Rebecca - Criterion Collection
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DVD details
Actor: Florence Bates, Judith Anderson, Leo G. Carroll, Leonard Carey, Nigel BrucePrimary Contributor: Joan Fontaine
Primary Contributor: Laurence Olivier
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 130 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-11-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of Rebecca - Criterion Collection
DVD Review: Among Hitchcock's best films
Summary: 5 Stars
This haunting film directed by Alfred Hitchcock from 1940, stars Laurence Olivier, and Joan Fontaine. The movie is based on the novel by Daphene du Maurier's 1938 novel of the same name. Hitchcock was relatively faithful to the book, except for the ending. This film was produced by David Selznick, who also produced "Gone With the Wind". "Rebecca" was Hitchock's only film to win an Academy Award even though it was Hitchock's first U.S. film.
This DVD was remastered and looks great. It also has many special features, including commentary from film critic Richard Schnikel, a making of featurette, screen tests, 3 radio plays, as well as Hitchcock audio interviews with Francois Truffaut and Peter Boganovich.
DVD Review: Cinematic perfection...
Summary: 5 Stars
A few days ago I reviews `Gaslight', and in that review I insinuated that Hitchcock had done that same film much better in 1940. I was speaking of `Rebecca'. Of course one can immediately call me out on that by stating that `Gaslight' and `Rebecca' are completely different films, and you would be right. The thing is that, no matter how different, both films are rooted in the idea that a young and na?ve woman marries into danger and paranoia. `Gaslight' is completely steeped in eerie, fog cloaked sequences, using visuals to build that said paranoia. It works, but the preposterousness of the film takes away from the fright. `Rebecca' is a flawless example of how subtle nuances laced with realistic human drama can create a longer lasting and quite haunting fear much more powerful than anything fully reliant on clich?d cinematography.
And I liked `Gaslight'.
The film tells of a young woman swept off her feet by a mysteriously charming widower named Maxim. She falls into a whirlwind romance and is married and whisked away to Maxim's huge estate only to find that her life is being eclipsed by the woman that was Rebecca, Maxim's deceased wife. Rebecca was loved deeply by everyone on the estate, especially Mrs. Danvers, a woman whose cold stare cuts through Maxim's new wife like a knife. As reminders of the woman she'll never live up to constantly find themselves thrust in her face, the new Mrs. de Winter finds herself struggling to get out of that shadow.
And then Rebecca's body is found.
Gulp.
One should note that this film is not your typical `thriller' in that it does not play to the clich?s of many films in this genre. That is where `Gaslight' and `Rebecca' find their major difference, and it's odd because you would expect that Hitchcock would really add on the eerie by the layers, but he has such a restrained and delicate touch here it is masterful to witness. I don't understand how he lost the director Oscar, especially when it is his direction that propelled this film to win the Best Picture Oscar. This may be his best work (or at least his most complete) even if `Vertigo' and `Psycho' are better films (in my humble opinion).
With a sweeping and airy (I love the open rooms, the rays of light, the feeling of an overwhelming emptiness that leads to paranoid claustrophobia) presence, `Rebecca' consumes the audience and delivers a chilling yet completely realized film.
Like my wife said as the credits began to roll; "that ended just as it needed to."
DVD Review: Hitch goes goth.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Rebecca" is one of the finest films of the 1940's, and features Joan Fontaine as the second mistress of Manderley, forever living in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor. Lawrence Olivier is perhaps detached in his performance, but nevertheless embodies the master of Manderley as few others of his generation could. "Rebecca" also contains the paranoia, suspense, and dreamlike mood that would color much of director Alfred Hitchcock's later work, yet stands apart as a perfect example of gothic romance. DVD Review: Rebecca DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this item for a friend and it was shipped directly to her, so I cannot accurately review this DVD.DVD Review: Classic film--one of the best
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite all-time films. It's the first Alfred Hitchcock American film and the suspense and photography are wonderful. Joan Fontaine is the perfect "victim" and Laurence Olivier is her excellent counterpart. I bought this for a friend who loves old movies. It's a "must see" at least 5 or more times!
Description of Rebecca - Criterion Collection
"Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again." Rebecca's haunting opening line conjures the entirety of Hitchcock's romantic, suspenseful, elegant film. A young woman (Joan Fontaine) believes her every dream has come true when her whirlwind romance with the dashing Maxim de Winter (Sir Laurence Olivier) culminates in marriage. But she soon realizes that Rebecca, the dead first Mrs. De Winter, haunts both the temperamental, brooding Maxim and the de Winter mansion, Manderley. In order for Maxim and the new Mrs. De Winter to have a future, Rebecca's spell must be broken and the mystery of her violent death unraveled. The first collaboration between producer David O. Selznick and Hitchcock, Rebecca was adapted from Daphne du Maurier's popular novel and won the 1940 Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Cinematography (Black and White).Rebecca is an ageless, timeless adult movie about a woman who marries a widower but fears she lives in the shadow of her predecessor. This was Hitchcock's first American feature, and it garnered the Best Picture statue at the 1941 Academy Awards. In today's films, most twists and surprises are ridiculous or just gratuitous, so it's sobering to look back on this film where every revelation not only shocks, but makes organic sense with the story line. Laurence Olivier is dashing and weak, fierce and cowed. Joan Fontaine is strong yet submissive, defiant yet accommodating. There isn't a false moment or misstep, but the film must have killed the employment outlook of any women named Danvers for about 20 years. Brilliant stuff. --Keith Simanton
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