Product Description

Editorial Reviews - Amazon Essential Video - Alfred Hitchcock takes on Sigmund Freud in this thriller in which psychologist Ingrid Bergman tries to solve a murder by unlocking the clues hidden in the mind of amnesiac suspect Gregory Peck. Among the highlights is a bizarre dream sequence seemingly designed by Salvador Dali--complete with huge eyeballs and pointy scissors. Although the film is in black and white, the original release contained one subliminal blood-red frame, appearing when a gun pointed directly at the camera goes off. Spellbound is one of Hitchcock's strangest and most atmospheric films, providing the director with plenty of opportunities to explore what he called "pure cinema"--i.e., the power of pure visual associations. Miklós Rózsa's haunting score (which features a creepy theremin) won an Oscar, and the movie was nominated for best picture, director, supporting actor (Michael Chekhov), cinematography, and special visual effects. --Jim Emerson--[This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.] ++++DVD FEATURES: This officially licensed release from China is All-Region NTSC Code 0 (playable worldwide) in Black & White, with 4:3 Full Screen Display and Dolby Digital Sound in ENGLISH with optional (removable) Chinese subtitles. Most of the writing on the package is in Chinese.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20711 in DVD
• Formats: Black & White, Full Screen, Import, NTSC
• Subtitled in: English, Chinese
• Running time: 111 minutes

Customer Reviews

Much-Maligned Hitchcock Classic Has Enough Cinematic Bravado to Satisfy Fans
There is one scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 1945 classic that epitomizes what's both cinematically unique and logically wrong about the whole venture. Late in the story, comely therapist Dr. Constance Petersen and her inadvertent patient John Brown (or is it Dr. Anthony Edwardes?) set off skiing on an empty, pristine slope in Gabriel Valley. The two attractive stars are obviously shot standing still against an aggressive wind machine in front of a moving screen matte of the Alpine scenery. It's really a concurrently thrilling and silly-looking shot designed to build suspense, and it's easy to dismiss its artifice until it all ends in a key revelation. The rest of the movie suffers from the same conflicting dilemma, i.e., isolated moments of cinematic bravado that interweave with a preposterous Baroque-level storyline.

Written by Ben Hecht and Angus MacPhail, the plot begins with the staff of a country asylum awaiting the arrival of Dr. Edwardes to replace the retiring Dr. Murchison. Enter a man who thinks he's Edwardes until it becomes clear that the real Edwardes has been murdered. In the meantime, the normally reserved Dr. Petersen has become drawn to the young Edwardes doppelganger, who becomes her patient and then her lover. When he is accused of the murder, the couple go on the lam in her desperate hope of finding the truth about his identity and who the murderer really is. Just like Hitchcock's first American picture, the 1940 classic Rebecca, this film was produced by David O. Selznick in his trademark glossy manner, but this time, Selznick appears more confident about his director's abilities as Hitchcock's atmospheric touches are more abundant here. There is even a surreal dream sequence designed by Salvador Dali and one hilariously effective metaphor of doors opening when the lovers kiss.

George Barnes' deep-focus cinematography, Miklos Rozsa's evocative music (though a bit too macabre at times) and James Basevi's art direction are all first-rate. As Petersen, Ingrid Bergman is saddled with a role that has her explaining and probing ad nauseam, but somehow her natural luminescence comes through her professional exterior. Gregory Peck, on the other hand, is more problematic as the traumatized hero since he has to convince us that he could be a murderer when his young and naturally stalwart manner makes such dire emotions rather incredible. Smaller roles are filled expertly with layered work from Leo G. Carroll as Murchison and Michael Chekhof as Peterson's eccentric mentor. In the impressive Hitchcock canon, it is a highly stylized but ultimately middling effort.

Spellbinding and Fascinating
The new DVD is a Korean reissue of the 1945 film. Many Koreans seem to be fascinated with American culture. This reissue appears to be intended primarily for Korean speakers. but there is no dubbing. The voices are the original English ones. There is an option for Korean or English subtitles, which leads to some humorous misspellings and outright mistakes in the English subtitles.

It is reported that Alfred Hitchcock made the comment that Spellbound "is just another manhunt story wrapped up in pseudo-psychoanalysis." It is much more than that. Most obviously it is a touching and powerful love story. How pseudo- the psychoanalysis is should also be questioned. The film was made with the aid of a psychiatric advisor.

Psychoanalysis is about the mind, and we all have our ideas about how the mind works. If some of the psychoanalysis sequences seem farfetched, others may ring a bell. Perhaps most of us are influenced in this by our own dreams, which we may be able to relate to our own conscious experiences. A focus of the story is Dr. Edwards' book "The Labyrinth of the Guilt Complex." If we question that, we may still agree that the subconscious is a labyrinth.

There are many thought-provoking sequences. Two are about Mr. Garmes, who is a patient at Green Manors. He is presented as perhaps having a weak ego, but also a strong sense of right and wrong. In his case we might be inclined to advise him to at least find peace of mind by a means other than psychoanalysis. He says he knows he killed his father, but no one will believe him. With dedication, he could try to emulate his father's good points and values, and so give his father new life in him.

I'm slowly peeling back the many layers of Hitchcock
I've never seen a film that immediately changed my opinion of another film. Does that sound strange? Well, that happened while watching this strange story by the Master of Intrigue, Alfred Hitchcock.

This is a Freudian love story/murder mystery. The beautiful Ingrid Bergman is a psycologist who falls in love with her patient. Gregory Peck plays this character who is suffering from amnesia. He is a murder suspect but can't recall the details about the crime.
They try to open mental doors to this mystery by deciphering his dreams. They are able to do this rather easily, which I think did seem a little far-fetched for this story. But the artistry with which the dream sequences are shot is phenomenal. Hitch uses imagery from Salvador Dali paintings, and it really breathes life into the psychoanalytical evaluations. You have the large glooming eyeballs and the melting wheel.
But the most intriguing component for me was the dream where Peck is being chased by a giant bird. That got me thinking...
I watched Alfred's film The Birds before and found it pretty ridiculous. I just took it at face value, some crazy birds attacking people. After watching Spellbound, I realize it goes much deeper than that. The entire film The Birds could be construed as a dream sequence. That might sound crazy, but the film itself is crazy too. Or I considered the fact that maybe it is allegorical for something...possibly fear of...? Anyways, I realize I wasn't giving Hitchcock enough credit, his films go way beyond what is easily perceived.

Spellbound really did cast a spell on me. Now I definitely gotta rewatch The Birds.