A New Kind Of Love - Movie Review

Rating: 2 out of 5

It may have been made in the 1960s, but the "new kind of love" promised in the title of this film isn't swinging or orgies. In fact this kind of love actually doesn't seem so new at all.

This bizarre oddity actually features real-life husband and wife Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, five years after they were married, and thrown into an absurd love story that makes minimal sense and barely holds your interest for more than a few minutes. The setup is this: Newman is a journalist in Paris, and he thinks Woodward (despite her mannish looks here) is a high-priced call girl. He claims he wants to write a story about her, which of course is an entry to a love affair.

While its love story is traditional and bland, it's the '60s touches in Love that really turn you off. The sound of a stampede is played over a group of women shoppers in the opening scene. In one bizarre fantasy sequence, Newman and Woodward participate in a bicycle race, where Newman mixes a martini before ripping Woodward's formal dress from her body. The bulk of the film is shaded in primary color hues, painted over the action in what ultimately becomes a disconcerting head trip.

Is this a new kind of love? If it is, men are from Mars, women are from Venus, and writer-director Melville Shavelson is from Neptune.

Facts and Figures

Year: 1963

Run time: 110 mins

In Theaters: Thursday 10th October 1963

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Production compaines: Paramount Pictures

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 2 / 5

IMDB: 6.0 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Melville Shavelson

Producer: Melville Shavelson

Screenwriter: Melville Shavelson

Starring: Paul Newman as Steve Sherman, Joanne Woodward as Samantha (Sam) Blake / Mimi, Thelma Ritter as Leena, Eva Gabor as Felicienne Courbeau, George Tobias as Joe Bergner, Marvin Kaplan as Harry

Also starring: Robert Clary, Jan Moriarty, Joan Staley, Maurice Chevalier, Melville Shavelson