Spellbound

Rating:
Summary: Ingrid and Gregory make a classy couple!
Review: Spellbound remains a wonderful, romantic, suspenseful mystery despite the passage of time. Both Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck have such class and make a seemingly unlikely yet compelling match. After all opposites attract, don't they? While Alfred Hitchcock would go on to make even better films this remains a solid effort with enchanting results. Listening to people complain about the "bare-bones" DVD from Anchor Bay is amusing. The picture and sound quality are dazzling. Maybe they should remember that most of us shelled out more for VHS copies of Hitchcock films that didn't look this good on the first viewing and it was all down hill from there. While I agree extras are wonderful to have, especially considering the capacity of DVD, also remember the price! I got mine on sale, delivered no less, and the old adage of you get what you pay for is still true. Now the good news! The Criterion Collection is going to release this film at the end of September 2002. It is going to contain quite a bit in the way of extras, but with a price-tag to match. Even heavily discounted it will be triple what I paid for the Anchor Bay edition. Either way you go, I still recommend all fans of Hitchcock to buy one of these DVD's (or both if you a major fan like me) and enjoy the show!

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF HITCHCOCK'S BEST by CRITERION
Review: For me, this is one the most entertaining films made by Hitchcock. It also represents a unique moment in Film History, where five unique minds joined forces to deliver a true masterpiece in the American Cinema: Alfred Hitchcock, David O. Selznick (producer), Ben Hecht (screenwriter), Miklos Rozsa (composer) and Salvador Dali. All of them masters on their own field.

The story revolves around a beautiful (but cold) psychiatrist (Bergman) who works in a mental asylum and her attempt to uncover the truth about a amnesiac impostor (Peck) with whom she happens to be in love with. As she goes deeper and deeper into her patient's mind she discovers that he may be unwantingly hiding the true identity of a murderer. Danger seems innevitable as the pacient is accused of being a dangerous murder - will she end up as his next victim?

Being a briliant piece of classic narrative, SPELBOUND is also a film where all the elements are first rate: Cinematography, Music, Screenplay, Costumes and Casting. The tension around the film is beautifully constructed and the climax is very potent.

Salvador Dali's dream scenes are beautifull and surreal. They give the most perfect setting for the enigmatic configuration of Gregory Peck's apparently irrational dreams. The freudian interpretations may be dated, but this is fiction (and Hitchcock makes it delightfully believable). Dali's vision is simply astounishing. Unfortunatelly the full original sequence was trimmed before its original release and that unsused footage is lost. But the remaining scenes are still impressive.

This CRITERION edition is highly superior to all other available editions for its superior image and sound quality. Is also comes with an impressive pack os extras such as lots of photos, essays, a great commentary. The Lux Theatre radio version is a interesting piece of curio. Also worth of noting is the fact that some frames at the end of the film (a gun shot)are in color - a great idea from a director who loved to experiment.

This is one of my favorite Hitchcock black and white films. A true gem. Congratulations to Criterion. This is a great job!

Rating:
Summary: Flawed but still a classic...
Review: This movie has several flaws, but the great performances of its stars and Hitchcock's clever direction make it a classic, and great fun, anyway! First off - even though most of Hitchcock's films have aged well, this one hasn't. Its biggest problem is that the silly psychology reminds you constantly when the movie was made. Additionally, if you are a big Hitchcock fan, be forewarned that this is not as thrilling as some of his other films. Instead, it is more oriented towards romance and bad ideas about psychology.

Pretty much, Spellbound is about a icy, analytical psychologist (Ingrid Bergman) who runs off with a patient who was posing as the new director of the mental institute (Gregory Peck). As they attempt to keep away from the police, who want to arrest Peck, Bergman tries to "cure" him using psychoanalysis (it's tough not to laugh during these scenes).

Anyhow, all in all, this is great entertainment. The Salvador Dali dream sequence, which is famous, is rightly so - and the music, acting, and cinematography combine to make a great atmosphere. The movie is still pretty exciting and Bergman and Peck give great performances and make a nice couple. Even though this is not Hitchcock at his typical best, it's a good movie and deserves a viewing regardless of its silly ideas.

Rating:
Summary: Milk with bromide, anyone?
Review: I had a nice review all written out for this movie. Now I can't find it to type it up. So I'll just start all over again. This is a nice, romantic, suspenseful movie with two very charming people in the lead, that is, Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck... as well as some humourous minor characters such as Dr Brulov, the bug-eyed man at the train station, and the house detective at the Empire State Hotel. Dr Murchison is sufficiently villainous. I never suspected him for a minute until the end. Now no matter where I see him in various movies, I always say, "There's Dr Murchison!" He'll never be anyone else to my mind.

I think Dr Constance Peterson's devotion to her beloved patient is quite touching, regardless of the fact that in reality psychiatrists aren't supposed to run off with patients, whatever the reason. Ingrid is chilly at first but as she melts down she is quite convincing. John may be a bit spacey at times, but he's amnesiac - what else can you expect? I think he's a pretty nice guy with and without memory, and both he and Ingrid wear some pretty nice outfits throughout.

