The Movie
Dr. Edwardes (Gregory Peck) is the new head headshrinker at a mental hospital for the troubled-but-sane, a brilliant and caring fellow but one, we soon learn, with some pretty serious demons of his own. And so it is rather convenient for him that he happens to fall for Constance, one of their best on-site doctors (Ingrid Bergman). But the boss is not who he seems, possibly suffering from a form of amnesia and plagued by horrible memories triggered by the sight of parallel lines.
The only clue to his true identity is the a cigarette lighter monogrammed "J.B.," and when the police begin taking an interest in him, he and Constance hit the road, performing their own detective work. More of the facts are uncovered as she delves deeper into J.B.'s mind, and ultimately the key might lie in recording and interpreting his dreams. And so we enter his unconscious to unlock the secrets of Spellbound, a movie that might have been the Inception of its day, directed by the esteemed Alfred Hitchcock with fanciful dream sequences originally designed by Salvador Dali.
The Picture
The 4:3, black-and-white movie (but for two red-embellished frames at the climax) was digitally restored a few years ago but significant film damage is still in evidence. The image is quite grainy, with some video noise as well and a distinct softness, yet ample detail for a movie almost 70 years old: the weave of Constance's robe, various facial imperfections, etc. The AVC bitrate is consistently high across the dual-layer disc, above 38 megabits per second every time I checked.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0-delivery of the mono soundtrack (the only option) is limited by the quality of the source elements, and likely by the quality of Fox/MGM's restoration that was possible at the time of the DVD release, as I am assuming that this is the same master. Neither clarity nor dynamic range is especially impressive, dialogue is passable although it could be more readily legible, and Miklos Rozsa's dramatic score is given a conspicuous presence in the final mix. The movie also includes several minutes of Overture and Exit Music.
The Extras
The audio commentary for Spellbound shares the musings of author/film professor Thomas Schatz and his fellow film professor Charles Ramirez Berg. There are also three relevant featurettes: "Dreaming with Scissors: Hitchcock, Surrealism and Salvador Dali," which goes deep on this one specific aspect of the film (20 minutes), "Guilt by Association: Psychoanalyzing Spellbound" (also 20 minutes); and "A Cinderella Story: Rhonda Fleming" about the lovely supporting player and her amazing post-show-business life (ten minutes). All of these were produced in 2008.
From back in the day, there's a 1948 audio-only adaptation of Spellbound from the Lux Radio Theatre, directed by Hitchcock and starring Joseph Cotten (one hour) and a 15-minute Hitchcock audio interview by Peter Bogdanovich.
Final Thoughts
The first movie of its kind to dramatically explore psychoanalysis, Spellbound might seem a tad dated or superficial today but is an essential film in the great director's career, restored for DVD and benefiting here in the upgrade to Blu-ray.
Product Details
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