Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #158927 in DVD
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.com
George Cukor helped transform a moody Victorian stage melodrama (previously filmed in Britain in 1939) into a gothic Hollywood romantic thriller. Ingrid Bergman stars as a meek, uncertain heiress courted and married in a whirlwind romance by the debonair Charles Boyer, but when they move back into her childhood home she begins losing her grip on reality and becomes convinced that her husband is trying to drive her insane. Joseph Cotten, rather stiff and colorless next to the anguished Bergman and charming and lively Boyer, is the heroic Scotland Yard detective who becomes enamored of the skittish woman who is slowly succumbing to madness. The grand, glorious sets and elegant photography recall Hitchcock's Rebecca, another lush Hollywood gothic melodrama of a retiring young wife overwhelmed by the history of her abode, and Gaslight is still assumed by some to be a Hitchcock film (the Bergman connection doesn't help the confusion). It's really a rather straightforward thriller with a forced plot device, but under Cukor's control the tightly constructed script is given the full MGM treatment, then reined in for intimate moments of harrowing suspense. Boyer brilliantly played off his continental lover reputation by adding an undercurrent of malevolence and Bergman won an Oscar for her haunted performance. It also marks the memorable debut of Angela Lansbury as a saucy maid unwittingly drawn into Boyer's master plan. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Hallelujah!
GASLIGHT is finally on DVD! And not just the 1944 suspense classic. This edition includes the complete British GASLIGHT made just a few years before in 1940. For years MGM actively supressed the older film giving rise to the legend that it was a far superior film. Now finally film buffs can view both and decide for themselves.

Both are terrific movies. For me, while the British version is leaner and faster, the Cukor film is by far the greater of the two. The relationship between Walbrook and Wynyard in the 1940 version is a well-played but two dimensional depiction of a tormentor and his victim. Boyer's and Bergman's characters are more complex and subtle in the 1944 film. There is a genuine romantic/sexual energy between them. While Boyer is sinister he also very charming and attractive. And you watch as the once-vibrant Bergman gives up her self confidence and becomes emotionally dependent on Boyer a little bit at a time. And what can you say about the amoral delinquent maid of Angela Lansbury? That alone is worth the price of admission!

A great movie and a very good movie. Buy the DVD and enjoy them both!

Chilling thriller with Charles Boyer at his best!
"Gaslight" (the 1944 version) is one of the best suspense classics I can think of that's not directed by Hitchcock, and the casting was simply flawless. Ingrid Bergman gives a excellent performance as a naive young woman ("Paula") who's nearly driven insane by her sinister, greedy husband, "Gregory" (played by Charles Boyer). Joseph Cotten plays the detective who comes to Paula's rescue just when she's almost lost her sanity. It is he who helps Paula finally realize that Gregory had only married her so that he could find very valuable jewels supposedly hidden in her house years ago. Charles Boyer is great even playing such an unlikable villian, and Dame May Whitty along with then 18-year-old Angela Lansbury in her film debut (who was nominated for best supporting actress) add great support to the main stars. This is truly an awesome dvd, and it includes the 1940 British version of "Gaslight" as well as a documentary "Reflections on Gaslight", the original trailer, and footage of Ingrid Bergman accepting her best actress oscar at the 1944 Academy Awards ceremony! This classic thriller is highly recommended.

Great Period Drama
Director George Cukor's Gaslight is a wonderful mystery suspense in the Alfred Hitchcock tradition. And where Hitchcock had trouble with mastery over period dramas, Cukor excelled. The set decoration and camera work are extraordinary and the performances are all on target. Another reason this film has a Hitchcock feel is due to the fact that two of Hitchcock's most popular players, Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotton, star. Bergman stars as Paula Alquist, a shy young woman, whose only surviving relative was brutally murdered when she was a teenager. Bergman's aunt, Alice Alquist was a famous opera singer and as the movie begins, we find Bergman studying voice in Italy. Accompanying her on the piano is the suave and sophisticated Charles Boyer, the object of Bergman's affections. Distracted by this new love in her life, Bergman gives up her studies and runs off and marries Boyer. All seems wonderful until Boyer convinces Bergman that they should return to her home in London, the very place where her aunt was murdered. Bergman is reluctant, but gives in to please her new husband. Unknown to Bergman, however, is the fact that Boyer murdered her aunt looking for some very expensive, but hidden jewels. His obsession in finding them goes so far as to convince Bergman that she is on the brink of insanity. Cotton enters the scene as a sympathetic Scotland Yard inspector, and a fan of Bergman's late aunt. He is convinced that the mystery surrounding Alice Alquist's murder is somewhere in that house, and he also suspects Boyer. Bergman shines in her first Academy Awarding winning performance. Hers is a delicate, well balanced tour de force that draws the viewer in and makes us sympathize and pull for her to triumph. As the diabolical husband, Boyer is properly menacing and cruel, carefully orchestrating Bergman's descent into madness. With all this talent and star power in one film, Gaslight couldn't help but be a masterpiece. Gaslight is also noteworthy for 17-year-old Angela Landsbury's film debut as the saucy maid Nancy. With all the polish and resources of the MGM film factory at its peak, Gaslight is superb in every way. Wonderful entertainment.