to not be like Lisa. I say, take this film as an example of what not to be. Love is a give and take, a lesson that perhaps many of us can learn from Lisa's downfall.

A European masterpiece, made in the USA

[Geofbob · 18 August 2001]

In terms of its construction - eg scenario and acting; recreation of 1900s Vienna; camera angles, movement, and lighting; editing etc - Max Ophuls' 1948 b&w film is rightly regarded as a masterpiece; but I think the term "American Masterpiece" is questionable. The movie was almost certainly not as Ophuls would ideally have wished, due to the notorious Hays Code. His next two Hollywood movies were films noirs, and he moved back to more congenial Europe for the cynical La Ronde, which he almost certainly could not have made in the US. We're also entitled to raise an eyebrow at the movie's usual categorisation as a "tear jerker" and "woman's picture". No doubt, when it was released, and even today, many women (and some men) would unquestioningly identify with Lisa Berndl (Joan Fontaine), who maintains a deep love, from girlhood through to early middle age, for the handsome pianist Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), who increasingly shows himself to be a shallow, selfish philanderer; like her, they would fantasise about how they could change his ways, and help him return to the concert stage; and they would weep at the tragic end to Lisa's and their dreams. But one of the brilliant aspects of this film lies in the way Ophuls maintains enough distance from his characters and situations to allow us, if we wish, to view the movie with a more sardonic eye; to see Lisa - whether due to mental or moral weakness - as failing to grow up; to have no illusions about Stefan's failings as a man or a pianist; and to see his impending death in the duel as a joke played on him by Lisa from her grave - because had her letter not been so long he would have had time to flee Vienna as he originally intended!

White Rose is a Symbol of Neverending Love

[Galina_movie_fan · 8/10 · 21 November 2005]

Deeply moving story from one of cinema's great stylists, Max Ophuls (Le Ronde, Earrings of Madam De…, Lola Montes), stars Jane Fonatain as Lisa, a young woman hopelessly in love with dashing but callous piano player Stefan (Louis Jordan). Fontain played perhaps the best role of her career and was incredibly touching and convincing as a teenage girl (she was 31 when she took the part) that fell in love from the first sight and whose whole life was under the spell of this rare unrequited love that was recognized, alas, too late. One may ask how such a beautiful, sublime, and charming creature like Lisa would carry a torch through the years for a man who uses her without pity and does not remembers her name or her face – well, the mystery of love is unsolvable. King Solomon, one of the wisest men ever lived said once, "There are three things I can't explain, and one, I can't understand - the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a ship in the sea, the way of a snake crawling up the mountain, and the way of a man to the heart of a woman." I guess, nowadays we can explain the first three mysteries but never will be able to understand the fourth one... Max Ophuls' who had worked in many European countries and "gave camera movement its finest hours in the history of the cinema" made romantic and elegant "The Letter from an Unknown Woman" in Hollywood and it is regarded as his best American movie.

A romantic exploration on longing, desire and regret

[polar24 · 8/10 · 1 February 2007]

Imagine yourself in 1900s Vienna among the glamour, the ritz and sweet seductive Viennese street tunes. Picture yourself falling in love with Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan careening along the cobbled streets under a sparkling moonlit sky.

Ophuls' dreamlike fantasy into young love and heartache melts your heart and tantalises the most romantic in each us. The story is told in flashback by Fontaine and covers her accession from lust the true love then longing and regret. The events of the story are unfolded to us through Fontaine's final letter written to Jourdan. We discover how the lovely couple met and what resulted in them breaking away and returning to love.

The film takes us through the opulence of the rich, elegant society parties, family dynamics, and the adversities of fame and married life. The story is basically a set a flashbacks of their love together, their defining moments and their crises.

Ophuls moves the piece along in a gliding, swooning fashion. There are many wonderful shots and movements between the glistening Viennese apartments and their opulent decorations. A lot of the film is very dark, set during twilight and after midnight, and Ophuls frames each scene perfectly with the intimate symmetry of light and shadows. He is outstanding with the interiors and glass reflections; the shine of street lamps and candlelight to create a truly romantic dreamworld.

