Rebecca
“Rebecca” is a novel written by Daphne du Maurier in 1938 about a young, simple, beautiful woman who fell in love with a wealthy gentleman many years her senior. She was head over heels and thought all her dreams would come true, but undenounced to her, she was entering into a world where she would battle the memories of her husband’s late wife, not only in within him but in the staff of her husband’s house hold “Mandeley” Over the years many directors have tried to bring Maurier’s “Rebecca” from the written page to the big screen motion picture. Two such directors are Alfred Hitchcock, with his black and white version in 1940, and the Jim O’Brien’s colored version in 1997. Having read the same book, these directors came up with two
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different interpretations for the world of “Rebecca”. From cast members; location, atmosphere, as well as the portrayal of the characters. Mr. Hitchcock’s black and white version used all these to create an exciting tension held atmosphere as where Mr. O’Brien fell short in all these categories. Mr. Hitchcock’s opening scene in “Rebecca” falls on what was once a majestic mansion known as “Manderley” now in complete desolation. There is a short prelude to “Manderley” from the actress Joan Fontaine (who would later be depicted as the new Mrs. De Winter.) This scene automatically grabs your attention by letting you to wonder what happened to leave this magnificent man made creation in such a way. The whole scene with the desolate house; thick rolling fog, and a forest reclaiming what it once owned grabs ones interests and starts the imagination flowing. Mr. O’Brien’s opening scene starts with a lovely young lady, Emilia Fox, (the future Mrs. De Winter) sketching a beautiful scene of the distant shore as is seen from the cliff upon which she sits. Shortly thereafter a car comes to stop at the top of the cliff, a ruggedly handsome man of his mid to late forty’s, exits the car staring into the distance over the vast ocean. Mrs. Fox glances at the gentleman for a moment and then turns her head as he notices her. When she looks again the man and his car are gone, leaving the mystery of who he was. The sun was high in the sky and a small breeze off the coast. This opening scene could have been an everyday assurance, there was no mystery at all. It did not attract your attention or imagination like Mr. Hitchcock’s. With no modern technologies available to him; such as computer graphics, blue screen, and modern sound effects, Mr.
Hitchcock heavily relied on his actors to create the atmosphere of the film. Mr. De winter (played by Laurence Olivier) was rather young looking compared to what his age was hinted to be, however, throughout the film Mr. De Winter portrayed a state of mental instability which drew away from his youthful looks. He became unhinged at what seemed like the slightest trivial event, reaching a temper that would only presumably be present at the most offensive situation imaginable. This persona of mental destress created a character who seemingly longed for his deceased wife, noticing her in every element of his being, from how his new wife dresses, acts, as well as his servants and their obvious headache at the loss of the late Mrs. De Winter. At the end of the movie viewers are thrown for a twist when they find out that it was in fact Mr. De Winter himself that murdered his seeming perfect late wife, who in reality was a cheating, conniving, backstabbing, spiteful, evil woman, only playing the part of the perfect wife to impress …show more content…
society. Hitchcock’s Mrs. De Winter, (Joan Fontaine) was a shy; pretty, innocent young girl. She had a dreamer’s personality about her. Everything she saw was something new and exciting to her, as if she was seeing the world for the first time. She fell in love with Mr. De Winter and her life was set, excitement, romance, money, love, adventure, and happiness were the promises of her future. However this would all change when she arrived at “Manderley” Mr. De Winter’s home. Upon arrival she noticed the difference in her new husband in relation to his late wife along with the love that the house staff had for her especially the late Mrs. De Winters maid, Mrs. Danvers. Everywhere she went and looked she was haunted by a memory of a woman she did not know. Someone she herself would never be able to measure up against. Throughout the movie you can see Mrs. De Winter’s innocence slowly die as the burden of longing for her husband to accept her as she is, and the constant battling of a woman long since dead. In the end her heart became hardened as she becomes what she must in order to survive her new life and be with the one she loves. Mr. O’Brien’s Mr. De Winter (Charles Dance) was depicted in his film more accurately to the age of the Mr. De Winter in Daphne Du Maurier’s 1938 novel. He was a decent looking fellow but did not pull off the extent of Mr. De Winter’s mental state of destress. Sure, he got angry every now and then but for the most part he barely raised his voice and seemed to be quite happy most of the time. This is completely opposite of the character who was supposed to be tormented by past wrongs that my come back to haunt him. The only part of Mr. De Winter Mr. O’Brien depicted correctly was the man’s age. This left you with a character that one was unable to connect with or feel anything for. As for Mrs.