The two policemen who are waiting in Dr Brulov's parlour amuse me as well, because even in 1945, mothers seemed to be a Hitchcock motif. The one policeman talks about how his mother needs to move to Florida. I don't remember any appearances of birds, but that doesn't mean there weren't any.

Other favourite moments... When Constance and John are at Dr Brulov's house and John gets up in the middle of the night and turns on the bathroom light, the montage of all the white things was so well done. It makes you feel like if you keep seeing white, you're going to go crazy, and you're glad when John runs out of the bathroom. I also like the dinner scene when Constance makes the lines with her fork. When they are on the train and he is obsessively watching her cut her meat, I wondered if maybe he really was a lunatic after all and guilty of the murder. Also I liked the skiing scene... even though the background was so obviously fake.

This is my favourite Hitchcock movie. Not one that I watch every day, or even every month, but very moving every time I do see it.

Rating:
Summary: Spellbound won't leave you spellbound, but it's fun even so
Review: Spellbound is an amusing yet unmistakeably Hitchcock movie with many flaws. This is certainly not on the top-10 Hitchcock list as some reviewers have claimed, and its utterly dated subject matter is laughable, but it is fun to watch nevertheless (if just to make fun of it). The scene when Bergman and Peck are skiing down the hill is hilarious because it is clear that the images of Bergman and Peck were simply cut-and-pasted right over the picture of a ski hill. But the movie is fun, and the ending is not bad. Rent it, but don't buy the DVD. At least, not yet. I hear the Criterion version is going to be released (with the red frame!) sooner or later.

Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Seeing
Review: I wonder why, whenever Hitchcock made a film with Peck, it was devoid of the atmosphere that marked so many of his "classics." This is not to say, however, that *Spellbound* is not an enjoyable movie with hints of Hitchcock flair.

Don't take the psychology seriously. If it's going to ruin the film, then just put it aside. Concentrate on the chemistry between Peck and Bergman. Contrary to what some may think, I do believe there is a distinct chemistry between these two actors. It's in the way she touches his face as he lays sleeping on the couch, in the way he looks at her as he tries to convince himself that he is normal. There is a certain quietude to it that underlies the tension nicely.

And, I must admit, the stark terror on Peck's face as he begins to remember is humorous. It shouldn't be, it's really not meant to be, I know, but it is. It's so stupidly charming that you have to smile. In some strange way this added to the appeal of the film.

This may not be the best film that Hitchcock ever made, but I still liked it and would watch it more than once. Bergman was suitably lovely, Peck steadfastly sexy(despite the goofy terror shots,) and the plot, for the time it was made, wasn't all that poor. Just prepare to have the remote in hand with your finger on the volume. You'll be needing to adjust throughout.

Rating:
Summary: Hasn't Aged Well
Review: I remember loving this film when I was younger. Now, I find many of the scenes laughable. The psychiatry is over simplified and downright silly.

That out of the way, Spellbound is still worth watching/owning. The Salvador Dali dream sequence is rightfully famous. The acting is good, but the chemistry between Peck and Bergman is a little odd. Ingrid Bergman, as always, is beautiful and touching. Bergman's Freud like mentor is delightful. As with any Hitchcock film, you are in the hands of a master. The music, story, and visuals mesh beautifully.

Many Hitchcock films are timeless, this isn't one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful mix of romance, mystery and psychiatry
Review: Sumptuously photographed in exquisite black and white, this is one of Hitchcock's most underrated masterpieces. In Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman, the film boasts two of the cinema's most photogenic stars and the pair's screen partnership is as memorable as it is convincing.

Visually it's such a treat that many scenes linger in the mind: the spectacular dream sequence (designed by Salvador Dali), the mysterious lines that haunt Gregory Peck (accompanied by an appropriately weird motif from the film's composer, Miklos Rosza), and my own favourite: the first kiss between Peck and Bergman. For the latter, Hitchcock cleverly (and seductively?) lets us see Peck from Bergman's perspective, as he advances towards the camera in enormous close-up.

The script is delightful: a typically Hitchcockian mix of the improbable, the suspenseful and the romantic. There is also a campy touch, particularly in the Freud-like role portrayed by Michael Chekhov, who tells Ingrid Bergman: "Any husband of yours is a husband of mine, so to speak."

The acting is superb, the suspense masterful, and viewers will find it impossible not to be drawn into this highly original story. Throw in the memorable Spellbound Concerto theme, with its swirling melody and haunting romanticism, and you have a true classic.

Rating:
Summary: Spellbound No Longer
Review: Here is a classic, but you would never know it from this edition. It seems that whoever remastered this film was most concerned with the music, which overwhelms the dialogue where they co-exist and I had to turn the muting on in between dialogues. In addition, the voices are quite indistinct and difficult to fathom. Of course, Ingrid Bergman is her lovely self and Gregory Peck plays a difficult role, but successfully. If only that music were less obtrusive and the dialogues clearer. Oh well, maybe that's why it's only [price]!

Rating:
Summary: Bergman - Yes! Music from Heaven
Review: Not Hitchcock's best but Bergman is worth watching no matter what and the Dali dream sequences are a real breakthrough in cinema.

If you like the soundtrack as much as I do, you'll want to get a recording of The Spellbound Concerto!