Rating: 
Summary: VINTAGE DAVIS CLASSIC.....
Review: There's nothing campy about "Now,Voyager", style or otherwise. Some people obviously don't understand the difference between classic and camp. This is a wonderful 40's film and one of Bette Davis' most memorable. Based on Olive Higgens Prouty's chronicles of the Bostonion Vale family, it tells of repressed spinster Charlotte Vale breaking free from the mother-from-hell (a marvelous Gladys Cooper) and emerging into an independant modern woman through the help of sympathetic psychiatrist Dr.Jacquith (Claude Rains). When a frustrating relationship with unhappily married Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid) and the death of her mother (after a heated argument) almost derails her, she finds purpose and meaning in helping Durrance's emotionally disturbed and neglected daughter Tina (Janis Wilson---overacting just a tad). Henreid's cigarette lighting ceremony with Davis became film legend as did the splendid music score by Max Steiner. There's nothing campy about the screenplay by Casey Robinson either. In fact, it offers one of the loveliest lines ever heard on screen. Spoken by Davis, it's the closing line: "Let's not ask for the moon...we have the stars." What words could be more perfect while gazing up at a nightime sky with your lover? A top notch cast puts this over in divine style. Both Davis and Cooper were nominated for Oscars. Watch for Mary Wickes as Dora the nurse to Mrs.Vale. And please, don't view this lovely film as camp. It's a true classic and a vintage example of good filmmaking. Essential viewing for the film lover. Just enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Why Don't They Make Movies Like This Anymore?
Review: This film is such a great classic. Bette Davis almost buries everyone on film with the power of her performance. She so dominates the film that one might easily overlook the other wonderful performances. Claude Rains is marvelous as the urbane, witty, and understanding psychiatrist; and Paul Henreid smolders wonderfully. Moreover, viewer, please take note of the magnificent, almost overbearing, use of light and shadow in some of the most poignant scenes. This is movie making at its best in the heyday of great stars and monopolizing studios. What should become obvious to the viewer in a very short time is that this film moves and moves quickly. Emotions are tossed back and forth as quickly as ping-pong balls in a lottery bubble. It is the dialogue, however, that makes this film move. There are no long silent shots, no protracted pull-backs by the camera -- just hard and fast moving speeches, dialogue, confrontation and resolution. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE, PERFECT TRANSFER
Review: This gem of a movie is maybe not as well-known as some other Bette Davis classics such as ALL ABOUT EVE and JEZEBEL but in my opinion, this one is special because you can see Bette in a more vulnerable role and you can see how great her range could be. At the beginning of the movie, you see this poor, pathetic girl who lives in her own shell and totally controlled by her mother (GLADYS COOPER as the perfect tyrant mother) and as the story goes along she gains confidence in herself and she even helps the little girl of the man she falls in love with (PAUL HENREID) to gain confidence in herself too. What I love about this movie is the fact that it sounds very real and true, it could have been sappy and overdramatic but it's not, I was really touched by it and I cried a lot even if I'm a guy (macho talk). The transfer is perfect, this looks like a new movie. Thank you Warner, other studios should follow your example.
Rating:
Summary: Unconventional and totally wonderful
Review: This is a classic in the truest sense possible. Davis plays Charlotte Vale, a repressed woman who has lived her whole life under her mother's thumb, quietly despised by her peers. Close to a nervous breakdown she is rescued by a kind doctor who helps her become more of a person. To give her a chance to enjoy her 'new self' she is sent on a pleasure cruise where she meets Jerry, played by Cooper. A gentle and generous man, the two fall in love but their romance can never be realised. When Charlotte has a chance to care for Jerry's daughter Tina, in the same situation as she once was, it brings the two of them together.This is a romantic classic which had me curled up on the sofa crying unashamedly. The scriptwriting is beautiful, the acting flawless, and the story heartrending. Davis and Cooper are perfectly cast and every scene enhances the story more and more. Thankfully avoiding sentimentality for pure romance, Now Voyager is an absolute must have even if you don't normally like romantic films.
Rating:
Summary: Bette Davis, You Were Incredible.
Review: This is a must see movie, I had my daughters watch this with me and they thoroughly enjoyed the entire movie and the black and white, old movie.
Bette Davis plays one of her best roles in my opinion. I am purchasing this on DVD.
Wonderful movie that shows us alot about live and you cannot assume to know everything about people. Alot of people in the world have lives that we do not know or understand.
Rating:
Summary: A true great classic!
Review: This is a very wonderful film. They certainly don't make them like this anymore. I highly recommend "Now Voyager". It's one of Bette Davis' best films. It's a wonderful drama, a great
romantic film. It's acting at it's best. I'd give it more stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars".
Review: This is one of Bette Davis' finest portrayals: the shy, inhibited girl who overcomes her fears and becomes a vibrant woman. The textures and shadings of her performance are wonderful. Paul Henreid and Claude Rains also give great performances. One of the legendary romantic films of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent...
Review: This is one of the best. Just bought the DVD and even though is was in black and white, I was impressed with the quality of the DVD. Very clear and crisp, very little on the "Extras" that I have come to expect with DVD formats. The movie was incredible, glad we bought it.
Rating:
Summary: Untold want by light and land ne'er granted
Review: This is one of those great old movies that really says something to me as a human being. Before million dollar special effects and Dolby Surround Sound, two people had to actually hold intelligent conversations with one another for extended periods of time on the silver screen. Imagine that! Bette Davis is wonderful as Charlotte Vale, the repressed, confined daughter to an overbearing, manipulative mother. Charlotte eventually finds salvation in the form of a cruise to Rio, and a whole new lease on life, when a doctor reads the Walt Whitman "Now, Voyager sail thou forth to seek and find" line that sends her on her way. This DVD is wonderful, since I can jump immediately to my favorite scenes in the picture. Just the other day I was feeling very discouraged and down on myself. I skipped to the scenes where Charlotte returns from her cruise with a whole new attitude - and tells her mother where to stuff it. Watching the power struggle that follows is liberating. Charlotte is willing to risk everything to be herself, the real Charlotte, on her own terms. I stuggle to find my own way in life, like a lot of people out there do. It's nice to know I'm not alone...that untold want of life and land exists for others too. This picture could never have been made in the attention-deficit modern age...not enough bells and whistles for the times. But, if you are someone who needs a little inspiration every now and again, I highly suggest you pick this DVD up. While you are at it, get Davis' Dark Victory as well. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: "Don't ask for the moon--we have the stars"
Review: This is pure Bette Davis soap opera and one of her best. Bette's performance of Charlotte Vale is not as bitchy as her usual characterizations, but here she is allowed to go from ugly duckling to glorious swan. And we do mean *really ugly.* Get aload of Bette's fake eyebrows early in the film, designed to make her as ugly as Leonid Breshnev. The device succeeds. Davis' palpable onscreen chemistry with Paul Henreid enhances the movie, which sometimes bogs down towards the last. Many of the scenes with Jerry's daughter in Vermont are superfluous. All Bette Davis fans will love this film, and those who have not appreciated Bette in the past will learn to love her in this role. Though not nearly as good as her Margo role in "All About Eve," this film is a must see even if you aren't a fan of Davis' eccentric magic.
|
