Customer Reviews

Now, Voyager

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is a dowdy spinster who has been driven to a nervous breakdown by her tyrannical mother. She enters a sanitarium and emerges an attractive and confident woman, ready to experience life on her own terms. On a cruise, she meets Jerry (Paul Henried), a married man; he's charming and romantic and they fall in love.

This is a great movie. Charlotte's physical and emotional transformation and her Grand Passion are the stuff that make many female hearts race, including mine. Davis gives a powerful, intelligent performance and was justly nominated for an Oscar. Leading men didn't come any smoother than Henried and he pulls off the now-silly double-cigarette act with absolute aplomb, making his flawed character seem almost heroic. Max Steiner's heart-tugging score won an Oscar.

The movie is pure escapist delight with beautiful people, gorgeous clothes, exotic locations, and, of course, Love. A true classic romance that makes me swoon. Highly recommended.

Based on Live Prouty's novel, this Hal Wallis production is one of the best films the studio system produced. The story, improbably romantic though it is(the novel at least makes some effort to provide some motivation for the romance)" moves along smartly, the setting are sumptuous, the writing deft. Now Voyager is one of those magical movies than can be watched over and over. One of my top ten favorites.

Great old movie, filled with great plot, great acting, and a great score. This is probably Bette Davis's second best, first place going to ALL ABOUT EVE with its even better plot, actors, and twists and turns. But VOYAGER is different in that it's much more psychologically complex. And why not? It is, after all, dealing with psychiatrists and their craft. Highly recommended.

Based on Olive Prouty's novel, this Hal Wallis production is one of the best films the studio system produced. The story, improbably romantic though it is (the novel at least makes some effort to provide some motivation for the romance) moves along smartly, the settings are sumptuous, the writing deft. Now Voyager is one of those magical movies that can be watched repeatedly (like Gone with the Wind, Dark Victory) and each viewing uncovers new layers of magic. Bette's portrayal of Charlotte Vale goes the gamut from repressed old maid to striking woman of the world. But I loved, too, besides the top-notch acting, studying the Orry-Kelly fashions for his star, which are timeless, the unforgettable musical score of Max Steiner, which makes this movie throb from the first frame to the last with a powerful resonance.

Davis plays nice with middling results. The acting is fine, to be sure, but I miss the feistyness of her better movies. A hapless neurotic woman breaks free of her tyrannical and hateful mother. She seeks therapy and begins to live her own life. She learns that life can't be perfect but it can always be better & happiness s not impossible. Could be seen as encouragement to wallflowers.

Bette made some terrific films.... this is my personal favorite along with "Mr. Skeffington"... the ONLY criticism is the biographies of the cast ONLY work with Ms. Davis.. the others on the menu do not function.... still.. the plus side is the stunning transfer of the film to DVD. It is fresh and few flaws are visible on this version. I saw the new version of "Sunset Blvd." just after seeing this film, and though "Voyager" is 8 years older, it looks far cleaner and crisper than "Sunset" does. Bravo to the restoration crew here! The film itself, is of course, a masterpiece and well worth the purchase price. A true gem!

'Now, Voyager' tells the story of hapless introvert Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis), her near-nervous breakdown machinated by her domineering Mother (Gladys Vale) and her subsequent recovery with the help of the dashing J.D. Durrance (Paul Henreid). Directed by Irving Rapper (Another Man's Poison), 'Now, Voyager' is another glorious slice of early forties melodrama, and a total Davis vehicle.

Not that that's a bad thing, actually. Her performance as Charlotte Vale is excellent, she's emotional and deep enough to be believable, and her private exchanges with JD and her Mother are excellent illustrations of the power of Ms. Davis as an actress. Henreid, too, is wonderful as the stiff and faithful JD, stern enough to cause Charlotte frustration yet likeable enough to generate sympathy from the audience.

The supporting cast are a credible bunch - Gladys Vale is an excellent Matriarch (where are the actresses of this calibre today?) and Ivisible Man Claude Rains is hugely charismatic as Dr. Jaquith, a Vermont-based psychologist who all-but saves Charlotte from herself. Comic relief is supplied in the shape of the always-entertaining Mary Wickes (the crotchety nun in the Sister Act movies) as Dora.

Direction is beautiful, with noir-esque interiors and excellent lighting techniques employed to best suggest the sense of Charlotte subsisting in a grim dictatorial household. Rapper's style is a strange contrast to the script, too - it's got a more organic flow about it than the sometimes-stilted dialogue. The score is provided by the genius Max Steiner and is, as one would expect from a man of this legendary reputation, exactly perfect for the tone of the piece.

DVD Quality is excellent, perhaps a little worn in places but on the whole, it's fantastic, and certainly better than a lot of other later DVD conversions. The extras are perfunctory (and indeed, as one reviewer pointed out below, half seem to be missing!) but they don;t make the picture.

On the whole, 'Now, Voyager' is definitely one for the fans. It seems to have established all of the trademark Davis moves (cigarette, EYES, clipped accent, constantly jiggling arm) and is very stilted in some scenes, approaching Camp (see Charlotte's exchanges with the dreadfully annoying Tina Durrance for proof of this!). While it is an endearing and oftentimes emotionally-involving story, one can't help but feel that it will win no new fans to the genre.

Still, if you're fan, you can't go wrong with this.

Great film - great DVD transfer.

The single disappointment is the CAST & CREW segment of the Bonus Material. Although it lists the other actors and crew, underneath Ms Davis' name, one is unable to pull up their biographies.

There's nothing campy about "Now,Voyager", style or otherwise. Some people obviously don't understand the difference between classic and camp. This is a wonderful 40's film and one of Bette Davis' most memorable. Based on Olive Higgens Prouty's chronicles of the Bostonion Vale family, it tells of repressed spinster Charlotte Vale breaking free from the mother-from-hell (a marvelous Gladys Cooper) and emerging into an independant modern woman through the help of sympathetic psychiatrist Dr.Jacquith (Claude Rains). When a frustrating relationship with unhappily married Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid) and the death of her mother (after a heated argument) almost derails her, she finds purpose and meaning in helping Durrance's emotionally disturbed and neglected daughter Tina (Janis Wilson---overacting just a tad). Henreid's cigarette lighting ceremony with Davis became film legend as did the splendid music score by Max Steiner. There's nothing campy about the screenplay by Casey Robinson either. In fact, it offers one of the loveliest lines ever heard on screen. Spoken by Davis, it's the closing line: "Let's not ask for the moon...we have the stars." What words could be more perfect while gazing up at a nightime sky with your lover? A top notch cast puts this over in divine style. Both Davis and Cooper were nominated for Oscars. Watch for Mary Wickes as Dora the nurse to Mrs.Vale. And please, don't view this lovely film as camp. It's a true classic and a vintage example of good filmmaking. Essential viewing for the film lover. Just enjoy it.

Yeah? So when her contract expired at Warners she had the last farewell drink with a few grips and drove off the lot .....

Also termed "The FIFTH Warner Brother" Miss Davis had and still has enough pluck for the entire town! What an Actress and What a performance in this weepie - from dowdy "secret-smoking" and "slightly tipsy" spinster firmly under Mama's iron thumb, until ..... TO the spectacular swan she becomes on her 'Holiday Cruise' - this is the definitive Davis vehicle.

Lush Steiner score, bits of psycho-babble interspersed with Claude Raines, and Paul Hendried as the indelible love-interest - well-worth visiting over and over again.

Companion? Crawford's "Mildred Pierce" - another stuggling 'distressed damsel' [teflon mode].