Gaslight

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely mesmerizing
Review: I bought this movie based on a recommendation made to me years ago that I had completely forgotten. What a waste of time. I haven't seen a movie this engrossing in many, many years. The acting is superb and you just can't believe what you're seeing, or take your eyes from it. In the age of "Eyes Wide Shut" and similar movies where sex is used so freely to capture your attention, it is refreshing to see pure acting and story-telling keep your eyes wide open and fixed on the movie. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Aha!
Review: After seeing this movie again recently, I know what the real shortcoming is. It's simply that the subclimactic scenes are treated with the imposed impact of a climax. In other words, since so much terror is trying to be throttled out of every decisive individual scene, the impact of the climax is let down. If maybe the handling in these vital--but not climactic--scenes had implied the terror more subtly, the denouement would have taken on the power of a crescendo, thus making it much more effective; and thereby, satisfying. Everything I stated below about this picture still goes. (Except maybe I was a little too harsh on ol' Joe Cotten. They just don't give him much room to make an impact.) All told, this is still one of the most terrifying movies ever made, a real masterpiece of atmosphere.

Rating:
Summary: A near-achievement, with Ingrid, Ingrid, and more Ingrid!
Review: This American attempt at dramatizing a British suspense classic of the stage nearly comes off with flying colors. Director George Cukor-- typically known for his genteel, stagey, femme-appealing approach--here exhibits an uncharacteristically dark, superbly visual, chillingly psychological style with an underlying sense of menace, that is highly cinematic; and, thusly, the most satisfying of his dramatic efforts. Yet it, unfortunately, is undone by it's over-deliberate and under-realized climax; a denouement that badly needed to be wound up into a neat, tidy knot, as Hitchcock might have done. Instead, you are left a bit up in the air, not quite satisfied, yearning for that "WOW!" that never quite came. Additionally, one is never quite sure whether Joseph Cotten is miscast or underplaying. Even so, plenty of other compensations abound: Cukor's mostly masterful handling of the spine-tingling suspense; the Oscar-winning art direction of the brilliant Cedric Gibbons, and William Ferrari; Oscar-notching moody b&w photography by Joseph Ruttenburg; splendid portrayals by Charles Boyer and Angela Lansbury (her film debut); and above all, the spellbinding (and Academy-Award winning) performance of Ingrid Bergman. (Wasn't she able to be more deeply sincere about her character's emotions than any other actress, or what?) I have never seen (though I'd like to) the 1940 British version, known in the U.S. as "Angel Street", and directed by Thorold Dickinson. But if Leonard Maltin, and Halliwell's is to be believed, it is superior.

Rating:
Summary: please check out the original!!
Review: Cukor's film is a remake of a very fine UK original starring Anton Walbrook and directed in 1940 by Thorold Dickinson. The American release title was Angel Street. When MGM purchased the movie it was supposed that all negatives and prints were destroyed. Happily a print was rediscovered in the studio vaults. You can decide for yourself which version you prefer. There are some terrific performances in the British film, and brilliant directorial flourishes. Walbrook's particularly good as the cold-blooded husband pushing his frail wife (Diana Winyard) over the edge. Great atmosphere, wonderful supporting cast Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Great Performance by Bergman
Review: The reviewer from Auburn, WA gives a fine summary of this film. Although I enjoy watching this movie, it is primarily due to Ingrid Bergman's performance. The acting overall is good, with tips of the hat to Boyer, Joseph Cotton, and Angela Landsbury; however, I believe that Bergman really shines. To me,the storyline requires a little bit of a leap of faith, and the "suspense" is mild compared to other films of the suspense genre (e.g.Hitchcock, "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"). Basically, good acting, but a little short in the script and directing, resulting in a film that falls just shy of the "classic" label. If you're a fan of Ingrid Bergman or the black and white films of the '40' and '50's, you'll enjoy this video.

Rating:
Summary: GOOOOODDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: GOOD. LOVE MOVIE, LOVE ACTORS. GOOD INGRED BERGMAN. GOOD. GOOD. GOOD

Rating:
Summary: "Gaslight" Is A Mental Mind-Play!
Review: In "Gaslight," Ingrid Bergman plays a young opera star who finds herself drawn to an older man. That man knows that Ingrid's mother was a famous opera singer and supposedly hid a fortune in jewels somewhere in the house where mom was killed. Charles Boyer plays this quietly psycho husband who insists they move into the house after their marriage and amazingly methodically drives her to the brink of insanity. This movie is a wonderful choice for anyone who likes suspense and who enjoys a real edge-of-your-seat B&W movie. I highly recommend "Gaslight."

Rating:
Summary: Haunting and Gorgeous!!!
Review: The DVD release of Gaslight is terrific. The inclusion of both film versions is a great treat because both films are definitely worth seeing; perhaps they even deserve a back to back viewing. The 1944 version is somewhat superior because of the casting, but there are some terrific things, storywise, in the 1940 version that fare better.

The plot is simple yet satisfying: An unstable woman and her husband move back into her childhood home, where a murder had taken place years earlier. She slowly begins losing grip on reality and becomes convinced that her husband is trying to drive her insane. Or is he? It adds up to a diabolical, atmospheric thriller, which won Bergman her first, but not last, Oscar.

By today's standards GASLIGHT may be seen as slow-moving and obvious. But no modern film can match this picture's intricate psychology. Beautifully filmed in a gloomy, atmospheric black-and-white, GASLIGHT exhibits all the classic visual elements of '40s film noir. The attention to detail is more obvious than in many modern films and heightens the suspense. The benighted streets of London are cloaked with fog, and the large, lonely house where most of the action takes place, is filled with shadows and strange noises. The paranoid, claustrophobic world of Paula's confinement is also effectively conveyed. This is the kind of effectively-crafted, well-acted motion picture that rises above its faults to earn its "classic" appellation. It's a must!

Rating:
Summary: A crafty, well-made thriller
Review: Young Paula Alquist witnesses the murder of her Aunt Alice, a world-reknowned opera singer, in her own house. On the advice of family and friends, Paula moves out of the country, to live with a family friend. After many years, she falls in love with Gregory Anton, and he convinces her to move back into her Aunt's house. Nothign has changed since she left 10 years ago, but Gregoy persuades her to remove her Aunt's belongings in order to keep those painful memories at bay. Soon after moving in, though, strange things start to happen. The gaslights mysteriously dim each night, followed by strange noises coming from the closed off upper floor. Paula begins to lose and to misplace things, convinced by Gregory that she must rest or the strain would get to her. On one of their few outings, for she is somewhat unstable around the outside world, a strange recognizes her and soon discovers that things are not as they seem and that her husband maybe up to something involving her Aunt's hidden jewels which have never been found.

Director George Cukor presents a remarkably thrilling film, with superb acting from Ingrid Bergman (in an Oscar-winning performance) as Paula Alquist, Chalres Boyer as her mysterious husband Gregory Anton, Joseph Cotten as Inspector Brian Cameron, and Angela Lansbury in her first screen role as the maid Nancy Oliver. The captivating story of a woman struggling to maintain her sanity is marvelously portrayed on-screen. Bergman fills her character with enough frayed nerves and self-doubt that you feel right along with her. Boyer is both menacing and debonair and gives off just the right amount of malice to make you bite your nails as you watch the film.

This is a first-rate thriller that will keep you glued to the screen!

Rating:
Summary: Chilling thriller with Charles Boyer at his best!
Review: "Gaslight" (the 1944 version) is one of the best suspense classics I can think of that's not directed by Hitchcock, and the casting was simply flawless. Ingrid Bergman gives a excellent performance as a naive young woman ("Paula") who's nearly driven insane by her sinister, greedy husband, "Gregory" (played by Charles Boyer). Joseph Cotten plays the detective who comes to Paula's rescue just when she's almost lost her sanity. It is he who helps Paula finally realize that Gregory had only married her so that he could find very valuable jewels supposedly hidden in her house years ago. Charles Boyer is great even playing such an unlikable villian, and Dame May Whitty along with then 18-year-old Angela Lansbury in her film debut (who was nominated for best supporting actress) add great support to the main stars. This is truly an awesome dvd, and it includes the 1940 British version of "Gaslight" as well as a documentary "Reflections on Gaslight", the original trailer, and footage of Ingrid Bergman accepting her best actress oscar at the 1944 Academy Awards ceremony! This classic thriller is highly recommended.