Spellbound
1945 Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Synopsis
Strange . . . Strange . . . Their Irresistible Love! Dark . . . Dark . . . Their Inescapable Fears !
A psychiatrist tries to help the man she loves solve a murder buried in his subconscious.
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A little more than halfway through Hitchcock's filmography, and Spellbound was probably my most anticipated of what's left. I was not disappointed.
Visually, Spellbound is stunning. Setting the Dali sequence aside for a moment, Hitch really works some magic with the camera. Oh, I wish I had taken some notes earlier, because I'm forgetting so much. But it's not just the trick shots, the interesting POV shots, or the visual motifs (I feel like it must have been somewhat difficult to get "white lines" to show on film, right?), but simple things, like the light falling on Bergman in her room. Of course, when working with Bergman and Peck, it could not have been too challenging to make them look…
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Part of the Alfred Hitchcock Sound Era Films In Chronological Order project.
Alfred Hitchcock's fractious relationship with David O. Selznick had, to date, only seen them actually work on one film together in the five years that Hitchcock had been working in Hollywood. On the evidence of Rebecca, their previous direct collaboration, and Spellbound, the second of only three films they would make together, I think we were the ones that missed out.
You are left wondering what other wonderful films we could have seen if Selznick and Hitchcock could have put their differences to one side. Certainly, Rebecca was Hitchcock's most challenging American film to date in terms of its themes but Spellbound supersedes it by quite some distance.…
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In some ways Spellbound represents the worst of Alfred Hitchcock's tendencies, at least to non-fans - A completely preposterous plot, lots of show-offy set-pieces, and a rather trite and silly romance.
And I can't say the plot is much more preposterous than the one in, say, Vertigo - but unlike in Hitch's later masterpieces he seems a little too tied to it in a "realistic" way to interweave it so artistically with his other goals. It sounds a little pretentious I guess but the movie's great fault seems to be that Hitch is too interested in making us believe the story in a way that isn't necessary in Vertigo or North By Northwest, so the whole thing has a clunkiness…
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Good night and sweet dreams... which we'll analyze at breakfast.
-Dr. Alex BrulovIngrid Bergman and Gregory Peck are quite good in this Hitchcock thriller. Like most of his films they have great dialogue to work with and you combine that with some classic Hitchcock imagery and this film is just a joy to watch. One of my favorite scenes is towards the end and involves the use of a revolver. It shows that Hitchcock was constantly trying to do things with the camera no one had thought of before.
While it's use of psychoanalysis is dated and absurd it also leads to one of the most memorable sequences in an Alfred Hitchcock film. The dream sequence designed Salvador Dalí…
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Great thriller, though its treatment of psychoanalysis needs to be taken with a grain of salt, especially in its reading of the awesome Dali dream sequence - you wonder if audiences at the time bought this. Bergman does her thing and Peck is serviceable, with a good script and obviously masterful direction. It's enjoyable but with self-evident flaws; the aforementioned dubious portrayal of psychoanalysis and a love story that while has decent chemistry, develops too early on - so much of Bergman's character is supposed to be about her dedication to her work and not letting love into it, and yet she falls for him as soon as she sees him, both implausible and undermines how her character has been written. So with perhaps a more determined suspension of disbelief than even the regular Hitchcock film, it's a great ride.
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**Part of the Best Picture Project**
Far from a Hitchcock great, but still a fun watch, Spellbound is an engaging psychological thriller with great lead performances by Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck.
The film is most notable for its score (which is still shy from the best Bernard Herrman score, but atmospheric nonetheless) and the Salvador Dali directed dream sequence that is visually appealing. Both are extremely noteworthy moments (along with a handful of great suspenseful moments), but its never enough to elevate the film into godly Hitchcock levels.
Part of this problem lies with the central conceit, which is far too unbelievable to work with, even if the script does its best. The film is also full of silly little moments that'll take you out. Regardless, a merely good Hitchcock film is still better than most films.
