Rebecca - Criterion Collection | Judith Anderson, Florence Bates

Rebecca - Criterion Collection | Judith Anderson, Florence Bates | The best Hitchcock release by the Criterion Collection

DVDs:

Rebecca - Criterio...

	Rebecca - Criterion Collection Judith Anderson, Florence Bates Criterion, 2001 average customer review:based on 163 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A classic film of a classic book: you must see it.

Rebecca achieves greatness. Nothing is off in this film. You'll never forget Judith Anderson's sinister portrayal of the obsessed housekeeper, or George Sanders' cold and cynical charm as "Rebecca's favorite cousin." As for Lawrence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, they will never be seriously challenged in any remake of this tantalizing and psychologically molten story. It is their film from start to finish, though one fine character actor after another comes and goes with perfect pitch and perfect proportion. The black and white photography has a porcelain gleam to which color could bring nothing. Like Bronte's great novel, Jane Eyre (in which Joan Fontaine also starred), Rebecca is a seminal tale following an old pattern that has been imitated ad infinitum. But nothing can detract from this pure and innocent effort. I first saw Rebecca when I was a little girl, taken by my mother to a small theatre in New Orleans famous for showing foreign films and artistic films, and what an enchantment it was this world of Maxim de Winter and his great house and the crashing sea -- and finely controlled voices with English accents speaking so carefully but with such feeling. I've seen the film a dozen times since, and it has lost none of its silvery luster. There are times when I don't want to do anything except make a cup of hot chocolate and go in and watch Rebecca. Highly recommended. Add it to your collection.

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The best Hitchcock release by the Criterion Collection

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Hitchcock's "Rebecca" based on the novel of the same name by Daphne DuMaurier, remains one of Alfred Hitchcock's most popular films. Even more so as it was a joint project between Hitchcock and David O. Selznick, most famous for "Gone With the Wind"

The release by the Criterion Collection is exceptional and LOADED with specail features which I will mention later.

The film is about a woman on vacation in Monaco who meets a widower. They very quickly fall in love and get married. Her new husband lives in a mansion named 'Manderley.' One of the housekeepers is unhappy with her employer's new wife and tries to disrupt the marriage. I will stop here because I would consider any more information to be a spoiler.

The film has superb acting by Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson.

The Criterion Collection did an excellent job with this double disc set and it remains one of my favorites.

The special features make it even better.

There is an audio track with all dialogue removed, leaving only the music and sound effects which is a first for Criterion DVD's

There is audio commentary by Leonard J. Leff noted film scholar and author of a book about the co-productions between Hitchcock and Selznick.

Other features are:

Screen tests of other actresses who auditioned for the lead role including Vivian Leigh

Selections of Hitchcock's interview with Francois Truffaut

Telephone interviews with Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson

A large number of production and publicity stills along with lobby cards, location scouting pictures and many others

Facsimilies of letters written by Hitchcock, Selznick and others to film studio executives and censors regarding the movie

Deleted scene scripts

A facsimilie of a questionnaire given to individuals who saw the film before the public release

An essay on the novel's author

Home footage of the 1940 Academy Awards

Three seperate radio show adaptations of the novel and film, one is by the Mercury theater broadcast in 1938, the other two are bu Lux Radio Theater and broadcast in 1941 and 1950

Finally the accompanying booklet has several essays about the film.

The DVD went out of print in January 2004 and will sell higher than the original retail price. With each passing year the price will get higher so if you don't have it, get it sooner rather than later.

Fans of Hitchcock should not skip this one at all.

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"Listen....listen to the sea".....

What's most delightful about "Rebecca", Hitch's first American film, is the development of the storyline and characters. There is plenty of tension, but not in the typical Hitchcock style of his later movies. Usually the master of suspense lets the audience in on at least part of a secret, and we watch the hero or heroine, who is in the dark, try to solve the puzzle. But in the case of Rebecca, we are all in the dark, and when the lights are turned on, the results are delicious. And the lights are turned on numerous times.

Joan Fontaine plays the role of a young, somewhat mousy and naïve American who is a "paid companion" to a well-to-do, overweight and over-the hill lady-about-town (played brilliantly by Gladys Cooper). In Monte Carlo she meets Max deWinter (Laurence Olivier), a rich widower who is obsessed with the memory of his first wife (Rebecca) who died a tragic death. After a quick and somewhat juvenile "whirlwind courtship", the two are married and head back to Max's huge estate, Manderley. It turns out Max is not the only one haunted by Rebecca's death. Enter Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca's former personal attendant and quite obviously Matriarch of Manderley. It is here the twists and turns of the plot take us on a journey with many surprises, all done with Hitchcock's master touch of direction.

Judith Anderson astounds in her role here. As for Fontaine and Olivier, they are flawless. It is impossible to imagine any other 2 paired for this performance. Also great acting from George Sanders as the seedy Jack Favell.

This movie is in a sense all about power - how it is gained , lost, and how it can destroy. Without ruining the story, simply see it. This is fast percolating to the top of my all-time favorite movies with every viewing. I only wish I had purchased the Criterion Collection DVD with all the special features.

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Watch Olivier in the cabin scene

I never tire of watching this movie and one of the reasons is the scene in the cabin where Maxim (Olivier) tells his new wife about the death of his first wife. The whole monolouge as performed by Olivier is hypnotic. Watch how he uses the cigarette in his hand, and how the camera pans the cabin to support his narrative. Brilliant.

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