Movie Meme Day 14 - Favorite film in black and white

I had to look up some details about this one.  When I first saw The Philadelphia Story, I rented it from Netflix, so I didn't see the DVD case.  When I bought my own copy it has a color cover and I'm guessing the movie has also been released in color, but it's still my favorite movie in black and white.  On a different note - I was impressed with Steven Spielberg when he refused to shoot Schindler's List in color and transform it to black and white for a theatrical release because he never wanted the movie shown in color.  He committed to the aesthetic he wanted and I think it paid off.   Back to The Philadelphia Story.  Katharine Hepburn plays Tracy Lord, a woman about to get married for the second time.  Her ex-husband, Cary Grant, has shown up to make some trouble, and Jimmy Stewart and Ruth Hussey show up as a reporter and photographer wanting to get the dirt on Tracy's family.  However, Stewart, who won an Oscar for this role, falls for Tracy, at the same time Grant kind of wants her back.  Hepburn is terrific as a woman conflicted, but still sure she doesn't really care what anyone else thinks about her.  It's a funny, romantic, dramatic, original story that has never been duplicated, though often duplicated. 

It's not old if it's new to you: Playing by Heart

This is a new feature I wanted to try out. I've been trying to do some spring cleaning (yes, I'm aware tomorrow starts summer, but I live pretty far north so we're barely getting warm weather yet) and part of that has involved getting rid of boxes of VHS tapes. I wish there was a good place to actually get rid of them, so far my cleaning has involved just looking at my tapes to see which I want to be sure to purchase on DVD or even Blue-Ray. Hence, the title of the post - they're not old movies if they're new to you, and I love so many, and most people haven't heard of a lot of them.
The one I just got it (thanks to SwapaDVD.com) on DVD is, Playing by Heart. It came out in 1998 and has a cast that boggles the mind. It's a comedic drama that shows a lot of different kinds of relationships, yet intertwines them in ways that are both surprising, but interesting. Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands play an older couple dealing with reaching their 40th anniversary. Gillian Anderson and John Stewart are a couple trying to figure out how to date the second time around (post-divorce). Ellen Burstyn and Jay Mohr are mother and son trying to figure out how to let go while making their relationship count. They have some beautiful scenes trying to be really honest with each other and Mohr gives my favorite performance, in that for one he doesn't play a jerk or anyone at all smarmy. Oh, and Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillipe are the young 'uns falling for each other while figuring themselves out. Jolie gives a really funny performance trying to drag Phillipe out of his shell, and they're perfectly matched with their strangely dyed hair. There are lots of dramatic subplots, AIDS, adultery, cancer, etc. , but it's really about how to be yourself while dating someone else. The pace of the movie is terrific, you get long enough segments of each story without dragging you too deep into any single story to make you want to stop watching the other stories. Oh, the movie also stars Anthony Edwards, Dennis Quaid, and Madeline Stowe. I really liked it, and the only thing that dates the movie is a line about NBC winning the Thursday night lineup. Even after watching it so many times, I'd still give it a 4.5 of 5. It's available on Netflix, and it only took a few weeks to get it through SwapaDVD.