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Marnie

Marnie

List Price: $19.98
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good DVD value
Review: I won't review the film itself here-- I will say that "Marnie" is a very good film, very under-appreciated as far as Hitchcock films go. That's been said plenty of times, though in many people's minds it remains a very minor film. If you are collecting Universal's excellent on-going series of Hitchcock Collector's Edition DVDs, don't pass on this one. While not as "loaded" as the previous releases (there are a plethora of goodies to be found on "Psycho", "Vertigo", and "The Birds"), this DVD features a great hour-long documentary chronicling the making of "Marnie". As with the docs on the other Hitchcock Collection releases, it is very informative and enhances the viewer's appreciation of the film. Also included is a 'slide-show' of production stills, as well as the original theatrical trailer (some of Hitchcock's trailers are practically short films on their own, this one is very funny). In short, Universal is maintaining it's high standard of quality presentation of the master's films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sean Connery at his best...
Review: When this film was issued, I saw it on the big screen and fell in love with it. I don't know whether it was a commercial success or not, but it was not like all the other Hitchcock movies being made. For one thing, it had little violence, for another it was a love story.

At this time, folks in the U.S. were shocked to see a breast on screen. My friend was projectionist at a drive-in theater where a "risque" Swedish film called "Summertime" was shown, and a breast was exposed to traffic on Route 29. As a result, my friend was arrested, and the drive-in closed down.

I saw Marnie again recently, and although there are no breasts shown, the content was risque, so maybe it was "banned in Boston" as we used to say. It seems to me "The Legion of Decency" might not have objected to the film since I saw it at the time, but I can't remember as I occasionally sneaked out to films without informing my parents.

Marnie has a severe disorder--known as 'frigidity' -- i.e. she didn't want to have sex with anyone, even her husband (Sean Connery). That might not be something many young women can identify with today since "Sex in the City" seems to be the way things go. In the past, however, a number of women suffered from this problem, many books discussed it, and films shown in the U.S. were just beginning to address it. Sex was something nice girls didn't do--or talk about, although they 'put up with' in marriage. Well that was the story going around, although I have reason to believe not all women held that view.

The story line of Marnie is this--she can't and won't have sex with her husband Sean Connery, so he decides to get at the root cause (he's very motivated and knows it's not him, even though he blackmailed her into marrying him! ). The mystery is what caused Marnie (Tippi Hedren) to be the way she is.

Gosh can you imagine anyone resisting Sean Connery? That ought to tell you how troubled she was. Anyway, no matter how preposterous the story line, we all watched the film and felt the tension and wanted to be Marnie. I love this film and I'm buying it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not Hitchcock's Best
Review: A serious misfire from Hitchcock--cheesy production values, an even tackier script (Broadway wisecracks and third-grade "repressed-memory" psychology), and a truly painful performance from Tippi Hedren, who has grown into a pleasant actress over the years, but was completely out of her depths here (although still infinitely more appealing than that smirking iceberg Grace Kelly--Hitchcock's first choice for the role). Still the robbery sequence generates some real suspense, and Bernard Herrmann's score does a better job at suggesting the heroine's turmoil and despair than Hedren ever could. Sean Connery did what he was told competently enough, but what he was asked to do was so unpleasant that I'd rather not discuss it.

And then there is the small miracle of Louise Latham's performance as Hedren's mother. She has only three or four scenes, but she sketches an entire history between mother and daughter with her face and voice. And along with that, the deep-sesated pain of her own life, the consolations of religion, and the woman's hard-won diginity and unspoken tenderness (expressed mostly in her realtionship with the daughter of her next-door neighbor--a relationship that angers her daughter). She manages, however briefly, to lift this story to the level of real, and complicated, drama and I resent it when the film goes crashing back into cheap melodrama again.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Making of Marnie
Review: Possibly Hitchcock's most personal film. Not his greatest, but well worth viewing. If you want to know more about the troubled making of the film, check out Curse of the Silver Screen - Tragedy & Disaster Behind the Movies by John W. Law, which chronicles the making of the movie. It's in the book section.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unique Little Gem
Review: "MARNIE" is a unique little gem in a class of its own!

Probably under-appreciated at the time due to people expecting another type of Psycho because of the Hitchcock connection to the film, time has proven this movie to be a very psychologically accurate depiction of childhood trauma. Told with a combination of mystery, strong sexual chemistry, romance and great acting, this movie is well worth watching.

An under-rated little classic, it shows some new subtle revelation and style (much like wonderful Tippi Hedren & Sean Connery in the lead roles) each time it's watched!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Vertigo's little sister
Review: A perfect companion piece for those who enjoyed Vertigo, and if you consider Vertigo among Hitchcock's best, you will probably enjoy this very similar "case study" of a film.

As in the earlier film, Marnie features a plot-heavy set-up (which is involving but not quite as magical as Vertigo's) which gives way to the second part of the film, the "conversion". Instead of James Stewart trying to makeover Kim Novak, we have Sean Connery trying to solve Tippi Hedren's psychological problems.

What makes this variation so noteworthy is that both the "doctor" and his "patient" have problems. Consider the motivations (and methods) of Connery's character, and you'll find someone about as messed up as Scottie from Vertigo.

As for the filmmaking itself, the color fades used so successfully in Vertigo are employed again to great effect. There are some amazing compositional motifs in this film; see how Hitchcock makes a claustrophobic location like a cruise ship seem wide-open & empty. Do you ever see any other passengers?

This well-acted film is at times romantic, funny, suspenseful, and sad. The themes touched on here are pretty ahead of their time (and like Vertigo pretty twisted for its time), and the psychobabble isn't as cringe-inducing as in Psycho or Spellbound. More than meets the eye, and Hitchcock's most underrated gem.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow!
Review: I was very surprised by Marnie! I didn't think I was going to like it, but I did! Sean Connery and Tippi Hedren are great in this movie. I like the plot alot and this movie was kind of suspenseful. I liked Marnie alot, and I would recommened it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great move!
Review: I love this movie! There is a wonderful "chemistry" between Connery and Hedren. And she is just beautiful....I have watched this movie so many times, and still enjoy it. I'm not a huge fan of Hitchcock, but this has to one of his best.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not one of Hitchcocks BEST!
Review: This movie was absolutely boring. I tried to watch it, but I kept drifting away. It was not the type of movie you sit down and enjoy. It was mind-boggling, to say the least. IT has some elements of Hitchcock, but not really.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of Hich's best movie.
Review: I have seen it so many times, I cannot even count tehm. I know this movie by heart. I just want to remind one of your viewers that the guy Marnie killed at 5 years old is not her dad. Second, she does not explain all this to Sean Connery. He is the one taking her to her mother. Please, viewers, do not review movies when you are mixing everything up. Also good movies: Spellbound, Rebecca, Suspiscion.


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