Sorry this forum needs one of these. I have yet to see a Hitchcock film that was as painful to sit through as this one. I kept waiting for it to get interesting and it never did! Wheres the suspense? *Spoiler* Are you telling me you guys didnt see it coming that Max was involved with his wife's death? Maybe just the last 5 minutes were at all suprising but not worth the 2 hours of seeing that tight wooden Olivier brooding over and over again.
shareI happen to like it, it is my very favorite film. I like it a lot better than "Rope", "Lifeboat", and "Saboteur". Everyone has their own opinions on things.
Always look both ways before crossing your eyes.
Very insightful. Thanks for sharing.
shareI had just spent 2 hours watching Rebecca and I just needed to let off some steam with that post. What a disappointment.
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I spent 2 hours watching Rebecca and I just needed another 2 hours to watch it again. I loved it that much. It's my favorite Hitchcock's movie.
Enjoying that are you my darlin'? Bit cold and pointless isn't it my lovely?share
I am really surprised that a significant number of people think that this is Hitchcock's worst movie. It is my personal favorite out of a LOT of good ones from him. There are some strong runner-ups for me: Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo, Rear Window immediately come to mind.
My least favorite: Probably Torn Curtain. Hitchcock appears to have peaked around the time that he made The Birds. IMO, his next film, Marnie was disappointing. I was significantly disappointed in Torn Curtain. It had a good actors in Paul Newman and Julie Andrews but they just seemed to be miscast in a Hitchcock film. Moreover, I thought that it really lacked a decent music that really could have enhanced the scenes. The plot was good and the screenplay would read like another Hitchcock masterpiece. However, it just struck me as things somehow just didn't "combine" in Torn Curtain -- kind of like a master chef using all of his key ingredients and techniques to create a lousy dish.
I really don't even consider Hitchcock's films after Torn Curtain. It is insulting to compare these inferior works with the earlier great ones. Torn Curtain really was the signal that Hitchcock was finished.
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I just watched this film for the first time. I have to say that it wasn't what I expected. I thought that the story would have been more supernatural perhaps. By the end I did enjoy it for the most part, and felt that Rebecca "haunted" the 2nd wife quite effectively in a realistic way. I certainly didn't feel that edge of your seat type suspense for most of it. The film was well done, however, and when the characters were going to meet the doctor I couldn't predict what would happen next. A good movie makes you think, and I'm still going through the plot in my head.
shareI found it overly melodramatic even for hitch.
shareFair enough. It was different than I expected from a Hitchcock film. It's not one of my favorites, but it was at least something different (even if that was a bad thing for some). Either way, we were certainly lucky that Hitch had such an enduring career which gave us so many great films to enjoy!
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I think Hitchcock's worst is Frenzy. I think Rebecca is one of his best.
shareWell, there you go. I have been watching a number of Hitchcock's films on DVD recently, and Rebecca goes right up near the top for me. Superb acting, script, cinematography, and direction. It's an old cliche, but hardly more apt -- they don't make them like this anymore, more's the pity.
You didn't like Frenzy? I thought it was his scariest film actually. Totally agree Rebecca is one of the best though.
shareRebecca is one of his best, it was the first one that he remade in America. I understand that everyone has a right to there own opinion but it is hard to see how someone can think this is Hitchcock's worst. His later films where more on the weaker side. Rebecca is unique and before its time. With great acting and a somewhat surprising ending.
shareI haven't seen all of Hitchcock's movies, so I can't say which is the "worst." It certainly isn't Rebecca, though. Hitchcock made lots of worse flicks. For ex., I recently viewed Foreign Correspondent (1940) which is really a perfquite terrible movie although entertaining in a kitshy sort of way. Maybe if Jimmy Stewart had taken the role, it would have been a bit better. As it is, we are left with Joel McCrae, good-lookind aw-shucks bland. The mid-ocean airplane-downing bit in particular has to be one of the most implausible sequences in movie history.
shareIt lacked the suspense that you'd expect with a Hitchcock. I thought it would be more scary, edge-of-your-seat, supernatural. But, erm, no.
*SPOILERS!*
It was really obvious that Rebecca had cancer and that she wasn't pregnant. It was also obvious that Maxim was involved, because in all his brooding over her death and all that, he still didn't seem to care that much that she had died, and that he was just covering it up. A very difficult role to act, and Olivier pulled it off quite well.
Not one of my favourite movies, and not one I'd reccommend to others. But we do all have different opinions.
=) x x
I've not seen all the hitchcook's yet, but I will.
This is the only hitchcook I've found boring so far.
