Plot
Oliver Barrett IV is the heir of an American upper-class East Coast family attending Harvard College, where he plays ice hockey. He meets Jennifer "Jenny" Cavilleri, a quick-witted, working-class Radcliffe College student of classical music; they quickly fall in love despite their differences.When Jenny reveals her plans to study in Paris, Oliver is upset that he does not figure in those plans. He proposes, she accepts, and they travel to the Barrett mansion so she can meet Oliver's parents, who are unimpressed with her and judgmental. Later, Oliver's father tells him that he will cut him off financially if he marries Jenny. After graduation Oliver and Jenny marry nonetheless.
Without his father's financial support, the couple struggle to pay Oliver's way through Harvard Law School; Jenny works as a teacher. Oliver graduates third in his class and takes a position at a respectable New York City law firm. They are ready to start a family, but fail to conceive. After many tests Oliver is told that Jenny is terminally ill.
Oliver attempts to live a "normal life" without telling Jenny of her condition, but she finds out after confronting her doctor. Oliver buys tickets to Paris but she declines to go, wanting only time with him. To pay for Jenny's cancer therapy, Oliver seeks money from his estranged father, who asks of him if he has "gotten a girl in trouble." Oliver simply says yes, and his father writes a check.
From her hospital bed, Jenny makes funeral arrangements with her father, then asks for Oliver. She tells him to not blame himself, insisting that he never held her back from music and it was worth it for the love they shared. Jenny's last wish is made when she asks him to embrace her tightly before she dies. As grief-stricken Oliver leaves the hospital, he sees his father outside, having rushed to New York City from Massachusetts as soon as he heard the news about Jenny and wanting to offer his help. Oliver tells him, "Jenny's dead," and his father says "I'm sorry," to which Oliver responds, "Love– Love means never having to say you're sorry." Oliver walks back alone to the outdoor ice rink, where Jenny had watched him skate the day she was hospitalized.
Production
Erich Segal originally wrote the screenplay and sold it to Paramount Pictures. While the film was being produced, Paramount wanted Segal to write a novel based on it, to be published on Valentine's Day to help pre-publicize the release of the film. When the novel came out, it became a bestseller on its own in advance of the film.The original director was Larry Peerce. He backed out and was replaced by Anthony Harvey. Harvey dropped out and was replaced by Arthur Hiller. Jimmy Webb wrote a score for the film that was not used.
The lead role was turned down by Beau Bridges, Michael York and Jon Voight Ryan O'Neal was given the lead role on the recommendation of Erich Segal, who had worked with the actor on The Games; he was paid $25,000.
The main song in the film, "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" was a major success, particularly the vocal rendition recorded by Andy Williams.
Reception
Although a success at the box office and with most reviewers, such as Roger Ebert the film was disliked by many others. Newsweek felt the film was contrived and film critic Judith Crist called Love Story "Camille with bullshit." Writer Harlan Ellison was on record in The Other Glass Teat, his book of collected criticism, as calling it "shit."The film is scored number nine on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions list, which recognizes the top 100 love stories in American cinema. The film also spawned a trove of imitations, parodies, and homages in countless films, having re-energized melodrama on the silver screen as well as helping to set the template for the modern "chick flick".
The film is among the highest-grossing films in Canada and the United States, gaining $106,397,186 in rentals. It grossed an additional $30 million in international film markets. At the time of release, it was the 6th highest-grossing film of all time in U.S and Canada gross only. Adjusted for inflation, the film remains one of the top 40 domestic grosses of all time.
The Crimson Key Society, a student association, has sponsored showings of Love Story during orientation to each incoming class of Harvard College freshmen since the late 1970s. During the showings, society members and other audience members mock, boo, and jeer "maudlin, old-fashioned and just plain schlocky" moments to humorously build school spirit .
Overall, Love Story has received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected reviews from 23 critics and gave the film a score of 57%.
Quotations
Two lines from the film have entered popular culture:- What can you say about a 25-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant? That she loved Mozart and Bach? The Beatles? And me?
- Love means never having to say you're sorry.
The quote made it to #13 onto the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movie Quotes, a list of top movie quotes.
The comedy What's Up, Doc? (1972), which stars O'Neal, refers to this line at the end, when Barbra Streisand's character says "Love means never having to say you're sorry", then bats her eyelashes. O'Neal's character responds, "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."
Sequels and remake
O'Neal and Milland reprised their roles for a sequel, Oliver's Story , released in 1978. It was based on Segal's 1977 novel. The film begins with Jenny's funeral, then picks up 18 months later. Oliver is a successful, but unhappy, lawyer in New York. Although still mourning Jenny, he manages to find love with heiress Marcie Bonwit (Candice Bergen). Suffering from comparisons to the original, Oliver's Story did poorly with both audiences and critics.NBC broadcast Love Story, a short-lived romantic anthology television series, in 1973-1974. Although it shared its name with the novel and movie and used the same theme song – "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" – as the movie, it otherwise was unrelated to them, with no characters or storylines in common with either the novel or the movie. The original film was remade in India in the Malayalam language entitled Madanolsavam in 1978.
Another movie 'Sanam Teri Kasam was made also in India in the Hindi language and released in 2016. The film is a modern rendition of the novel Love Story by Eric Segal. The film was released worldwide on 5 February 2016 under the production banner of Eros Now.
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