Both Fontaine and Jourdan are excellent. Together they are romantic, suave and mystical. Fontaine in particular was radiant and youthful. She shines in each scene among the darkness and sumptuous sets. The story begins with her as a coy and bashful young woman. She develops into a girl longing for love, in a state of dreamy affection to a stunningly elegant and always struggling against her desires and duties.

As a avid lover of fine music, I loved the sensual score and scenes of Jourdan rippling over the piano producing a dreamlike flowing theme. The scene at the opera was also a real treat and heartbreaking to see the principals recapturing long lost love and idealistic memories.

This is a superb melodrama about lost love and admitting that when the right love comes, we can only be so naive and captivated by the beauty of it. It was lovely to fall in and out of love with Fontaine and Jourdan, remembering that love is a desire worth waiting on.

Never have I seen such a masterpiece!

[Classic_Vintage_Beauty · 10/10 · 31 December 2005]

never have I seen such a masterpiece. Such a simple story, such a MASTERPIECE! Joan Fontaine plays Lisa, a woman who loves a man far too much. A the start, a man arrives home in order to find a letter written for him from a woman that he never knew. As he begins to read it, it unfolds the story of Lisa Bendl, first a teenager mesmerized by his music (he was a pianist of the finest kind) then a young woman, then a married woman in her 3o's. She encounters some men in her pressence but she reserves herself from him, even though he does not know her. When she has to move town when a teenager, she still thinks and wishes to be with him and with his mesmerizing music. So when a colorel proposes to her one day, she says no and runs away to her old town. He mets her and seems like the most perfect wonderful man for her. He has a child with her one night and promises to return to her in 2 weeks after his piano concert in Italy. He never returns and she gets married and still keeps him in mind as she is still in love with him. Their eyes meet 10yrs later in an opera. He meets her after she tries to run home(because she is still in love with him and wants to forget him) But he is convinced that he knows her of some sort (eventhough he never knows about his child) She.......... Please this is an undiscovered masterpiece, watch it!

maybe one should coin this as "fatal romanticism"

[lasttimeisaw · 8/10 · 1 July 2017]

Based on Stefan Zweig's novella, LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN is Max Ophüls' magus opus which fails to get its fair recognition upon its initial launch, but time will attest its superlative craftsmanship and stunning aesthetics.

The story itself has its beggar belief elements in its nexus prima facie, how can a man not remembering a woman who has thoroughly swept him off the feet, even just for a romantic and passionate one-night-stand? Maybe only real gadabouts can certify such occasion. But that is exactly where the story takes a leap of faith to accentuate the psychological disparity between man and woman, one is forever enticed by new possibility and ensconced in that living-for-the- moment benevolence while the other more often than not, caves in her chimera of reaching for the stars, when this occurs, thence tragedy ensues, maybe one should coin it as "fatal romanticism".

Under Ophüls' impeccable aesthetics, the film evinces great melancholy from its fin-de-siècle setting and punctilious guidelines, the swooning camera-work at hand swirls with its own propulsive vitality and takes no side-on glance at the periphery, homing in on its subjects, crystallizing every emotional pulsating to the fore of plenary niceties.

Joan Fontaine, scarcely credible to pass off as a teenager in the start (she was roughly 30 at that time), bides her time when her Lisa reaches adulthood, and buckles down henceforth, no matter what, she never loses her glamour and moderation, even in those pulverizing scenes of that twice- happened "two weeks curses", she is Hollywood Golden Age's screen goddess of profound implosion, an effort none-too elemental but totally falls in with Ophüls' soft-centred temperament. Louis Jourdan, kicks off his inchoate Tinseltown career with a character considerably shows his chops (although he is a few years junior to Fontaine, he tosses off the daunting job of acting well- above his real age without visible hiccups), a continent fop, debonair, talented and charmingly ingenuous, naturally women fall for him, and his downfall is that he can never be wisely selective, too many interludes, but no symphony.

Music, plays a heavy part to accompany the narrative flashback, solemn, stentorian and plaintive, Daniele Amfitheatrof's score cogently speaks volumes of our protagonists' inward feelings, and once more we are convinced that Max Ophüls absolutely knows how to chisel out something intrinsically dramatic and transmute it into a magnificent and endearing heartstring tugger.