De Winter (Emilia Fox) she was beautiful, but did not have a feel of innocence about her. She seemed giddy at the beginning of the movie then seemed to become hardened almost in an instant. Mrs. De Winter did not seem to live in continued fear of the late Mrs. De Winter, she just seemed to go with the flow of things and be what she need to be without any real change to her inner self.
The one character both directors seemed to depict in the same manner was Mrs. Danvers, the late Mrs. De Winter’s maid. Judith Anderson for Hitchcock and Diana Rigg for Mr. O’Brien. In both films Mrs. Danvers played a love stricken, heartbroken woman who longed for a time long past that would never be again no matter how hard she pretended or conspired against the changing tide of her late mistress. In the end, (in both films) Mrs. Danvers ultimately caused the downfall of the house of “Manderley” starting a fire that burnt the place to the
ground. Hitchcock ended the life of Mrs. Danvers with the fiery ceiling in her late mistress’s room falling and crushing her to death while the complete household and staff of “Manderley” watched from the front yard. In O’Brien’s ending, Mr. De Winter went into “Manderley” to try and save Mrs. Danvers, while carrying her to safety, Mr De Winter’s tripped on the stairs, dropping Mrs. Danvers while both tumbled to the bottom. They both lay on the stairs landing struggling for air. The scene ended there and went to a future date where Mr. and Mrs. De Winters were happily married, not letting the fate of Mrs. Danvers to be know. Same book, two different directors, two different interpretations. Mr. Hitchcock left you on the edge of your seat with the feeling of mystery and betrayal throughout the whole film with his actors persona, atmosphere and location of the film, as where Mr. O’Brians felt like it was pieced together just to get a movie out by a certain time. For a film that will leave you in suspense, Mr. Hitchcock’s 1940’s version of “Rebecca” is the one that should be seen.
Hitchcock has a way of throwing clues in the face of the spectator, yet still allows some room for the spectator to find their own less obvious details. In the same museum scene, Hitchcock shows the viewer exactly what he wants them to see. In a sense, Hitchcock can be very manipulative with the camera. The audience sees the picture containing the women with a curl in her hair holding flowers, and then the direct connection is made by the camera, by showing the curl in Madeline’s hair, and the flowers sitting next to her. The spectator is led to believe that they have solved the mystery and she is truly possessed by the women in the picture. However, Hitchcock does this on purpose to lead the audience away from the truth that she is only acting. It is for these reasons that Hitchcock’s work at an auteur adds a level of depth and intrigue.
Now we will address a few of these from the film. First, Drawing parallels between characters with a difference, usually a negative one, is a repeated concept in Hitchcock films. Such as in the film “Strangers On a Train”, where Bruno ends up killing Guys’ wife while Guy had himself been desiring to be rid of her somehow. Here in “Rear Window” early in the film we can see this between Lisa and Jeff to Thorwald
...ormation of novel to film, sees Hitchcock’s responsibility as auteur. Suggesting Hitchcock as ‘creator’, attributes to Vertigo’s “perfection” (Wood, p.129) as Wood argues. Stylistic features known classically to Alfred Hitchcock movies is also what defines Hitchcock as a classic auteur, his style generates a cinematic effect which mixes effectively with his use of suspense. In returning to Cook’s discussion, she references Andrew Sarris, who argues that the “history of American cinema could be written in terms of its great directors,” (Cook, p. 411) showing the legitimacy of authorship in popular American cinema. Ultimately Cook goes on to address the changes in authorship from the 1950’s until today, featuring developments in authorship within Cinema. Overall, both Cook and Wood presented a balanced discussion on the legitimacy of Alfred Hitchcock’s auteur status.
