Antonius Block In this fantasy film directed by Mitchell Leisen, the grim reaper (Frederic March) gets a reprieve from his duties for three days, and he's also allowed to take human form. Over the ages he's seen life in all its smallness, and can't understand what makes living so special, or why people fear him. He comes primarily seeking knowledge, but soon finds himself enjoying new experiences and emotions. I enjoy films where Death is a character, and this one is an interesting mix of philosophy, fantasy, humor, and romance. The premise allows the film to explore the nature of life and love in fundamental ways. We see this early on as Death raises a toast and says "To this household, to life, and to all brave illusion." As we smile at his enjoyment over tasting wine and feeling its effects for the first time, we understand that from a higher, eternal perspective, all of what we do is indeed a 'brave illusion'. Now it turns out that if Death is taking a holiday, no one else receives him as a visitor, and we see news reports of people not dying during fires and other accidents. Death enjoys himself, but remarks that people seem to spend too much time indoors, and says "I have been among you two days, and what you do with yourselves still seems so very futile and empty." He also makes this devastating comment on war: "I could never make out what it was they were fighting about. It's usually a flag, isn't it? Or a barren piece of ground that neither side wants." What a fantastic line, so touching in any era, and particularly meaningful in the interval between WWI and WWII. It helps set up another observation from Death, relayed by Henry Travers (yes, Clarence from 'It's a Wonderful Life'): "Has it ever occurred to you that death may be simpler than life, and infinitely more kind?"If all this sounds gloomy or Bergmanesque, it's really not. There is one frightening scene where he reveals himself to a young woman, but overall the film is lyrical and reasonably light, and in fact it feels a bit theatrical in places. The story shows us that love is what ultimately transcends the absurdity of our brief existences. What starts out as a comedic competition with Gail Patrick and Katharine Alexander vying for Death's affections, evolves to Evelyn Venable and Death falling for one another. There is a lot behind these lines which he utters, and anyone who has fallen hopelessly in love will identify:"A moment ago I knew only that men were dust, and their end was dust. And now suddenly I know for the first time that men bear a dream within them... a dream that lifts them above their dust, and their little days. And you have brought this to me. I look at the stars in the water, Grazia, and you have given them a meaning."Essentially, the film asks the question, what if love "were only a few days or a few hours, would that be enough to justify love?" The ending, while a bit melodramatic, answers in the affirmative. True love not only what gives life its meaning, but it's also more important than life.

pluce17 I remember seeing the Hopkins-Pitt version after it got ripped by the critics and was surprised that I actually thought it was pretty decent. Not great but an interesting movie with something to say and some good performances. I knew it was a remake of Death Takes A Holiday which was well regarded so I always looked forward to seeing the original. Well now I have and I can't believe I actually prefer the remake.Death Takes A Holiday: first of all, a terrible title for a movie with such a serious philosophical tone. It sounds like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or Mr. Hobbs takes a Vacation. Meet Joe Black made the same mistake - people think they're getting a comedy not a discourse on the nature of life and death.Secondly, the acting is dreadful. That includes Frederic March, one of my all-time faves. Why he chooses to play death like Count Dracula I don't get. Everyone else is either terribly wooden or miscast.The tone of the film feels like a horror movie which is all wrong. Many of the characters blend into each other and I forget who is who or why they're even there. What else? Oh dialog and scenes go on forever and add little.What I liked was that they were willing to tackle such a weighty subject. Also the final scene was surprising and made me glad I stuck through it to the end.

Tobias_R This fascinating curio from the 1930s is based on an Italian stage play that posited the simple question: Would Death be intrigued by why we mortals cling so stubbornly to life in spite of our self-evident self-destructive urges. Death, in this movie, is at a disadvantage in this since he is immortal and can never death itself. It posits a question that has been posed as earlier as the ancient Greek playwrights such Euripides: Are the gods inferior to mortals because the former have no knowledge nor capacity for understanding the deep suffering the latter are capable of because mortals are always aware on some level that they will ultimately die? This story, Death Takes a Holiday, is reminiscent of aspects of Christian theology that posited Jesus, as the Son of God, was part of the divine Godhead and thus by allowing Jesus the Crucifixion, God could come to understand the suffering of which His creation was capable. By that understanding, Jesus could redeem the sins of mankind as God, through Jesus, gained an understanding of what it meant to be human. Even though this perspective isn't strictly orthodox, it was best illustrated in another movie, The Green Pastures, which was made in 1936.As to the film itself, the presentation has definitely dated aspects. What keeps the film in the category of a flawed classic rather than a dated curio is Frederick March's wonderful performance as Death who comes as Prince Sirki to a weekend gathering of Italian aristocrats at the villa of one of those aristocrats. March captures ideally the worldliness of an ageless figure, such as death, who has seen everything and his endearing naiveté as Death realizes he's actually experienced nothing of what he sees. It's when he falls in love with the beautiful Grazia that he begins to understand the suffering of which humans are capable. Indeed when Grazia wishes to go with Sirki/Death, Death feels the anguish that a person feels who must part from one he loves. It is when she declares that she knew who he really was all along and isn't afraid to follow him to his realm that Death grasps the power of love in the face of death. March conveys all of this beautifully and even makes his final rather overwrought speech memorable and moving.Unfortunately, from those thespian heights, the other aspects of the film are a rather mixed bag. The young actress who plays Grazia is given overdone dialog that irresistibly reminds me of the lines of the "serious" play that Katherine Hepburn's character in the movie, Backstage, is auditioning for. That's the play with the classic line, much parodied, "Father, the calla lillies are in bloom again..." Grazia's lines approach the laughable. Also, for a group of Italian aristocrats, the guests at the house sport frank American or English accents while the few working class Italians that appear are pure stage Italians out of the Chico Marx mold.But despite these limitations which led me to subtract three stars out of ten, it's a film well worth seeing.

mojo2004 I see that many comments about this film mention the Brad Pitt version but not the made-for-TV 1971 film that had the same title as this one.It was good at the time but never came close to this jewel.That version really dealt with the fact that no one was dying and how all over the world no matter the catastrophe the sick,hurt,and injured lived on.For6 months I talked about getting a copy of 1934 movie off amazon.com with prices between $45-$130 all used.Passed but to my good luck I read a "Meet Joe Black" review and found out this movie was on the 2nd disc in the Ultimate Edition version.Best $11 I ever spent to see a classic 30's film.Fredrich March was wonderful and all the supporting players reminded me of the horror films classics of 30-40's that also had standout cast. I just love them.Since I'm not a Brad Pitt fan I probably won't watch his film-no offense but the super nova A-list actors just don't make me believe their character.All I see is Brad Pitt,Tom Cruise,George Clooney not the roles but that's just me -and yes I didn't see the Ocean films for that reason.I love this film!10 stars and if you like black & white classics like this watch Dodsworth,State of the Union & the earlier versions of Backstreet,Imitaion of Life and The Front Page.Funny thing is a movie from 1939 "On Borrowed Time" with Lionel Barrymore had a similar theme of Death walking the earth to collect someone but I didn't care for it. Funniest recent take on Death visiting is the "Family Guy" animated series.The shows with Death alone are worth the cost of the DVD collection.