UNDERRATED CLASSIC? - Spellbound (1945) Discussion

[–] capn76 19 years ago

Sure do. Great dream sequences. Two legendary actors meeting expectations. Legendary director with an unorthodox idea. Probably overlooked due to Hitchcock having so many recognized films that have directly influenced other recognized classics. Nobody wants to see an eleventh Hitchcock after seeing the ones everybody talks about.

I was MONUMENTAL! I was EPOCHAL!

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Roaddawg64 19 years ago

People seem to think this is just average Hitchcock, as the filmmaking is good its just the psychology mumbo-jumbo takes down a notch.

But even the worst Hitchcock film is better than most films that are out there, especially after the stuff that has come out over the last 5 years.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] OpaqueOne 14 years ago

"Spellbound with all its flaws is much better than anything Brian DePalma(the director who's devoted his career from making movies out of scenes from the Master's films) has ever come up with"

...and AMEN to that :-) I don't consider Spellbound a top 10 Hitchcock film (maybe top 20), but I have lots of respect for his longevity, consistency, and high quality of work. The man directed pretty evenly for nearly 6 decades. I get a sick taste in my mouth when anyone even mentions De Palma in the same breath as Hitch. Yes, people are influenced by their forerunners, but De Palma has made a career of taking Hitchcock scenes and figuring how to flesh them into feature-length films. Remember the Dressed to Kill museum scene? Worst of all, from what I've read, he denies his imitation or being heavily influenced by Hitch. Such a shame. I will admit DePalma has some ability, but even his best don't measure up to Hitch's average efforts.

As for Spellbound, this film has its flaws yet it has some great scenes too. I always felt it could have flowed better. The chemistry of the leads plays a huge part in most films' final product and it's a bit off here. Still fun.

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[–] phatkronikblunt 19 years ago

"People seem to think this is just average Hitchcock, as the filmmaking is good its just the psychology mumbo-jumbo takes down a notch."

Psycho also has seemingly unnecessary pyschological explanation, but that is definately not unappreciated. The reason this and the end of pyscho where weighed down by "psychology mumbo-jumbo" is because these concepts were not understood by the general public back then. The films wouldn't have made sense to their audiences.

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[–] thisisstillthebrat 18 years ago

This is definately one of Hithcocks best films and yet nobody ever mentions it when talking about their fave Hitch film
t is severely underrated

"Everybody be cool this is a robbery!"

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[–] uLJ 18 years ago

Each film should be judged on its own time period so put yourself in the 40s and try to watch such movies in that respect, it surely will be a different cenamatic experience. Furthurmore, while not trying to sound authoritative, I assume during that era not many movies delt with psychology therefore this movie was like the first blooming rose in spring paving the way to further this genre.

Having your lawyer pay for lunch will be very expensive in the end.

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[–] conace21 18 years ago

I recognize that this film is not as great as Vertigo, but as far as enjoyment goes, I would watch this over Vertigo in an instant.

My favorite Hitchcock films in terms of watchability are:
North by Northwest
Spellbound
Psycho
Rear Window
The Birds
To Catch a Thief
Dial M for Murder
Notorious

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[–] Hag_Sibylle 18 years ago

It's one of my favourite films of all time. People who criticise the inaccuracies in the psychoanalytical part miss the point, imho. Hitchcock wasn't trying to make a documentary on psychoanalysis; he was making a movie full of suspense and mystery, based on this particular portrayal of "psychoanalysis". You just have to swallow that at first, but it's no different from having to swallow the existence of vampires in any Dracula movie, or ghosts in a ghost story... If you just sit there and say: "Yeah, but that's a bad film because there really aren't any ghosts", you're missing the point.

I guess what I'm saying is, it's a brilliant movie, ingeniously scripted, acted, filmed, scored... Not for being realistic, but for being a piece of art, imagination. In itself, the film sticks to its logic, that's the important bit.

I'll stop preaching now, lol. Did I mention this is one of my all-time favourites? ;-)

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[–] forestar44 18 years ago

Spellbound is about the 10th Hitchcock film I've seen and easily the worst one so far. It still is mildly entertaining at moments but I found it very hard to sit through.

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[–] richard-III 18 years ago

I'd say so.
It is certainly not an average Hitchcock.
The storyline might be overdone and unsubtle, but SPELLBOUND has a haunting quality in imagery and music, and to me it is one of Hitch's masterpieces.

The way Hitch tells us his story, the way the players conspire, the creepy theremin music of Miklos Rozsa, the classic and unforgettable photography of George Barnes (REBECCA)...

Like the scene with Peck and Bergman in Michael Chechov's room. Right after the dream scene. Peck in a chair tells about his dream, they discuss it, make a joke. Then outside the snow starts falling, Peck notices it, and the music comes in. Something's happening, and it's happening in Peck's mind.
It still gives me the shudders. Great!!!

"When there is no more room in the Oven,
the Bread will walk the Earth."

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[–] Thrift_Store_Junkie05 18 years ago

Perhaps today the film may be very underrated. However, upon official release, Spellbound was nominated for best picture, director, supporting actor (Michael Chekhov), cinematography, and special visual effects and Miklós Rózsa's haunting score much deservingly won an Oscar. Spellbound might very well be Alfred Hitchcock's strangest and most atmospheric film. Sure, the major highlight for most people is the bizarre dream sequence seemingly designed by Salvador Dali. However, the doors-within-doors" kissing scene between Bergman and Peck did it for me. Therefore, Spellbound was very popular in it's day but has been sidelined in favour of Hitchcock's other great films. Many people feel that the central premise of psychology as proposed in this film is outdated and even childish. But as most of Hitchcock’s films do, Spellbound exudes class. The visual manifestations of Gregory Peck's character's guilt complex are an excellent example of the “show, don’t tell” style of filmmaking, and make the film feel more cinematically alive than a film with a script this talky might suggest.

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