Rebecca (1940) Reviews

Juror #3 says: I went through a Hitchcock phase a few years back but had never seen Rebecca.  I find it odd that this picture net him his only Best Picture Oscar when, in my humble opinion, this may not even crack his top 5.  Rebecca seemed more like a play than a film, with long stretches of dialogue.  The positives however included the acting - Lawrence Olivier was sublime as were the entire cast - and the directing was perfect, big surprise.  Hitchcock did a fantastic job creating creepy and suspense-filled scenes through techniques still used today. But no one has ever done a better job of using shadows to help elicit suspense, all lighting professionals should make this a mandatory viewing.  In the end though, having just watched Gone With the Wind, I was slightly disappointed in Rebecca.  I rate it 3/5 


girl by locker says: I wasn’t sure what to expect from Rebecca. I had heard Hitchcock fans think there are better movies made by him and that this shouldn’t have been the only movie of his to win an Oscar. As someone who hasn’t seen much by him, I was prepared to love it, and I did. I hadn’t read the book by Daphne du Maurier, but I am a fan of the Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. It wasn’t that the love story reminded me of Heathcliff and Cathy but rather I got a similar feeling. The dark foreboding, the creepiness of Mrs. Danvers, the tension and apprehension I felt as I watched the second Mrs. de Winter fight to overcome the powerful memory left by Rebecca. The cast was stellar, and I was particularly impressed by Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers who, in my opinion, embodied everything great about the movie. She was subtle and sinister and kept me on the edge of my seat. I give this 5/5 on my Netflix ratings.