You can watch it online at this link. Here is a trailer:
DVD Talk says,
Like Rebecca, Queen of Spades has horror overtones while remaining a romance. But the creation of a world possibly dominated by fantastic forces is compelling, and we almost forget that what we see really occurring could mostly have rational explanations - the old Countess never admits to any pact of her own, after all, and her fears could just be old age. But the overly-rational Herman certainly believes that he's embroiled in a supernatural world, and that's where the picture works. It's a unique thriller.BFI Screen Online closes with this: "This is one of British cinema's greatest ghost stories, from a director described by Martin Scorsese as "a uniquely intelligent, passionate artist"". The Guardian has a nice -though-short- appreciation. The Telegraph calls it "An underseen treasure from the perpetually-underrated British master Thorold Dickinson". Slant Magazine says, "this Poe-like tale of deceit and ghostly vengeance is sumptuous and effective." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics rating of 100%.
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"the overly-rational Herman certainly believes that he's embroiled in a supernatural world"
ReplyDeleteIt is funny, I was just having a discussion with someone the other day about how the people I know who are real believers of ghosts, angels, and the super-natural, are all very down-to-earth, rational, only-believe-it-when-I-see-it kind of people. Personally, I lean heavily towards the view that the mind is a very powerful thing and find that even a non-believer can successfully use the practices of religion and magic, as long as one believes in the practices themselves. But if one has implicit trust in one´s mind, the only explanation for the experience of the super-natural must be that whatever it is is absolutely real.
This looks like a great film. I am always amazed at how those olden film-directors made use of light. I suppose they still do, it is just not as obvious.
I have repeatedly been told that logic is an excellent evangelism tool, that you can talk someone into faith if you use reason and logical argument... I'm not convinced ;) "Seeing is believing" is tricky if you don't understand what it is you're seeing.
ReplyDeleteThose black & white movies are amazing in what they do with lighting.