Sweet, well made, abrupt ending

[Horror-yo · 7/10 · 20 August 2016]

This is one of those somewhat atmospheric romances that are based on just enough actual story and a fine enough depiction of the human mind that it just might interest the male viewer, in spite of the obviously feminine traits at work in this genre. Joan Fontaine, as good as ever in this role, symbolizes through her character the softer, more dependent aspect of the female entity. She's very sweet, cute, extremely discreet, almost ...'invisible' (*wink*wink*). Jourdain plays his role just about right as well, and it is very clearly established the relation between these two lead characters, and in their own right individually the side of the male and female avatars symbolized.

All in all this is a film that holds up nicely for about the whole film; while it never really involves the viewer in a terribly emotional state, and there is a bit that is to be desired in the intensity as this film fairly flatly delivers the scenes from the original book. And if any part of the film stands for that criticism, it would be the very ending, something of a flat shortcoming, that leaves the viewer a little bit hungry for more, for something else; for a more expressive depiction of the ultimate moment of narrative.

Tragedy elevated into a romantic dream of fulfillment

[allyjack · 8/10 · 18 October 1999]

(WARNING - CONTAINS MILD SPOILER) The material is both tragic and borderline creepy in dramatizing Fontaine's lifelong obsession and helplessness (the scene where she comes back to give herself to Jourdan and realizes how his inane seductive chatter conveys the real pain of his failure to remember her is almost unbearably painful), but Ophuls elevates it into a romantic dream of fulfillment - she emphasizes how her life with their son has been full beyond measure despite his absence from it; when at the end he's in decline and likely attainable, it may be the seedy realism and immediacy (and the inevitable accompanying sacrifice of her fantasy) that drives her away as much as his callousness; even so, the near attainment of the dream can only coincide with death. The film's most charming sequences emphasize artifice and illusion (the mock train where they travel endlessly past backdrops of various countries), and Bennett's charming performance embodies the thesis that an image of perfection and bliss can transform from within, rendering the world an imperfect approximation by comparison.

Letter from an Unknown Woman

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 5 January 2023]

At the turn of the 20th century, "Brand" (Louis Jourdan) is sitting in Vienna contemplating not only a duel the next morning - which he has no intention of attending - but also a letter he has recently received from "Lisa" (Joan Fontaine) explaining her infatuation with him when she was his young neighbour and he an aspiring pianist. He has little memory of her, but soon realises that they had a brief affair and he abandoned her. The remainder of their story is told by way of flashbacks, as they both relive the highs and lows of their time together, and is rather effectively narrated by Fontaine as we go. Both are are on good form here. Jourdan offers us a well considered exposé on a true cad, with Fontaine superb as the adulating woman that he barely remembers when they meet years later, and who illicits quite a degree of sympathy from the audience for her (admittedly rather foolish) loyalty to this rake of a man. The musical scores is great, too - Daniele Amfitheatrof's original score peppered with excerpts from Mozart, Strauss et al all raise this film out of sentimentality and into a really effective and compelling story of unrequited love.

"If only........"

[brogmiller · 9/10 · 17 May 2022]

Max Ophuls had seen the Reichstag Fire as the writing on the wall and even as his first 'Viennese' masterpiece 'Liebelei' was released he and his family were on their way to France. The Vienna that he revisited fifteen years later was reconstructed at Universal studios for this loose adaptation by Howard Koch of Stefan Zweig's 'Brief einer Unbekannten'. Zweig, another exile from Hitler, had taken his own life in South America six years earlier.

Maestro Ophuls has the good fortune here to have fellow émigré Franz Planer behind the camera who had shot 'Liebelei' whilst also benefiting from art direction by the superlative Alexander Golitzen. The leading male character has been changed from novelist, perhaps a reflection of Zweig himself, to concert pianist, which affords Daniele Amfitheatrof the chance to write a lush score and to interpolate Liszt's 'Consolation'.

