Bell, Book and Candle

Bell, Book and Candle
by Richard Quine

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DVD details

Actor: Ernie Kovacs, Hermione Gingold, Jack Lemmon, James Stewart, Kim Novak
Director: Richard Quine
Brand: STEWART,JAMES
Cinematographer: James Wong Howe
Editor: Charles Nelson
Producer: Julian Blaustein
Writer: Daniel Taradash
Writer: John Van Druten
DVD: 2 Sides, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 106 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-03-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Sony Pictures

DVD Reviews of Bell, Book and Candle

DVD Review: Post-war nuclear yum yum
Summary: 4 Stars

I think this movie is best described as cute, campy, and sexy. Taken in the context of the times, this film just oozes sensuality, and does it with style and class. It's all over this film, and it's verrrry,.......... affective. The filming is gorgeous, top notch for this type of film. The chemistry between Novak and Stewart is more than believable, it's borderline scandalous. What a great date movie,...wow.! There is nothing about this film that isn't cute, sentimental, and yummy. If you're not feeling that, you're watching the wrong movie.

DVD Review: Nostalgia is a poor guide
Summary: 3 Stars

I saw this movie on TV many years ago. My recollection of it was pleasant and I recalled liking the movie very much. The other reviews convinced me the movie was as I recalled and I bought it.
Well, my recollection was made rosier by the passage of time. The movie is as others here have described it. A love story between a mortal (Stewart) and a witch (Novak). The plot development is predictable.

Stewart did a good job portraying a middle-aged sophisticate who would NEVER believe in something like witchcraft. He is (predictably) outraged when he realizes he has been "bewitched". He leaves, vowing never to return. He caves in at the end of the movie and his anger is quickly forgotten.

I think Ms. Novak's job was to be pretty; look bored; never smile; hit her marks; deliver her lines and show very little emotion. Her attempts at being mysterious and seductive came off as "I'm bored".

And so was I. I liked the movie a lot better in my memory. I should have left it there.

Color and sound on the DVD are good; I didn't explore any extra features if there are any.

DVD Review: Bell, book and candle
Summary: 5 Stars

This movie is another Kim novak and Jimmy Stewart classic.They show great chemistry on screen.Jack Lemmon also plays a good part.This is one of my all time favorite Christmas movies...

DVD Review: Still dynamite
Summary: 5 Stars

This is a classic. Just seeing the all-star cast at their best is worth the price. Kim Novak (who never needed any enhancements) Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemon, Hermoine Gingold, Ernie Kovaks.... all in one package. The quality of the recording is great, and the story is a classic.

DVD Review: Classic but awesome witch flick!
Summary: 5 Stars

I have not been one to watch many classic movies, but I'd heard Bell Book and Candle mentioned time and time again. Finally broke down and bought it and I was surprised. Yes, it's classic, (1958) but if you love all things witchy, you may love Kim Novac's version of a witch. Jack Lemmon is pretty humorous in this flick. Worth the money, in my book.

Description of Bell, Book and Candle

Novak is a witch who casts a spell on a book publisher (Stewart) to make him fall in love with her. He is most unhappy when he finds out what happened.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: UN
Release Date: 28-MAR-2000
Media Type: DVD

Staid, secure publisher James Stewart leads a quiet life until he meets his bewitching downstairs neighbor, Kim Novak. John Van Druten's lighthearted Broadway comedy becomes a lush if lightweight romantic vehicle for Stewart and Novak, who would reunite for Hitchcock's Vertigo the next year. Novak is at her best as a Greenwich witch halfway between the worlds of magic and mortals, looking after her dotty aunt (Elsa Lanchester) and mischievous warlock brother (Jack Lemmon) as they keep their skills in practice. Novak's specialty is making men fall for her, but it's a one-way street: when a witch falls in love, she loses her powers. Director Richard Quine gives the witches an almost beatnik sensibility, a real Greenwich Village subculture hanging out in underground clubs and smart curio shops. Elegantly photographed in rich, glowing colors by James Wong Howe, Bell, Book and Candle is a fantasy world in New York set to a funky bongo-laced jazz score by George Duning. Quine's gliding camera is somewhat marred by abrupt editing, but his handling of actors is superb, in particular Novak, whose mysterious beauty masks inner turmoil and romantic yearnings. Ernie Kovacs appears as a wry author whose specialty is the supernatural, and Hermione Gingold is suitably florid as a witch elder with a penchant for theatricality. For once in his life Stewart is actually upstaged by the slyly comic performances around him. --Sean Axmaker

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