Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson
If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play "La Morte in Vacanza" by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained.
[Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.
To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming.
More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.
(Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk)
In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it.
(Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net)
I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line "The Weirdest Love Story ever told!" (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts.
(Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org)
See also the remake: Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
90后就是90后的水平呀。成功地把上海拍成了坊间传说的轻浮浅薄模样。哦，还有做作
但这种水平的片子都叫某些人这么嫉妒，建议你照照镜子，看看自己那张悲惨的脸。转行吧！
在上海生活过的人可能更能感受这部电影给人带来的氛围感、共鸣感吧！（21年院线电影除了感谢爱情神话之外，就是隔壁雄狮了
想到阶级，想到有钱人们的虚无，想到中国其他地方的苦难，当然以上都不是对这个电影觉得不好的理由，只是看的时候难以避免地想到并难受了。 有很多女性主义的段落，但也难免觉得是在讨好男性的同时讨好女性。乳化梗太棒。问题还是太散，前半部分后精彩，后面太突兀，不管是女人们的突然关系变好还是母子、夫妻、父子关系的变化，更何况都是依托在一个突然的死亡上，就更觉得刻意俗套。 不过生活中这样突然死亡也确实会震撼亲友的吧。 21.21.30夜与z 马伊琍和倪虹洁在布展馆的影子一幕太美 总的来说还是很符合导演出那本书的感觉的 韩寒旗下的one一个系列的风格
本片拍摄的主视角就出自男主角，而且是除了外貌一切都加分的完美人设，以至于让三个女人围着他转。倪虹洁演的富婆是哪根筋不对要找个不油腻的无姿色中年男人上床，吴越演的出轨前妻又是哪根筋不对要上竿子倒追前夫，就连全片唯一的独立女性马伊琍，经济上都供得起女儿上国际学校却要忍受跟老妈蜗居。合着女导演眼中的中国女性就这点儿眼力见了？怎么也该讲个三个男人追一个中年熟女的故事吧。
每个城市都应该有这样一部电影。一开始有点伍迪艾伦的感觉，后来就是全是白描，也不输出什么价值，就是展示一下生活的断片。有几个片段看得出是特别精心准备的，一点点小刻意，凝结出一点诗意。
可惜我太穷，不然会更爱。
皮鞋匠 coffee break 三代真传，意大利家族生意义乌分舵，私房菜变大锅饭修罗场，当一个女人犯了男人都会犯的错误，喜欢上看不懂的电影并期待悲剧结局……费里尼大型安利会，爱情与死亡，国产电影例牌加多一星
喜欢的，四星主要是都是方言削弱了我一部分理解。片子的小东西太多了，比如红拂夜奔，比如男孩美妆博主，比如三个女人第一次偶遇吃饭，比如充满哲学的修鞋匠，比如白辛苦不辛苦，比如三个人在画展厅的那场戏。嬉笑怒骂间好像没说什么又好像什么都说了。说爱情又不完全是爱情，我理解的是爱和情。白辛苦一场，但只要是自己想的，那就不辛苦。老乌故事中的女主角是谁早已不重要了，重要的是一定有那么一个人在你的内心深处。本片的女性群像刻画的相当丰满，对于男女性的探讨有深度又不冒犯。影片最后投影的灯光打在荧幕上，像在看电影，像在看你。
因而只能算作城市与人群，时局与状态的临摹，在展现范围和阶级上有所局限，离“艺术品”也有距离。
中间看到一半的时候我真的是在一边哭一边笑，最后结尾一下被激得痛哭失声，上次给看成这样是什么时候？ 太爱了。
俏皮，呵呵呵。可女主角李小姐变成了配角，成了工具人，变得莫名其妙起来。
老乌口述与索菲亚罗兰德韵事，我的心情就和在一旁听着的Gloria一样，一时不知道是真的还是假的，该哭还是该笑。果然都是满嘴跑火车的生物群体啊！
中年人的情感，没有明确开始的信号，也不会有戛然而止的结束，即使说好不见，就算离婚或死去，也都不会轻易结束，像极了绵绵不绝的生活一样，一天接一天，一年接一年。
“这电影在讲什么啦”，“看也看不懂”，“这跟爱情有啥关系”。
就是你们总宣传离婚以后更潇洒自在，还能遇上真爱，才有那么多人动不动就离婚。实际上离婚带着孩子的女人很难再找到共度下半生的另一半了。能找到的都是运气极好的。好男人都是被很多女人追着围着，中等的男人也是被伴侣抓的死死的，只剩下差等的男人单着。当然了，如果婚姻实在很痛苦还是要坚决离婚的。大部分的婚姻，我只想说珍惜眼前人。
就俩字——无聊，一通流水账，这种肥皂剧情适合拍成电视剧，更何况早有《欢乐颂》的案例在前，一股中年男子还在意淫小资情调大谈特谈爱情观的油腻感扑面而来，我不相信上海土著的日常就是这般市井画像的拼贴，一切都来得太轻佻了。唯一噱头便是全片上海话对白，除了增加江浙沪观众的亲切感并没能传达出更深层的价值导向，满满的人到中年的阶层俯视感，矫揉造作地聊哲学加上无节制地堆砌网络段子烂俗到没谱。最后对着本尊的《爱情神话》揶揄一番，摆出一副膜拜大师却又亵渎经典的自大妄为之态，堂而皇之地搬出索菲亚罗兰装作要圆这个“神话”的真假，恰恰是向欧洲精英阶层彻底的低头。
上海老克勒，独立女性感情选择，去性别化的平等观念，中年人的梦想，女性友谊……这部电影里都有，堪称男士腔调指南。什么都讲了，可什么都没讲，故事的骨架是空洞的。电影里有些镜头让我想到《饮食男女》，如果前者是精美的浮世绘，本片就是摇晃的直播镜头。看得比较失望。
很喜欢，这种属于中年人的都市轻喜剧在国产片里可太难得了，全程上海话非常好笑，上海人的生活情调和精打细算也处处体现。最惊喜的是甚至后半段渐渐偏离了爱情，徐峥和几个女人形成了一种微妙的和谐，毫不狗血。老乌和索菲亚罗兰那段简直是神来之笔，编剧非常有水平
这个作品真是证明了那句话：有钱难买我舒服！故事简单没有脑洞没有套路，也许流俗(但它就是在讲这个)但是舒服；有些镜头是精心但是也没那么匠心设计的，但是舒服；90%的对白必须看字幕才能懂，但还是有种这就是身边事耳边话的舒服；看似人设都有钱有闲好像无病呻吟，但理解他们的爱恨情仇毫不费力，舒服。就连最后留下一滴泪，那也是不抽不呛地流下来的，心脏不难受。还有我盲猜有一部分是中国人唱英文的全部配曲，和剧情契合度让人有种看欧美剧的舒服。真的是太爱倪虹洁了，英语说得ga好听的宁理老师真是变色龙中的战斗机啊。
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