Ensofter
Overrated and overhyped
Kaydan Christian
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Cheryl
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
TheMovieSmith
I came across "Gaslight" while cruising through TCM's Video on Demand selection the other night. It was a title I had always wanted to see because it checked off two of my movie vices: Film-Noir and Ingrid Bergman (who I consider one of the greatest actress of all- time, if not the best). I sat down and prepared for what I was really hoping was going to be a good cinematic experience. The start of movie takes place a few years before the main story and leads to the introduction of the movie's main plot device (the jewels). I must confess I found the beginning of the movie (to about the Tower of London scene) to be rather boring and somewhat tedious. I persevered through, mainly because after reading other reviews and synopsis it felt like the ending was really going to pay off. Did it ever! Once I powered through the first half of the film or so, the story really picked up and as the story progressed Ingrid shown through more and more. Her performance was by far the most redeeming aspect of the film and through out the movie the story really keeps you guessing as to weather she was really disturbed or her husband (Charles Boyer) was driving her mad. The story in the second half really picks up (aided rather heavily by the detective which is strongly reminiscent of the John Williams detective character from "Dial M for Murder" in that he is a real know it all, when he shouldn't) and delivers with a tense, climactic ending which really nailed home Ingrid's win for Best Actress in the following Academy Awards. I must admit that after watching "Double Indemnity" multiple times I had always had trouble reconciling how Barbara Stanwyck didn't win the Oscar that year, but after seeing this film there is no doubt that Ingrid Bergman truly deserved it. A very, very strong film that highlights Ingrid Bergman's finest work and is a true (but underrated) classic.
Living the Wholesome Life
Every heard of the term "Gaslighting?" This film is where that term comes from. It means trying to get another person to believe what is not true - convincing them that their thoughts and feelings are not valid even when they are.Though I usually don't like murder mysteries, I do love this movie because I think it has great psychological value. I think it is one of the best films of showing the emotional abuse of gaslighting. I think this film shows us that we can't believe all people in all situations.
writers_reign
Tilly Walbrook does everything but chew the scenery in this Victorian meller and gives little indication of the suave polish with which he would mc La Ronde some ten years later. Patrick Hamilton had a penchant for the offbeat (Rope, Hangover Square) and was, in some ways, a domestic Cornell Woollrich and both, of course, had novels, stories, successfully adapted for the screen. This is the one where the husband goes to elaborate lengths - stealing small items from her room - to convince his wife she is losing her mind in the interests of locating the jewels for which he murdered her aunt 20 years earlier. This is the flaw in the ointment as all he would need to do would be to send his wife on an extended holiday and ransack the house at leisure but then, of course, there would be no story. Thorold Dickinson, blue-eyed boy and Academics darling back in the day but now forgotten does a workmanlike job.
TheLittleSongbird
As a fan of classic film 'Gaslight' is not quite one of my favourites, but it has a great cast who give almost uniformly fine performances and although the story has been done to death and is somewhat "dated" (a criticism this reviewer dislikes on the most part) much is done to make it gripping (especially the atmosphere) and the film has much to offer.The only real issue this reviewer found with 'Gaslight' was Joseph Cotten. It is not an awful performance, he is often sympathetic and charismatic and not as wooden as he sometimes could be. But he is very unconvincing as a Scotland Yard police officer, too young, too American and sometimes stiff, so he does seem out of place sometimes as a character that should have been introduced earlier and perhaps been in the film more.However, 'Gaslight' is a beautifully made film, the lighting just adds so much to the atmosphere and the tone of the film, the cinematography is haunting and luminous and the Victorian setting is so striking in its elegance and evocative atmosphere. Other excellent assets are George Cukor's intelligent direction, Bonislau Kaper's nail-biting, orchestrally lush and melodically rich music score (great use of classical music too) and a cracking script, which sizzles with subtle tension with the odd spot of wry humour that is surprisingly well balanced with everything else. Despite being a melodrama, 'Gaslight's' script avoids being too hammy or over-dramatic.'Gaslight's' story is not going to work for all tastes now and one can see the reservations. The criticisms that it is contrived, "dated" and that it has been done to death are valid and understandable. This said, this reviewer found herself absolutely riveted throughout the whole duration of 'Gaslight', even if the earlier film version is tighter structurally and a little less obvious (which were not problems at all to me, because the story on the whole is really well executed). The slow-folding tension and suspense was very effective, making the overwhelming intensity of the ending as this tension and suspense crescendos all the more powerful. Equally powerful was the whole dynamic between Bergman and Boyer, the intensity in the last half of the film genuinely frightening.Cotten aside, the acting is uniformly great. While Barbara Stanwyk in 'Double Idemnity' was my Best Actress pick for that year, Ingrid Bergman was still a more than worthy win in one of her best performances, she radiates on screen and performs her character's vulnerability with raw edge and poignancy. Have yet to see a better performance from Charles Boyer than the one he gives here in 'Gaslight', he is handsome and suave to begin with and then later on the more sadistic edge he brings is absolutely chilling. Dame May Witty brings a delightful dottiness and wryness, and Angela Lansbury is deliciously auspicious in a very early role.Overall, superbly menacing and very highly recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox
