Rating: 
Summary: Spellbound is Unforgetable....DVD is Superb
Review: This review refers to the Anchor Bay release of the "Spellbound" DVD....Anchor Bay has done it again. This 1945 classic directed by Alfred Hitchcock, was beautifully transfered onto this DVD. The black and white images are sharp, crisp, and clear. Barely a sign of this film's age. The sound remastered in Dolby Dig 2.0 is great. If you're a fan of this film, you'll be thrilled at how good it looks. Haven't seen it yet, but love Hitch, or maybe it's been a while since you have?....Here's a little of this riveting story.....
The beautiful Ingrid Bergman plays the distant psychiatrist Dr. Constance Petersen. She treats a number of troubled patients at the Green Manors Mental Asylum, but her toughest case is yet to come. With Dr. Murchison(Leo G Carroll) being forced into retirement a new chief of staff will be arriving. It is the esteemed Dr Edwards(Gregory Peck)who takes over. It is not long before Edwards and Constance find themselves attracted to one another, and it is not long before Constance figures out that Edwards is not really who he says he is. He displays signs of paranoia and amnesia and it is possible that he murdered the real Dr. Edwards.They are on the run to try to solve the case but as the original theatrical poster says,"Will he Kiss me or Kill me?"(The DVD comes with a mini version of this poster). You'll be awed Hitch's definitive style of camera angles, shadow and lights, romance and a unique dream sequence designed by Salavdor Dali. Not to mention all the wonderful talent that graces this film. Bergman and Peck make screen magic together, Carroll is a legend and this film shows us why.Also starring is Rhonda Flemming,Michael Chekhov, and Wallace Ford. The music by Miklos Rozsa also adds greatly to the building tension, and romantic scenes in the story. Looking for Hitch: About :40 minutes in, you may see him if you're quick! It never ceases to amaze me that we are lucky enough to be able to see these great classics as they were first seen and with the added treat of the origianl theatrical Overture.(I will be adding this one to my listmania of "Old Movies That Look Great on DVD") Now, if you are looking for special features, this DVD does not have any, there is another version by Criterion that offers more in the way of extras,although quite a bit more expensive.(Criterion also does great transfers)Which ever you choose, this a a must have for fans of Hitch, Bergman or Peck. So don't worry about trying to over anaylze this one....As Hitch himself said "It's just a movie." But a GREAT one! So enjoy!......
Rating: 
Summary: Something is wrong; does not play on Philips DVD player
Review: A very worthwhile movie from Hitchcock. I was eagerly awaiting this criterion release. I have another older release of this movie(UK & US versions). Helas: my new Philips DVD player did not play it. So I reorder it from Amazon. It did not play again. It plays however on my Dell DVD drive. I understand that others have also viewing problems...
Rating:
Summary: Pioneer DVL-919 + Toshiba won't play disc
Review: I wanted to add Pioneer model to the
won't play disc list.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly weak for Hitchcock.
Review: NOTE: this should be a review for the non-Criterion Collection DVD. SPELLBOUND is really Hitchcock's vehicle for praising Freud, and in the end it feels like you've just sat thru a Psychology 101 lecture. Ingrid Bergman is beautiful as always and the Dali dream sequence is pretty wild, but the story itself is bland and even the acting is at times, cumbersome. SPELLBOUND is beautifully filmed and contains some great location work. Bergman's 'analyst' character is believable at first, but increasingly becomes the stereotypical Hitchcock female; unable to solve her problems-or anyone else's-until a wise male figure steps in. Thank God the old psychiatrist comes along at just the right time and saves the day. He even looks like Freud and affects a 'German' accent for crying out loud. And the script frequently has Bergman saying things that Hitchcock himself (who had bizarre views on women to say the least) would kill to take advantage of-and he does, thru his male characters. It's almost embarrassing to watch Bergman grovel before the old coot while he spouts off about women in love 'operating at the lowest intellect' etc etc. The DVD is the most sparse one I have ever seen. There is NOTHING here but the film. Not even the ubiquitous trailer! Finally, the film is pan & scan, so widescreen lovers are out of luck. The picture quality is OK but I found myself constantly adjusting the sound. At times the soundtrack totally roared from my system and I would turn it down only to miss important dialogue. This is hardly essential Hitch-instead visit VERTIGO, PSYCHO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE 39 STEPS, even THE BIRDS.
Rating:
Summary: won't play
Review: I could not get this disk to play. I have a good RCA DVD player but it was no go. Had to return it.
Rating:
Summary: Great film but I can't watch it!!
