Cheap Svengali (DVD) (Archie Mayo) Price

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Customer Reviews of Svengali

A gothic film of subordination and power!
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>From the glorious mind of George Du Maurier and the assertive direction of Archie Mayo this film to my mind constitutes one of the best films in that decade. The famous Cabinet of Caligari, Metropolis, The crowd and The Golem were monumental masterworks which anticipated clear and metaphorically the horrible nightmare of the possible consequences of an oppressing State against the individual. Both sinister characters Caligari and Svengali employ the hypnosis device to reach their pretended objectives. Dementia, mind suggestion and intense mental domain; the irrational behavior crowd before the leader. In such short interval of fourteen years these five films were capable to foresee the awful facts derived of the manipulation of the will with perverse goals. <
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>John Barrymore with this acting proved once more why he was one of the giants actors of those ages. Miriam Marsh is absolutely credible in this struggling picture. Fine direction of Archie Mayo and one of my favorite cult movies in any age. <
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Look Into My Eyes...
At first glance, SVENGALI (John Barrymore) is just a slimy, heartless music instructor, taking advantage of the folly of his female students (victims). On closer inspection, he is a demonic presence, mesmerizing those he desires with those hideous eyes of his! Trilby (Marian Marsh) is a beautiful young model, who captivates SVENGALI and drives him to obsession. He simply must possess her and sets out to do so by hypnotizing her (in the guise of a headache cure). The various shots of SVENGALI's eyes are unforgettable. In them we see an evil that is otherwise hidden deep in SVENGALI's heart. While others think of him as a harmless buffoon, we know what he REALLY is, as well as what he's really capable of. Trilby is drawn into those eyes, becoming his slave. Though she becomes a singing sensation, we realize that she is only a puppet for her new master, a caged bird chirping for her captor. Her life is reduced to SVENGALI. This is a horror story about domination, submission, and death. Eerie and disturbing, SVENGALI is a must-see classic. Highly recommended...

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Barrymore's best
John Barrymore gives a performance for the ages as the title character. His walk, body language, makeup and voice are outstanding and he makes the mesmerist a very tragic character.
The overlooked Archie Mayo does a great directing job for this early sound film and the very green Marion Marsh, helped by Barrymore, is the doomed Trilby. This is Barrymores's greatest hour.