Why pass over the 1978 Michael Winner version of The Big Sleep in a complete volte-face? It was this evening's movie most of today but looking through it, nah, didn't have enough going for it. It had Robert Mitchum in his decrepit years, had Sarah Miles but it lacked the Bogie-Bacall chemistry and the film-noir look. And though Britain's a wonderful place, it's not really Chandleresque.
So here's Rebecca:
A self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence..
Straight to a watcher review:
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Definitely my favorite classic. There are some that come close, such as Citizen Kane, Spellbound, and Psycho, but none quite compare to this amazing movie.
The first thing that you notice is the outstanding cinematography. You have to remember that this movie was made in 1940, when they didn't have the technology we have now. But that first shot of the water beating up against the rocks grabs you and for one split second you wonder if maybe this isn't part of the movie but rather something filmed just recently. But then you see the familiar face of Laurence Olivier, reminding you that this was made 60 years ago, a fact that forever amazes me. The only oscar it won besides Best Picture was well deserved.
Another thing that makes it such a wonderful film is the acting. I have debated on whether Laurence Olivier's character, the tortured Maxim de Winter, is the pitiable character or if his second wife played by Joan Fontaine is really the one to feel sorry for. Every time I watch it I see it from a different point of view. Joan Fontaine is excellent. Laurence Olivier is wonderful, but that's no surprise. The only thing that bugs me is that it seems in every movie he's in (well, at least, everything I've seen him in), he always plays the same type of character. But he's extremely good at it, so I suppose it doesn't matter.
But although Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier are wonderful, Judith Anderson steals the show! The first time I watched the movie, I was immediately grabbed by her stunning performance as the sinister Mrs. Danvers. You hardly notice the other characters when she's in the scene. She acted the part so well that it's strange to imagine that she was any different in real life.
With a wonderful storyline, and a very surprising ending, Rebecca well deserves the title as the only of Hitchcock's films to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Although it may not be the most famous of all his films, it is without a doubt the greatest.
Greatest? Certainly up there in his Hollywood debut, AH.
Joan Fontaine certainly carries that movie from woe to go, pity she was so bitchy with her bitchier sister, something which comes out in Midweek Movie later in the week. But again - carry it she does and we're meant to want that to be. Olivier and others played off her, not the other way around. I don't like how AH treated his leading ladies, felt it was unnecessary.
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