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Rebecca (1997) (2pc) | 
| Director: Jim O'brien
Actors: Charles Dance, Diana Rigg, Geraldine James, Jean Anderson, Emilia Fox
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Category: Video
List Price: $29.99
Buy Used: $2.99
You Save: $27.00 (90%)
New (3) Used (13) from $2.99
Rating:  34 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 176 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6304490585
UPC: 013131012538
EAN: 9786304490587
ASIN: 6304490585
Theatrical Release Date: April 13, 1997
Release Date: October 2, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: ex library (us1)
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Description
Romance, suspense and wrenching jealousy abound in this adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel. Charles Dance stars as Maxim de Winter, a brooding English nobleman who marries a much younger woman is forced to live in the shadow of de Winter's first wife, Rebecca, whose memory is tenaciously preserved by a sinister housekeeper.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 29 more reviews...
 Mrs. De Winter August 17, 2008
Elvin Ortiz
This film was well done. I have never seen Hitchcock's version to compare it with, but my intuition tells me that more than two hours will provide more space to cover details from the original novel.
Although I have never read the Daphne Du Maurier's novel with the same name, the development and conclusion of the film left me quite intrigued. If the film and the text are quite the same, I wonder if the writer is more than a sentimental and romantic writer.
For one, I found it quite intriguing that the second Mrs. De Winters never had a name of her own. I Know that the author did that on purpose. What was she trying to communicate to her audience? Was it that the first Mrs. De Winter was always known as Rebecca because she was truly a free woman, and not someone who belonged to this world? After all, she is no different from Lady St. Colomb in Frenchman's Creek.
Was the novel condemning the inferiority of women through the second Mrs. De Winters? Was it a parody on the romance of the poor woman and the rich elegant gentleman? After all, there are so many instances in which Mr. De Winters mistreats his second wife verbally.
And then, there is the conclusion. Mr. De Winters does get away with murderer. He killed his wife only because he wanted to save Manderley. Is that a justification for the killing? Consider that he killed her believing that she was going to have a child, although it was not his own. Not to mention that the innocent Mrs. De Winters ends up hiding this crime, as hideous as it is.
Because of this, I find the story quite challenging. First, it seems that we should sympathize with Mr. De Winter's crime and Mrs. De Winter's approval of it. But then, after reflecting over the last events, we may be asked to reconsider the romantic elements of the story: the rich gentleman, the poor woman, and the mansion. What's behind all that pomposity and glamour? I think that in this sense, the story reveals a lot of the hollowness of this kind of lifestyle, envied by others without knowing its true workings.
I have seen this film several times, and the more I see it, the more riddled I am as to its layers of meaning.
Rebecca April 7, 2008
Thomas R. Young (Alice, TX USA)
A wonderful blending of Daphne du Maurier's book and the Alfred Hitchcock film. Casting was carefully done and quite to my satisfaction. The location (nearby) filming, mood, and music were complimentery to the excellent acting by all involved. Dame Diana Rigg is at her peak, and overshadows all with feelings of foreboding and ultimate hoplessness.
 Rebecca January 11, 2007
Hime Yuki (Boston, MA USA)
0 out of 16 found this review helpful
Dear Sir or Madam,
I cannot comment on this DVD, since I encountered a bad seller, and I did not receive the DVD. I cancelled my order in the end.
Rebecca August 15, 2006
Lisa A. Kwiatkowski
0 out of 10 found this review helpful
It looked like brand new and came pretty quickly. Thumbs up for me.
 Eyes like a snake July 30, 2006
E. A Solinas (MD USA)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
There should be some sort of rule that if Alfred Hitchcock did it, then it should never be adapted or remade again -- you only compare it unfavorably to his work. In the case of the BBC's "Rebecca," it's high on story fidelity but lacking in gothic atmosphere, very slow, and with a cast that is hit-and-miss.
A young girl (Emilia Fox) is at Monte Carlo with her employer, where she meets and befriends the wealthy Maxim de Winter (Charles Dance). When she's due to leave, he asks her to marry him -- though he was supposedly heartbroken over his wife Rebecca's death -- and whisks her back to Cornwall, to his ancient family estate Manderley.
But Manderly is haunted by Rebecca's presence, partly because of the ominous housekeeper (Diana Rigg), who is still obsessively devoted to Rebecca. The new Mrs. de Winter believes that Maxim still love Rebecca -- until the horrific secrets of Rebecca's life and death are revealed. And a smashed boat with a body has been found in the nearby bay.
One thing you can't fault "Rebecca" with is fidelity to Daphne DuMaurier's original novel. This miniseries sticks like glue to the words and events of the book. Unfortunately it sticks a little too slavishly at times, which leads to the miniseries being rather long and kind of dull at times.
Not to mention the famed "window-suicide" scene, when Danvers tries to hypnotize her new mistress into walking out of a window. It's a powerful scene, but I'd love to see anyone try to spontaneously commit suicide from a tiny, high-up window about ten feet off the ground.
The BBC has always been terrible with ominous atmosphere. There is zero gothic flavor, no suspense, and that is what "Rebecca" should be about -- not a murder mystery. They stick to what they know, with lots of sumptuous British sets and period details, especially in the artificial glamour of Monte Carlo's hotels, and the costume ball.
The casting is spotty -- Emelia Fox is excellent as Ms. de Winter, looking mousy and childlike, but gaining new strength as she realizes how much Maxim needs her. Dance gives an enthusiastic but rather pallid performance. And Rigg does an amazing job with a terribly written character: Mrs. Danvers is turned into a pitiful figure rather than a frightening one, who breaks down crying in front of everyone.
But there is another big flaw -- we see all of Rebecca in bits and pieces. The power of the character is in never seeing this uber-femme fatale, and so seeing her entire body, bits of her face and hearing her voice all take away from it. Rebecca's "power" over Manderley seems to die when we see her.
Faithful but dull, "Rebecca" loses a lot of what should have made it shine, like gothic atmosphere, drama and an absent namesake. It's passable as a BBC miniseries, but try the Hitchcock version instead.
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