Here are the selections for the Director's Cuts Romance series along with advance commentary from David Clapp:

September 18 - Lloyd was at his best in this romantic comedy with meat on its bones in the form of commentary about writers, publishing, shyness, courtship, longing, and cliffhanger endings. As a collector of sentimental stuff myself, I especially loved the tattered boxes. The whistle gags were also great fun. Handout from this showing.

September 25 - This first-class multi-layered story centers on social outcasts, life choices, and human compassion with seven iconic types crammed together on a dangerous stagecoach ride. You have the respectable pregnant military wife as Ford’s ultimate symbol of good and the usual highly prized drunk, but there are enough other sensitively presented types to keep it from descending to the execrable repetitive nonsense of Ford’s later films. I love the variations on respectability and ethics, with most changing their positions and expectations as they get to know the hearts of their fellow passengers. I love the rich cinematography with deep views of the murky interior and exterior of a rundown way station. I love the way personal philosophies are thrown out or amended because of deeper beliefs about the value of life and love and goodness. While it is overly sentimental in parts, most of it is inoffensive. Handout from this showing.

October 2 - This film is a great story about individuals sacrificing something precious for the good of the community. It might all seem silly without Ingrid Bergman as the perfect loving prize. Rick would be nothing but a wealthy drunk without As Time Goes By and Victor Laszlo would be a rather uninteresting idealist without her on his arm. With her, however, it carried the weight of a heavenly dream sacrificed for a worthy reality. Borrowing from another Bogie film, this really is the stuff that dreams are made of. Handout from this showing.

October 16 - This story is a lovable comic paean to serendipity, romantic chemistry, and lifelong commitments. The basic idea is that true love catches you by surprise and refuses to let go. I love the way the film attacks settling for second best or separations rather than fighting for what you really want, but that rather common story is greatly enhanced by the screwball comedy running full tilt up until the last second. There are no wasted scenes. Handout from this showing.

October 23 - A slice of life story about two brothers and their search for love. The younger is an actor with an open heart, a happy disposition, and few identifiable skills (Smiling Fish). The older is an accountant who is stressed out most of the time because his ducks will NOT stay in a row and refuse to listen to him as he begs for forgiveness or an explanation (Goat on Fire). Their grandmother, half Native-American and very observant, gave them the nicknames as children. The screenplay is full of interesting characters and pleasant insights. Handout from this showing.
 
October 30 - This movie snuck up on me with a subtle exploration of a difficult love. Hidden within Charlie Kaufman’s zaniness was a truly haunting if not profound glimpse at a desire built on loneliness and fascination. Joel and Clementine complete each other in ways they cannot fully articulate, especially when their practical and jealous sides question the direction and purpose of their relationship. Clementine is impulsive and afraid that she will simply cease to exist if she is ordinary but Joel provides her with an anchor and recognition of her value. Joel clings to routine and protocol like a security blanket and stumbles along in awe of Clementine’s intrepid flights of imagination and logic outside his safe world. This is very much Gondry’s story and film, built as it is on dreams and an unquenchable longing for a childlike sense of the wonder and majesty of love. Handout from this showing.