Review: As with several other reviewers, I am unable to load this DVD on
either my Toshiba SD-6200 or SD-2109. I have submitted inquiries to Criterion and am awaiting their
response. If you own a Toshiba DVD player, check before purchasing
the Criterion version this wonderful film.
Rating:
Summary: Spellbound Criterion Edition
Review: as other costumers i was disapointed because there's no
chance to play this disk on a dvd-player. i went to the distributer in switzerland tried to play 3 different disk in
different equiments like pioneer, sony, thosiba no chance
at all.
my distributer was happy i told him so, otherwise
other custumers would get a fault disk too.
it can't be my equipment cause i've also bought rebecca, notorius criterion edition and they are both ok.
maybe somebody should inform criterion there's a problem with this criterion title. regards from switzerland a costumer who is able to play zone 1 and 2 Code on my pioneer dvd-player
Rating: 
Summary: Review of Criterion's Spellbound DVD
Review: The video quality of Criterion's DVD version of SPELLBOUND discs look a bit sharper, more detailed, but grainier than Anchor Bay's re-pressed version from 2000 (in which the flash-of-red color shot was restored). The audio quality of Criterion's 1.0 mono soundtrack is also a little more detailed and more distinct than Anchor Bay's 2.0 mono track. The Anchor Bay disc also sounds much louder, but there are audio distortions in a few places. The soundtrack of the Criterion disc (and many DVDs) was recorded at a much lower volume level, which is usually an effort to retain as much as possible the dynamic range of the source material. The Criterion DVD booklet says the film's original overture and exit music has been included on the disc for the first time. This is simply not true, for the re-pressed Anchor Bay disc also has the overture and exit music. The initial pressing of the Anchor Bay disc, in which the red-color shot is erroneously shown in B&W, does not have the overture and exit music, however. Although SPELLBOUND helped solidify Hitchcock's position in Hollywood, it isn't one of his best films. But Marian Keane's remarkable analytical audio commentary on the Criterion disc should heighten your appreciation of the film. Keane juxtaposes the themes in the film against the manner in which Hitchcock made his films and the manner in which we, the viewers, watch them, and suggests that they are somehow interrated. She points out that many Hitchcock films (including SPELLBOUND) are about people who take pleasure in watching and analyzing other people, which is also the very thing that we, the viewers, do when we watch such films. As in her commentary for the NOTORIOUS DVD, she injects an extra layer of significance within the film by refering to certain elements in the film as "surrogate authors," "scriptwriting sessions," and "director's assertion of his authorship." Keane single-mindedly concentrates on the interpretation, deconstruction, and theorization on the subject of Hitchcock, and the result is one of the most remarkable dissertations ever recorded on DVD. I give 4 stars to the film itself, but 5 to Keane. I give 5 stars to the supplements on the Criterion disc as well, like I routinely do. There is a wonderful, rather detailed photo-essay segment on the making of the Dali sequence. Two film clips of the surrealist film UN CHIEN ANDALOU is included ! to show some earlier inspirations for the SPELLBOUND dream sequence. Memos from the filmmakers and production photos show how the dream sequence was re-shot several times due to logistic difficulties and artistic differences. There are also production photos of the deleted "ballroom" sub-sequence, in which Ingrid Bergman plays a statuesque figure bewildering Gregory Peck. Other extras include about 150 production and publicity photos, a half-hour audio interview of the film's composer, a 7-minute radio program on the subject of theramin, a 1-hour radioplay version of SPELLBOUND, "story treatments" that show how the original novel was loosely adapted into a filmmable story, and other correspondences from psychoanalysts and Production Code officials who offered advices to the filmmakers. The booklet contains two very good essays; one is about the making of the film, while the other offers some artistic analyses (some of which echo Keane's comments).
Rating:
Summary: DVD doesn't load
Review: Like another reviewer, I am not able to load the DVD on my Toshiba SD-1200 player. I own quite a few DVD's and have watched a lot of rentals and have not had any problems like this before now. I'm quite disappointed as I'm both a fan of Hitchcock and Criterion. Note: I contacted Criterion about this after submitting my review. They acknowledged a faulty pressing of the DVD and will reissue the DVD around the first week of November. You can also exchange your DVD with Criterion directly through the mail. Check out their website... for contact information.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie...If I could see it
Review: It is a great movie, I know, but not from seeing it on this DVD. Would not load on one player. Next one I tried I had to load it 3 or 4 times before it would even come up on the screen. Then when you get it going, finially , don't mess with the menus because they are messed up. You would go to one thing and get another. I think I just got a defective DVD, but I can't do any thing about it, unless I buy another one or sell someone a defective DVD. So I am stuck with a lemon.
| 