At first glance, the reader could not imagine a more incompatible and diverse pair than Blanche DuBois and Fernie Mae Rosen, two women from very contrasting backgrounds and racial standings. However, these two women share similar passions and mental disorders, showing both their vulnerability to the world and mutual personal energies. Both weave an alternate reality inside their psyches that deceive them into believing that life is not worthwhile, and yet both appear to live life to various sexual and emotional extremes. Such compatibility shows the correlation in their mutual lifestyles despite incongruous backgrounds. Men always seem to be at the root of their problems, despite their clear and discernible negative reactions to the opposite sex. The examples of a virginal aura that eclipses their sexual promiscuity, their mutual hatred for the world and the people that surround them, and their transformation from passion into real madness show the reader that they have more in common than one would think.
Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca Rebecca has been described as the first major gothic romance of the 20th century; Mrs. Danvers’ character is one of the few Gothic interests within the novel. Her unnatural appearance and multi-faceted relationship with Rebecca provides scope for manifold interpretations and critical views. Furthermore, Mrs. Danvers connection with Rebecca and Manderlay is a sub-plot in itself, making Mrs. Danvers the most subtly exciting character in the novel.
She shows Winter as someone who does not know that there is something outside the drugs, money, and
One major attribute in Hitchcock films is how creatively Hitchcock tricks the audience about the fate of the characters and the sequence of events. Many people argue that it is a tactic by Hitchcock to surprise his audience in order to increase the suspense of the movie. For example, in Shadow of a Doubt, the audience assumes that young Charlie is an innocent young girl who loves her uncle dearly. However as the movie progresses, Young Charlie is not as innocent as the audience suspects. Young Charlie, once a guiltless child, ends up killing her evil uncle. In Vertigo, the same Hitchcock trickery takes place. In the beginning, the audience has the impression that the Blond women is possessed by another woman who is trying to kill her. The audience also has the notion that the detective is a happy man who will solve the murder case correctly. Just before the movie ends, the audience realizes that the detective was specifically hired by a man to kill his wife. The detective, in the end, seems to be the hopeless, sad victim.
While both of the films consist of two completely different plots, they still share common aspects. For instance, Hitchcock directly places a blonde woman in both of the films. Since Hitchcock is known for melodramatic films, he puts both, Marion Crane, and Melanie Daniels in extreme danger. In doing so, the film becomes more appealing to the viewer, and it begins to appeal to their emotions. It is clear that Hitchcock has a dramatic preference for blonde women, so he uses that to his advantage by making them symbols in his films. In these two films, the two main characters, Marion, and Melanie, are posed as the triggers for the action that occurs in the story. In Psycho, Marion Crane flees from town, and meets the villain of the story, Norman Bates. If Marion hadn’t stolen the money from the client at the bank, then she would not have met Norman, and she would not have been murdered. On the other hand, Melanie Daniels from the film The Birds meets Mitch Brenner in a San Francisco pet shop. She was intrigued by their encounter, and decided to take a trip to Bodega Bay where Mitch stays during the weekends. If Melanie hadn’t made the decision to go to Bodega Bay, then she would have been able to avoid the deadly bird attacks. If Marion and Melanie did...
hitchcockVertigo stars James Stewart as Scottie, a retired detective, and Kim Novak as Judy Barton, who gets disguised as Madeleine, a woman hired by Scottie's friend to act as his wife in order to frame Scottie. The story takes place in San Francisco in the 1950's. The film opens on a high building, where officer Scottie and his partner are in pursuit of a suspect. Scottie's partner's life is on the line and only he can save him. Unfortunately, he has vertigo, a fear of heights. Scottie is unable to assist his partner who unfortunately falls to his death.