The leading players are Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan, both on loan from David O. Selznick. The character of Lisa who suffers so much for a man who is unworthy of her, is one that is traditionally despised by feminists but is nonetheless a demanding role and under Ophul's meticulous direction the luminous Miss Fontaine's journey from hope to disillusion is heartrending. The obvious choice for Lothario Stefan was Charles Boyer but he was not quite young enough so it fell to twenty-seven year old Louis Jourdan who is an able substitute. Although not quite yet the finished article as an actor Monsieur Jourdan convinces as one who is full of self-loathing and all too aware of his deficiences as both man and musician. It was to be expected that Monsieur Boyer would one day work with Herr Ophuls and of course he was to excel as General de...in Ophuls' masterpiece from 1953.

We are thankfully spared the usual mishmash of accents here and the ill-fated Mady Christians impresses as Lisa's mother. Art Smith, like Miss Christians soon to be blacklisted, is excellent as Stefan's faithful manservant. He is American but that doesn't really matter as his character is a mute!

There are those who claim that this is in many ways an American film but I beg to differ. Although we should be eternally grateful to the enlightened John Houseman and Howard Koch for granting Herr Ophuls the chance to make the film, it was shamefully ignored upon its release by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and it is purely the impeccable taste, visual style and genius of 'auteur' Max Ophuls which enabled the film to transcend the confines and infernal compromises of the Hollywood system and to emerge as quintessentially European. He made three 'American' films but this ain't one of them!

Mighty Disappointed by This "Romantic" Classic

[evanston_dad · 6/10 · 6 January 2010]

I was sorely disappointed with this weepie, claimed by many to be one of the most romantic films ever made.

I had trouble getting over the sheer implausibility of the premise. Joan Fontaine plays a young girl who grows up in an apartment next to a successful pianist who doesn't know she exists. Later, after she's grown a bit, they meet and strike up a romance; she gets pregnant by him but disappears from his life, unable to face him with her burden. Much later they meet again, and.....he has no memory of her!! Only a vague idea that he's seen her somewhere before.

If he truly can't remember her, how meaningful was their romance in the first place, and how tragic can the ending be? (I won't spoil it here). On the other hand, I suppose that might be the point -- the tragedy lies in the fact that one person can mean so much to another without reciprocation. But I can't really stomach that reading of the film either. I just want to strangle characters like Fontaine's who spend their lives moping about what they can't have.

Clearly I'm not romantically-minded enough to appreciate a film like this. I still say David Lean's "Brief Encounter" is the most romantic film ever made, and blows this one out of the water.

Grade: B

As a Whole - Poorly Written and Executed

[thespeos · 5/10 · 23 January 2022]

There's just something wrong when a writer and / or director tell a story without providing context. I've witnessed this far too many times in film.

My impression is that it arises from immaturity in skill and understanding, or perhaps empathy for the reader / listener.

It reminds me of conversations with my children when they were little ... they would begin speaking as if we had already been in a conversation : )

Here's my breakdown:

STORY: It's a huge risk to begin a film in an obscure context AND drop a bombshell at the same time. The two are essentially incongruent, and likely no fiddling will produce a sensible outcome. Here, that risk did not pay off.

The whole of the story has been played a thousand times, and this just devolves into tripe. My impression is that it was originally written for the stage, and perhaps a very small stage. (Note: see Koch's work)

The only, yes, the only grace in this film was Fontaine's character in the beginning - I thought it might hold! But alas, that too was torn from the story and once again, another story drops into the turd bucket. Oh well.

ACTING: As mentioned above, Fontaine's character (initially) was the highlight of the film - nothing else piqued my interest. While she played it well, that's about it. As the character "matured," she (actor) resorted to her usual tenor of being uptight, shy, submissive. No doubt, the "adult" version of her character was written in, but it showed how shallow the writing (or directing) was here.

TEMPO: OK

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Blah

DIRECTING / WRITING: I've said time and time again ... when director's write it's usually a dud, and this film just reinforces my stance. Ophuls (director / writer) spend a lot of time doing both, and it appears he wasn't terribly good at either. I don't care for Koch's work either - that's right, I thought "Casablanca" was absolutely boring.

Is it a good film? No.

Should you watch this once? Yes, if you're painfully bored.

Rating: 5.5.