Sunday, February 12, 2012

Freud and Dali and Hitchcock, Oh My!: Spellbound on Blu-ray ***


Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound is an aptly named motion picture. Recently released on blu-ray by Fox, this David O. Selznick produced thriller features twists and turns aplenty, and audiences will find themselves entranced by the time all is said and done. From the crisp formality of its acting, to the famous Salvador Dali designed dream sequence, Spellbound often seems to exist in a dimension other than our own. While the rational mind attempts to impose order on Hitchcock’s tantalizing clues and fragments, the narrative quietly expands to surprising proportions and pursues unexpected avenues, creating a sense of the hypnotically surreal.

READ MORE

4 comments:

Deborah said...

Superb review!

Retro Hound said...

I didn't really care for Spellbound. Way too Freudian for me which means I didn't buy most of what was going on.

Paul van Yperen said...

A superb, unforgettable movie! For a Hitchcock & art exhibition in the Centre Pompidou in Paris of some years back, there was a reconstruction of the surrealist sets by Dali. It was an amazing event to walk along them. Thanks for the fine review.

Bunched Undies said...

Deborah: Thank you so much!

RH: Yes, Spellbound got caught up in a lot of Psychoanalytic ideas...Selznick was undergoing Freudian therapy at the time and used the film to popularize and legitimize the process.

Bob: That must have been an amazing exhibit. Apparently many more scenes were built than were actually used in the movie. I would love to have seen that.

Roma (2018) ✭✭✭✭✭

Alfonso Cuarón’s directorial career has dealt with everything from updated Dickens ( Great Expectations ) to twisted coming of age ( Y Tu Ma...