Whenever books are adapted for film, changes inevitably have to be made. The medium of film offers several advantages and disadvantages over the book: it is not as adept at exploring the inner workings of people - it cannot explore their minds so easily; however, the added visual and audio capabilities of film open whole new areas of the imagination which, in the hands of a competent writer-director, can more than compensate.
Films of this era are criticized for substituting violence and special effects for "substance". Many believe that creating a movie script is a juvenile form of writing, a shrub to the oak of a novel. Upon reading both the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and viewing the film produced by Roland Joffe, one notices the tremendous effort put into both. This essay will explore the many differences and similarities between the book and movie.
de Winter is constantly compared to Rebecca, (Mr. de Winter’s late wife). No matter where the character turned, someone was mentioning, mourning or comparing her to the late Rebecca. This is seen several times throughout the movie but specifically when Mrs. Danvers, the house keeper, finds every reason possible to talk about Rebecca. She pops up unexpectedly many times to state “She knew everyone that mattered. Everyone loved her.” After Mrs. Danvers tricks the second Mrs. de Winter into wearing the same gown as Rebecca to the costume ball, she then states, “I watched you go down just as I watched her a year ago. Even in the same dress you couldn't compare,” and later on taunts her with, “You tried to take her place. You let him marry you.” This is just one of several scenes where the second Mrs. de Winter is compared to Rebecca and told that she just isn’t as good as Rebecca was. Even Maxim had shown that he had loved everything about Rebecca which he later reveals to the new Mrs. de Winter that he despised her in every way possible. Whether this is true or not, almost every character had something to say about how Rebecca presented herself while she was living. Even though Rebecca is not physically present and never actually takes a physical form in the film, she is most certainly present in almost every scene in the film. This is important because it forces the audience to take on their own opinion of the character by compiling all of
The gothic romance and mystery of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca show the style in which a deep, dark secret is held at the beautiful Manderley, and a young love is influenced by the haunting of Manderley’s former mistress. Using the harrowing style of suspense, Daphne tells a tale of a young woman trying to live a life in the home of someone who has not quite left yet. With extraordinary scenery, strong symbolism, and plenty of hidden irony, Daphne du Maurier has made an everlasting psychological thriller.
In the book, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, there exist a big emphasis on social class and position during the time of this story. When we are introduced to the main character of the story, the narrator, we are right away exposed to a society in which different privileges are bestowed upon various groups. Social place, along with the ever present factor of power and money are evident throughout the story to show how lower to middle class groups were treated and mislead by people on a higher level in society. When we are introduced to the narrator, we are told that she is traveling with an old American woman; vulgar, gossipy, and wealthy, Mrs. Van Hopper travels across Europe, but her travels are lonely and require an employee that gives her warm company. This simple companion (the narrator) is shy and self-conscious, and comes from a lower-middle class background which sets up perfect for a rich man to sweep her off her feet. The narrator faced difficulties adapting to first, the Monte Carlo aristocratic environment, and second, to her new found position as Mrs. De Winter, the new found mistress of Manderley.
Technology has been growing throughout the years, always changing and evolving in all new ways. It has become almost a second nature to us by now, to use technology on anything and everything. We use technology for the smallest things, such as looking up the recipe for your next meal, or the name of an actor, or just to check up on a friend. It seems to be that the more technology develops, the more addicted and the more dependent we become. If one were to analyze and really think about how many times we use technology a day, we will start to realize how much it has consumed us. Just think about how many times a day you see someone on their phone, or on a computer. You will start to realize how addicted we are. It’s so common for us to use and see people use technology, that we take it for granted and never think twice about it. However, is becoming this dependent on technology a bad thing? I feel as though we depend a lot on technology