Customer Reviews

Blithe Spirit

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

For fans of the amazing late Margaret Rutherford this film is a real treat of her natural comic talents. Without her Rex Harrison's character would not appeal. Rutherford's role of an eccentric psychic lends a touch of greatness to this movie as well as provide ample laughter.

After reading previous reviews I was expecting to be disappointed - but NOT A BIT. It was a joy to see a young Margaret Rutherford cavorting around as Madame Arcati, and a surprise to find the movie in colour. Whilst the colours were maybe a tad faded, it added to the authenticity of such an old movie. Thoroughly enjoyable.

This was allegedly suppose to come out a month ago but nothing! Anyone have any other news on the release of this great movie? I would think since I pre-ordered it from Amazon.ca that they would've contacted me but I've heard nothing. Nice!

The London reviewer and I are of one accord on the perfection of this exercise in WIT as defined by Pope: "True wit is nature to advantage dressed / What oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed." I did not live between the two World Wars and so did not have the privilege of interfacing with the great characters in everyday life then who occupied the charming English country towns of that era. But curiously, I instantly felt I was witnessing a true slice of life when I first viewed this GEM from Noel Coward. Of course, Frank Capra (in "You Can't Take It With You") and C.S. Lewis had put us on notice that folks on both sides of the Pond in the '30s and '40s were dabbling in the dangerous pastime of spiritism and would get themselves into all sorts of mischief when they did. I consider it a tribute to the masterful direction of "Blithe Spirit" that I, a Connecticut baby-boomer born in 1950 and of Irish descent, instantly knew I was viewing real English society in this film. There is a certain delicious human authenticity to this comedy of errors ... I find it just plain irresistible. I love seeing the human spirit portrayed enjoyably in film or in literature (often through gentle social satire), and for reasons I'll never quite understand, I so love this silly, enchanting story and come back to it again and again. Dear reviewer, you are joined by cultural brethren wherever the good breeze of human reflection blows across the arts.

Permit me to make two recommendations for you. One is the film, "The Late George Apley" (a worthy, if truncated, distillation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel) -- hard but not impossible to find, and again a gentle look at the foibles of mankind in a gentler time that I prize, even though I was born after it. Another is an out-of-print (but relatively easy-to-obtain) collection of short stories about characters in the British Isles in the late 19th century: "Grandmother and the Priests," by Taylor Caldwell, who takes us inside the lives of marvelous characters we would like to have met, in one of the most breathtaking exhibitions of literature offered in 20th century literature. Thank you for standing up for the right stuff in your praise of "Blithe Spirit."

This is a review of the script, acting and direction; not of the DVD. This is vintage, brittle Coward. It will obviously not appeal to young, brash kids, who will not be able to believe that English people between the two World Wars actually spoke, thought and behaved like this. However, they did. Or some of them did. In fact, I can remember them doing it: they were just exactly like the older members of my own family. The writing is brilliant, precise and accurate. Strange as it may seem, there actually were people like Madame Arcati: eccentric English spinsters repeating the mannerisms and slang of their schooldays. The plotting is extremely clever: you continually wonder how Coward is going to keep the plates spinning in the air, and are constantly surprised at his deftness and dexterity. The lines are poised and sharp, if slightly one-note. The direction is faultless, but then this kind of play almost directs itself. I feel sorry for those who cannot appreciate the theatrical skills displayed in this performance, or the verbal and mental adroitness being displayed. Modern film technology and techniques are no substitutes.

The most interesting thing about "Blithe Spirit" is that this, only David Lean's third film as a director, should already incorporate his fully developed style. All of the traits of his more famous work are here: the peerless compositions, the seamless editing, the nuanced use of space and decor. I have never seen the movie projected, and therefore cannot make an informed judgement about the DVD's color fidelity. I suspect the three-strip Technicolor probably has a lot more in it than the video presents, but at least we can still appreciate the director's finely sculpted framings.

The performances by all concerned are high-spirited, tongue-in-cheek, and simply fun, though as the actors natter on and on, the film's theatrical origins begin to poke through. Rex Harrison's readings are precise to the point of painful, while Margaret Rutherford could do with a bit more control. (At her most excessive, you want to say, "It's all right, dear, sit down, relax and have a nice cup of tea.") These lapses never seriously mar our pleasure, but in those few moments when Lean allows himself a bit of *cinematic* invention, as for example, in an early scene that conveys the passage of time by moving the camera toward a mirror, we get a sense of where the movie might have gone if the director hadn't felt such debt to the writer. (Coward gave Lean his first opportunity to direct, selecting him to co-direct "In Which We Serve.")

Lean's camera was at its most effective designing reality into impossibly perfect, exquisite images. Here, there's nothing much for him to do but frame the actors a little wider than average, to let a bit of wisteria creep in at the edges of one shot, or to tuck some bric-a-brac into a corner of another. His handsome, slightly stiff style works for a drama, but in comedy, particularly one as theatrical as this, it has the unfortunate effect of making the actors appear like butterflies fluttering their wings as they are pinned down by the camera. "Blithe Spirit" is indeed an entertaining film that bears repeated viewings, but you can be forgiven the impression that the director was simply mis-cast.

This film is great fun to watch. Rex Harrison and Constance Cummings are the married couple and Kay Hammond is the ghost of Harrison's ex who wreaks havoc in their home. Margaret Rutherford is much younger than we usually see her but blissfully her fey self as Madame Arcati. Rutherford is very funny and a real scene stealer. The early colour is quite good (on my DVD) and the print was very clear. Harrison was actually more versatile than is generally remembered (remember "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir"?).

This delightful movie by David Lean deserves a much better transfer/print than the one present in this DVD. Hopefully, nah, make that "surely" this will happen some time in the future, as it almost always does. If you can't wait to own this film on DVD, go for it. But beware, the colors are either washed out, too yellow or too green, and the sound is very poor (despite the Dolby Digital Mono) and most of the dialogue is practically incomprehensible. The quality of this DVD is in fact so poor that it is completely distracting, such that you spend more time struggling to imagine what the film would look and sound like in the right version than enjoying what it is.

If you like classic madcap comedy, this is a great one! Noel Coward penned the play and you know how witty HIS tongue is... Rex Harrison's wife may be dead, but she has not forgotten -- and she's not about to let a new woman into hubby's life! But since only he can see her, what can she do? Plenty, as it turns out. Margaret Rutherford is hilarious as the eccentric psychic who helps solve what's going on. Rex is young and polished, not the old fuddy-duddy Doolittle you're used to. So mix up a martini and put on your smoking jacket/silk robe and just enjoy the spooky doings!

Blithe Spirit is a bright, sophisticated comedy. The film is brilliantly acted and the humor still holds up today. Unfortunately, whatever the source is of this DVD transfer, the soundtrack sounds as if it is playing at munchkin-like speed and lip-sync is seldom achieved. See it on PBS where a better copy is shown. If you buy this disc it will wind up gathering dust after the first viewing - it isn't watchable.