Cheap Gaslight (Video) (Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten) (George Cukor) Price

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Customer Reviews of Gaslight

Sir Charles Drives Ingrid and Audience to Breaking Point!
Perhaps it was my imagination, but I seem to have felt myself slipping into the "Twilight Zone" while being completely absorbed in this movie. Ingrid Bergman won a well deserved Academy Award in this psychological thriller from 1944. Charles Boyer and Angela Lansbury were both nominated for their devious but stylish performances. The film was also nominated for best screenplay and cinematography. Even with all this going for it, "Gaslight" has become somewhat dated (through no fault of its own), and a bit tedious at times. But make no mistake about it, "Gaslight" is old fashioned storytelling at its best! It's 100 percent gothic romance! What more could you ask for than distinctly Victorian flavor in a Victorian London setting? If you answered, "relentless tension," your wish has been granted! The script is clever, and the atmosphere haunting. Just one flaw: A disappointing conclusion to an otherwise exquisite production. However, as the end approaches, you may be mentally drained and exhausted to the point where just one more plot twist could have put you over the edge. And what a great, and oh so appropriate title! I will buy the DVD, and watch it again, and again, and again.

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Great Period Drama
Director George Cukor's Gaslight is a wonderful mystery suspense in the Alfred Hitchcock tradition. And where Hitchcock had trouble with mastery over period dramas, Cukor excelled. The set decoration and camera work are extraordinary and the performances are all on target. Another reason this film has a Hitchcock feel is due to the fact that two of Hitchcock's most popular players, Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotton, star. Bergman stars as Paula Alquist, a shy young woman, whose only surviving relative was brutally murdered when she was a teenager. Bergman's aunt, Alice Alquist was a famous opera singer and as the movie begins, we find Bergman studying voice in Italy. Accompanying her on the piano is the suave and sophisticated Charles Boyer, the object of Bergman's affections. Distracted by this new love in her life, Bergman gives up her studies and runs off and marries Boyer. All seems wonderful until Boyer convinces Bergman that they should return to her home in London, the very place where her aunt was murdered. Bergman is reluctant, but gives in to please her new husband. Unknown to Bergman, however, is the fact that Boyer murdered her aunt looking for some very expensive, but hidden jewels. His obsession in finding them goes so far as to convince Bergman that she is on the brink of insanity. Cotton enters the scene as a sympathetic Scotland Yard inspector, and a fan of Bergman's late aunt. He is convinced that the mystery surrounding Alice Alquist's murder is somewhere in that house, and he also suspects Boyer. Bergman shines in her first Academy Awarding winning performance. Hers is a delicate, well balanced tour de force that draws the viewer in and makes us sympathize and pull for her to triumph. As the diabolical husband, Boyer is properly menacing and cruel, carefully orchestrating Bergman's descent into madness. With all this talent and star power in one film, Gaslight couldn't help but be a masterpiece. Gaslight is also noteworthy for 17-year-old Angela Landsbury's film debut as the saucy maid Nancy. With all the polish and resources of the MGM film factory at its peak, Gaslight is superb in every way. Wonderful entertainment.

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What is reality?
Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer are married, but he wants her money. She is sane, but he wants her to think she's not, thus giving him control over everything. To achieve his ends, he tampers with the lights and plays other tricks on her, while pretending to be a caring husband. Many movies have generated quotable phrases, but few have created terms that caught on as usable verbs. For a while, to "gaslight" someone meant to try to convince them that they couldn't trust their own judgment, usually for nefarious reasons.

All that aside, "Gaslight" is a good drama with lots of suspense, featuring two very fine actors. Very watchable.