Back to trending
84 Charing Cross Road

84 Charing Cross Road

Drama · Romance · 1987

When a humorous script-reader in her New York apartment sees an ad in the Saturday Review of Literature for a bookstore in London that does mail order, she begins a very special correspondence and friendship with Frank Doel, the bookseller who works at Marks & Co., 84 Charing Cross Road.

Movie details

84 Charing Cross Road

“A big love affair that began in a little bookstore at 84 Charing Cross Road.”

1987 Drama · Romance 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

When a humorous script-reader in her New York apartment sees an ad in the Saturday Review of Literature for a bookstore in London that does mail order, she begins a very special correspondence and friendship with Frank Doel, the bookseller who works at Marks & Co., 84 Charing Cross Road.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over 84 Charing Cross Road?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Secret: Dare to Dream

The Secret: Dare to Dream

Drama · 2020

A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.

The Last Letter from Your Lover

The Last Letter from Your Lover

Drama · 2021

A young journalist in London becomes obsessed with a series of letters she discovers that recounts an intense star-crossed love affair from the 1960s.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility

Drama · 1995

The Dashwood sisters, sensible Elinor and passionate Marianne, learn that their prospects of marriage seem doomed by their family's sudden loss of fortune. After Henry Dashwood dies unexpectedly, his estate must pass on by law to his son. These circumstances leave Mr. Dashwood's wife and daughters without a home and with barely enough money to live on. As Elinor and Marianne struggle to find romantic fulfillment in a society obsessed with financial and social status, they must learn to mix sense with sensibility in their dealings with both money and men.

Howards End

Howards End

Drama · 1992

A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.

The Ultimate Life

The Ultimate Life

Drama · 2013

Despite his best intentions, billionaire Jason Stevens can’t find enough time to keep his beloved Alexia a priority. But when he discovers his late grandfather’s journal, he is transported back to Red Stevens’ incredible world. With everything he loves hanging in the balance, Jason Stevens hopes the past will prepare him well for the future.

Shadowlands

Shadowlands

Drama · 1993

C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham.

Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread

Drama · 2017

In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker's meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse intensifies.

Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey

Romance · 2007

A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.

The Lost Husband

The Lost Husband

Drama · 2020

Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.

Bright Star

Bright Star

Drama · 2009

In 1818, high-spirited young Fanny Brawne finds herself increasingly intrigued by the handsome but aloof poet John Keats, who lives next door to her family friends the Dilkes. After reading a book of his poetry, she finds herself even more drawn to the taciturn Keats. Although he agrees to teach her about poetry, Keats cannot act on his reciprocated feelings for Fanny, since as a struggling poet he has no money to support a wife.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Hugh Jones

Written by

James Roose-Evans · Hugh Whitemore

Anne Bancroft

Anne Bancroft

Helene Hanff

Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Frank P. Doel

Judi Dench

Judi Dench

Nora Doel

Jean De Baer

Jean De Baer

Maxine Stuart

Maurice Denham

Maurice Denham

George Martin

Eleanor David

Eleanor David

Cecily Farr

Mercedes Ruehl

Mercedes Ruehl

Kay

Court is in session

Put 84 Charing Cross Road on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.