"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." -Joe Fox, You've Got Mail
I'm not talking about Halloween movies. Im not a fan of scary movies as a whole. These are the two movies I like to watch when the air starts getting crisp and the leaves begin changing.
You've Got Mail, the 90s romcom, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The Trouble with Harry, Introducing Shirley MacLaine in Hitchcock's 41st film.
I wish there were more to my list so that this article could be more "clicky." Maybe I'll find more and add them later for now these are the 2 movies to watch during the fall.
In our house, You've Got Mail has been the traditional film for the first day of fall. I'm not sure when that became the case but my wife and I enjoy sitting together and watching the film so much, why not give it a day. The film starts during the autumn in New York, meandering through the holidays and finishing in late spring. Truly, it could be watched at anytime of the year. It is one of the great 90s romcoms. As a history nerd I'm fascinated by it because it is a time capsule of before the change of the Millennium. New York before 9-11, the internet was still in its infancy, the big box store debates. Watch the film and see how the world has changed in the last 25 years. I grew up in the 90s and remember being dragged to the theater by my mom and older sister to watch this film. Now that I'm older it offers a great deal of nostalgia for me. Like a great big bowl of chicken soup for the soul. It's a 90s thing.
The second film to watch in the autumn is Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry (1955). What is amazing about this film is that Hitch was also releasing To Catch A Thief the same year, further more Hitch had released 2 films the previous year and would go on to release 2 films the next year. I love the aesthetic of the film. One minute you're looking at orange foliage the next it looks like a play. That is exactly what you are seeing because, Hurricane Carol, heavy storms and colder than usual weather wrecked the New England Foliage. The country side was recreated on a Soundstage, according to historian Patrick McGilligan, Hitchcock sent leaf samples to the special effects team to get the color right (506). I'm not sure why I love this film; it wasn't a film I watched a lot as a kid. Everytime I see the leaves start to change I feel like watching the Trouble with Harry.
These films aren't historical epics but they are time capsules. So whether Fall makes you buy all things pumpkin spice or as in the cinematic words of Joe Fox, "It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." As the season get colder here are two recommendations for you. Let me know if you have recommendations of your own in the comment below.
sources:
McGilligan, Patrick. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/12/18/youve-got-mail-turns-20-all-best-quotes-rom/2335013002/
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