Once again, our fortnightly Zoom between 10 keen Bearbrass Film Buffs, saw another great discussion!This week we discussed two versions of the same Film - “Rebecca” – a romantic psychological thriller, produced 80 years apart & based on the novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier.
The original 1940s version in black & white was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a master of thriller movies & starred Jane Fontaine as Mrs de Winter, Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter & Judith Anderson as Mrs Danvers.
It won two awards at the 13th Academy Awards that year …Best Picture & Best Cinematography.
In 2018 the original 1940 film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”
We compared & contrasted this 1940s version with a new colour version of “Rebecca”, released in 2020.
Opinions varied, but it was generally agreed we preferred the original 1940 version of Rebecca, noting that the two versions portrayed a number of aspects in the film differently, but consistent with cultural norms of the time.
Thanks Mel for recommending this film. A great suggestion! .... Anne Fairhall, Convenor