Spellbound [DVD]

The first I've used Halcyon books UK. It came in good time and the disc was in very good condition.

Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman star in this Hitchcock thriller about a man who's become an impostor due to an accident brought about by some dark mystery regarding an incident buried deep in his childhood.This is a good movie, but I guess being critical, one could be forgiven for thinking the plot a little extreme in that the said circumstances and problems would have been encountered much sooner perhaps in real life. However; it does not deflect from the fact it's a good picture with top performances.Gregory Peck looks dishy as always (I once saw him interviewed years later - and he became an even more attractive elderly gentleman) and Bergman is her usual 'misty-eyed' self.One scene in particular that is quite striking, is a close-up facial shot of when Peck's character slowly approaches Bergman's to kiss her, and as he does, her eyes become all misty and drift to the top in their sockets (and whose wouldn't!!) which is followed by an imaginary hall of doors constantly opening to let him in... (could be rather suggestive!?)Has been re-mastered with Extras.

This is one of several Hitchcock films which have been released by Fremantle as having been "restored from the original negative and...also...digitally restored for optimum picture and sound quality". The results of the process used are patchy in the other films ( Notorious [1946] [DVD ] and  Paradine Case [DVD] [1947 ]) resulting in a soundtrack which needs the volume turned up high and a rather 'soft' picture quality, but 'Spellbound' seems to have turned out best.It's an everyday tale of psychiatrists at work and play in and around the Green Manors Mental Asylum, which is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of the famous Dr Edwards (Gregory Peck), who no one from the institution has ever met or seen before - or have they?There then follows a love affair with Ingrid Bergman, dramatic handwriting comparisons, escape from the police, drugged milk, Peck wielding a cut-throat razor, gigantic 'prop' hands, Peck skiing down a mountain whilst still wearing his lounge suit, a single frame of colour (red) and the famous Salvador Dali "dream" sequence which is satisfyingly like one of his paintings come to life.Magnificent fun in a decent print at a very attractive price.

Two great leading actors in this psychological thriller. Pity it didn't come with subtitles. Being an old 1940s film the sound quality wasn't that great. The music often drowned out the dialogue. I had to keep turning the volumn up and down. I love Hitchcock but found this to be not one of his best. A bit overacted and bland.

Remember seeing this many years ago,really enjoyed watching it again.

I enjoyed this film when I saw it on television many years ago and jumped at the chance to buy the DVD. The story is much as one would expect from a Hitchcock film; the acting is excellent, as one would expect from stars of the calibre of Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman. The Sigmund Freud character stands out too.I was however disappointed to discover that while the film has been restored to its original pristine state, the sound leaves a lot to be desired.I have poor hearing and strained to follow the dialogue, only to be knocked over the back of my chair by the teeth-rattling dramatic music that intruded at regular intervals.The music is too loud and the film should have a subtitle option.Pity really - I'd been looking forward to seeing it again.

A solid, if not spectacular, blu ray version of Hitchcock's psychological melodrama. The definition and black levels vary tremendously and the score suffers a little too although it's fascinating to have both the overture and exit music contained on the disc. The extras are fascination and even if the plot isn't the Master's finest the luminous Ms Bergman and her co-star Gregory Peck are most impressive.

Loved it! No gratuitous sex, no swearing, action all the way, but no guns blasting or cars flying through the air and then carrying on as if nothing happened.