Splendor in the Grass directed by Elia Kazan

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My passion is movies, but I first fell in love with older films specifically Shirley Temple that grew from there.  I remember first seeing Splendor in the Grass.  I had my brother watch it with me when we were ten or so.  Instantly, I adored Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty and their infuriating and once in a lifetime love.  The movie, directed by Elia Kazan, follows the struggles that follow a couple, a forbidden love that tragically allow for the young girl in the film to fall into a downward spiral.  While the man suffers difficulties from his family and father’s pressures, he does not forget his first love.  This movie highlights the mindsets of families in the later 1920s and illustrates reality of love. 

          I find myself gravitating to this film time and time again, and every time I watch it, I react the same as I did the first time I saw the picture.  A romantic drama that shows the highs and lows and the exhausting and intense feeling of love that young couples are all too familiar with.  Only wisdom that accompanies age can teach the young the lessons of love.  A wonderful tale of love and truth, this movie is a classic that ranks evenly with the big named films The Way We Were and Love Story.  This may be a well-liked film by older generations, but perhaps today’s generation has lost sight of classic films such as this one.  I recommend this film to all age groups as it will never grow old and will always be a splendid movie.