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This type of documentaries really work for me. I found it amazing how fast I could relate to the people portrayed here, the kids are all great, and it gives you many different perspectives of how the interest for this type of competition can be formed. I also really enjoyed the structure of the documentary, having the 8 kids in the little boxes and fading them out as they got eliminated.
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Sporadically ridiculous, but still an enjoyable watch. There are a few delightfully bizzarro Hitchcock moments, but they stand out against the rest of the film rather than feeling like an organic part of it. Tiny baby Gregory Peck is a lot of fun to see, and the adorable old professor steals the show once he arrives. Also notable for a solid Theremin score. There aren't enough of those!
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What if a psychoanalyst decided to go "undercover" and play the traditional Hitchcockian archetypes of both detective and spy, all in the name of love? In Spellbound, the Master of Suspense stages such an emotionally complex plot — a collection of the day's pulpy genres — to create a psychological masterpiece that rivals its companion, 1946's classic Notorious.
While spy Cary Grant exploits Ingrid Bergman in Notorious in the name of country, psychoanalyst Constance Petersen (Bergman) exploits a mysterious man named only J.B. (Gregory Peck in Spellbound in the name of...well, that's up to debate. Love of this man? Love of control over him? Insanity itself? Hitchcock and writing companion Ben Hecht leave no easy answers here in a romance…
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it does open with a promise to be a complex challenge but it is truly not even that with a DALI sequence involved.
featuring HITCHCOCK's usual plot moves it is long but, as always, an entertaining, an interesting movie to watch.
however it does lack the excitement, the intrigue that many other films of his have even when many twists are as shocking as they could be today.
how on earth would i have guessed that the most surreal moment is a very simple, very subtle trick? the big reveal followed by the gun shooting the audience.
not the best, not the worst but it still is a pleasure to watch. -
I know I'm a terrible cinephile for saying this, but I really haven't immersed myself in Alfred Hitchcock's movies. I've seen a few here and there, with North by Northwest being my favorite, but I haven't seen the majority of his movies. That being said, Spellbound is probably my favorite Hitchcock film that isn't North by Northwest.
The plot is simple enough, Ingrid Bergman plays Dr. Constance Petersen, a psychoanalyst at Green Manors, a mental hopstial. When her new boss and semi-lover Dr. Anthony Edwardes, played by Gregory Peck, turns out to be an impostor with amnesia, who may have killed the real Dr. Edwardes, Dr. Petersen is determined to not prove her love innocent, but to find out who… -
Το κομμάτι της ψυχανάλυσης, όπως υπάρχει και το βλέπουμε εδώ είναι αστείο. Λογικά τότε θα δούλευε καλύτερα για τους θεατές.
Τώρα δύσκολο να πάρεις την ταινία στα σοβαρά στα σημεία που χρησιμοποιείται. Η γοητείας της ψυχανάλυσης (όπως και της ταινίας) όμως παραμένει.
Το dream sequence του Νταλί είναι πανέμορφο και βασικά δες το για αυτό, είναι αρκετό. -
This is one of my favorites of what I would call second teir Hitchcock. Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman are pretty good together. The Salvador Dali inspired dream sequence is certainly worth seeing this for. When ever psychiatry is addressed in films it is usually fairly laughable,and the melodrama is turned up to 11.
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Another great Hitchcock movie, suspenseful until the end, passionate and full of madness. Loved the plot and the actors (beginning to love Gregory Peck more and more).
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Great thriller, though its treatment of psychoanalysis needs to be taken with a grain of salt, especially in its reading of the awesome Dali dream sequence - you wonder if audiences at the time bought this. Bergman does her thing and Peck is serviceable, with a good script and obviously masterful direction. It's enjoyable but with self-evident flaws; the aforementioned dubious portrayal of psychoanalysis and a love story that while has decent chemistry, develops too early on - so much of Bergman's character is supposed to be about her dedication to her work and not letting love into it, and yet she falls for him as soon as she sees him, both implausible and undermines how her character has been written. So with perhaps a more determined suspension of disbelief than even the regular Hitchcock film, it's a great ride.