--- title: "7th Heaven: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/7th-heaven/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/7th-heaven" critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # 7th Heaven (1927): what the critics said Critics' score 84 from 7 reviews: 7 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are unanimous. Every critic writing on 7th Heaven approves of it, and the praise gathers around Frank Borzage’s direction, which most describe as tender, imaginative and unashamedly sentimental. Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are credited with making the romance between a Paris street waif and a sewer worker feel real rather than mawkish, and several critics note that the war scenes are handled with more skill than the story strictly requires. The spread is narrow, from approving to enthusiastic, and nobody dissents. What varies is emphasis. The contemporary reviews concentrate on the performances and the grip of the story; later critics are more interested in the pictures. Slant Magazine calls this Borzage’s most distinctive film, Eye for Film singles out the single-take elevator shot up to the lovers’ flat, and Collider picks out a cross-fade prayer sequence and Gaynor’s small facial movements. The word sentimental appears throughout, always as a description, never as a complaint. ## Slant Magazine — Dan Callahan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 July 2006. The critic praises this as Borzage’s most distinctive film, where mystical romance principles converge in an exquisite tale of redemptive love between a street waif and a sewage worker. Borzage ennobles their poverty and trials, including war, through tender details and transcendent imagery that make the couple’s bond feel spiritually blessed. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/seventh-heaven/) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1926. Borzage has made a great picture and launched Janet Gaynor as a star overnight. The romance is gripping and red-blooded, with strong support from Farrell and others, plus effective war scenes including the taxi cab march. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1926/film/reviews/7th-heaven-2-1200409873/) ## The New Yorker — Oliver Claxton Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 28 May 1927. The film maintains a rare consistent mood of tenderness thanks to Borzage's direction and the actors' performances. Gaynor and Farrell make the sentimental romance real and touching, with well-handled war scenes. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1927/06/04/mr-fox-hands-us-another-good-movie-and-isnt-that-nice-of-him) ## Film Comment Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). The critic highlights Seventh Heaven as a ravishing visual achievement that established Borzage's signature aesthetic of love transcending time and space. The film is singled out for its poetic use of actors and studio-bound atmosphere to convey emotional depth. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/the-sanctum-santorum-of-love-frank-borzage/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 June 1927. Poetry and emotion shine through the sensitive adaptation, with high-order acting that makes the story gripping and moving. Borzage directs with imagination and deftness on themes of faith and self-sufficiency. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1927/06/05/archives/fine-acting-in-seventh-heaven-poetry-shimmers-through-clever-film.html) ## Collider — Jacob Slankard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2024. The critic praises Frank Borzage's direction for elevating the melodrama through strong lead chemistry and innovative visual storytelling, including bold battle scenes and a memorable cross-fade prayer sequence. Janet Gaynor's subtle, micro-expression-driven performance as Diane is singled out as the emotional core, earning her the first Best Actress Oscar. [Read the review](https://collider.com/7th-heaven-movie-oscars/) ## Eye for Film — Adam Micklethwaite Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2009. The critic praises Borzage's unashamedly sentimental silent romance about two social outcasts finding love and courage in pre-WWI Paris. He singles out the striking single-take elevator shot ascending to the lovers' apartment as a highlight of the film's cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/7th-heaven-film-review-by-adam-micklethwaite) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/7th-heaven.md