From best to worst imho;
1. Psycho (10/10)
2. Strangers on a Train (9/10)
3. Vertigo (9/10)
4. North By Northwest (9/10)
5. Rear Window (8/10)
6. Rebecca (6/10)
My Vote History:
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=3336620
All I have to say is this--
The most important thing about this movie is that was based on a novel by Dauphne du Maurier. That's the reason why it's so dramatic. It follows the book to the letter. However, only one thing was changed. This is from Wikipedia:
"At [David O.] Selznick's insistence, the plot of the novel Rebecca was largely unchanged in the film. However, one plot detail in the novel was altered to comply with the Hollywood Production Code, which said that the murder of a spouse had to be punished. In the novel, Maxim shoots Rebecca, while in the film, he only thinks of killing her after she taunts him, saying she is pregnant with someone else's child. She then suddenly falls back, hits her head on a piece of boat equipment, and dies from her head injuries. This is therefore much more innocent seeming than in the book version, as in the book, Maxim has purposely killed Rebecca, while in the film it is seen to be more of an accident.
In order to maintain the dark atmosphere of the book, Hitchcock insisted that the film be shot in black and white."
Its true that David O. Selznick wanted the story faithful to Rebecca. But Some of his ideas were very weak especially the ending. And David O. Selznick wanted the film in color.
Thanks to Hitchcock, The movie was shot in black and white, and Hitchcock used his ending instead of David O. Selznick's. Hitchcock also worked with his assistant Joan Harrison and Playwright Robert Sherwood in the screenplay. So the movie became far better.
actually, in the book Mrs Danvers doesnt die in the fire and we never find out where she is again.
How can I go to the doctor when I have a demonically challenged baby?
I <3 Shannen Doherty
Rope! sucked .. Rebecca was wonderful.
Rope!
Rope!
Rope!
NO THANKS!
3/10 (for the creative way of shooting it.)
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Rope was pretty cruddy I agree but it was technically very beautifully. I really didn't get the whole 'time length' thing it was doing with the sun setting. I only noticed it when I read about it!
I really enjoyed Rebecca...how on earth could anyone know that Rebecca had cancer and was pregnant with her cousins baby? Per-lease
He loves Al Jolson
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There's nothing wrong with Rope! In terms of pure suspense it might be Hitchcock's best. Had me on the edge of my seat for 80 minutes.
Rebecca was great too, though. I just watched it for the first time and I'm glad I did.
The atmosphere makes the magic! And that's why this is one of his best movies!
It's not only about 'Who done it?' or things like this.
forestar,
While reading all the posts on this thread, all I can think is that it`s all a matter of taste. We all have our favorites and we have all seen what each of us think of as Hitchcock`s worst. I personally loved "Rebecca." On the other hand,I could never see what was so great about "Vertigo," but that`s just me. Countless people think that "Vertigo" is one of the best.... a masterpiece.
As I said, it`s just a matter of taste.
Interesting. I actually think this is one of Hitchcock's very best. It comes from his rather uneven period of the 1940s, but I actually think he did some of his very best work during this time (especially "Shadow of a Doubt").
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View my films at: www.youtube.com/comedyfilm
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I am glad that you enjoyed the film. What do you mean by "I didn't over-analyze the film"?
shareI love this movie. It takes you on a real journey. Joan Fontaine did several movies playing similar roles - Jane Eyre and Suspicion - of the mousy woman swept off her feet by a strong, dashing man to marriages that had dark sides. I especially love the beginning when Joan is the assistant to that bossy society lady. I love the lines -"Have you been doing anything you shouldn't?" and "Goodbye my dear, and good luck" snaps the rejected society lady. I'm really fond of these types of "Cinderella" roles. I like the stylish melodrama of 1940. I like movies that are over-the-top adventures that take me to a different world for a time.
Hey, anytime I want realism, I can get it living real life!
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. . . Sony, I agree with you about Frenzy and Rebecca . . . and please, everyone remember, no matter how hard this is to believe, but that Rebecca is the only film Alfred Hitchcock ever directed that went on to win the coveted Academy Award for best picture---incredible! After that win it did pump-up his status in lalaland, and his heft increased . . .
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Rebecca is my favorite Hitchcock movie, and I've seen about 20 of his movies so far.
The worst so far (for me) was To Catch a Thief.
I agree. To Catch A Thief was a very weak film. I think Hitchcock picked that film, because he couldn't find any other project at that time. I thought John Williams was great as usual. But I didn't like Grace Kelly in it.
The worst thing about To Catch A Thief is John Michael Hayes doing the screenplay.
Like Ben Hecht, John Michael Hayes is a very slow paced writer.