The Birth of Love (1993)

La naissance de l'amour

1993 | France | Philippe Garrel | ★★★★

Acclaimed French film-maker Philippe Garrel's seductively melancholy The Birth of Love is a beautifully crafted drama of passion and infidelity, featuring utterly gorgeous black and white photography, tender performances, and a quietly affecting score.

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"Middle-aged artistes provide the focus of this drama filmed in black and white. The story is set in Paris around the time of the Gulf War. Paul is an actor leading a drab directionless existence. He has an affair with Ulrika, a woman half his age. His wife, with whom he constantly argues, is pregnant with their second child. He does not interact much with his teenage son. Much of the film centers around the emptiness of his life." IMDb

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

1993 | USA | Nora Ephron | ★★★★

Queen of the rom-com, Writer-director Nora Ephron's rather lovely Sleepless in Seattle is a tender, gently funny romantic comedy, featuring typically wonderful star turns from Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and a cracking soundtrack.

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"Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan star in Nora Ephron's wonderfully romantic comedy about two people drawn together by destiny. Hanks stars as Sam Baldwin, a widowed father who, thanks to the wiles of his worried son, becomes a reluctant guest on a radio call-in show. He's an instant hit with thousands of female listeners who deluge his Seattle home with letters of comfort. Meanwhile, inspired in equal parts by Sam's story and by classic Hollywood romance, writer Annie Reed (Ryan) becomes convinced that it's her destiny to meet Sam. There are just two problems: Annie's engaged to someone else and Sam doesn't know yet that they're made for each other. Co-starring Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson and Rob Riener." Sony Pictures

Cheers (1982-93)

1982-93 | USA | James Burrows, Glen Charles, & Les Charles | ★★★★★

Set in a lively Boston bar owned by a former sportsman, James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles's rightly venerated Cheers is a consistently warm and witty sitcom, packed with memorable episodes, cracking dialogue, and decidedly loveable characters.

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"Laid-back Sam Malone, a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, owns and runs Cheers, a cozy bar in Boston. He hires smart, uptight -- and jilted -- Diane Chambers as a server, out of sympathy, but their attraction causes constant bickering. Wacky characters fill the bar: sarcastic waitress Carla, beer-loving accountant Norm, know-it-all postman Cliff. When Diane leaves Boston much later, Sam sells the bar, buys a boat and sails the world, but his boat sinks, so he returns. New, ambitious manager Rebecca Howe hires him back, but they love to hate each other too." IMDb

See also:

Stotty's 1980s Favourites