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I love this film because it is so dark, so mysterious, so tense and even quite lovely to watch as well. It is a very dark psychological story based on deep thinking mystery and puzzle solving. Rebecca is probably the classic of thrillers before Psycho was released especially because they are both Alfred Hitchcock films. Rebecca is one of those stories that you would get totally gripped with all the way through because the mystery involved and I think that audience wants to know what the effect it would have on the characters which is basically the meaning of the twist involved. It was a twist that I actually was really surprised at. Rebecca is a treasured thriller that can be watched over and over again by all fans of thrillers not only fans of Hitchcock or Laurence Olivier. Rebecca is probably the first psychological thriller. I became deeply impressed with how interesting the story kept getting as it was carrying on until the end. I have to say that Rebecca has one of the greatest film twists of all time.
Laurence Olivier delivers one of his most famous performance ever as George Fortescue Maximilian 'Maxim' de Winter. Maxim is a widower after losing his wife Rebecca in mysterious circumstances. Her death because the main factor of the story. Maxim is a rather mysterious character especially when he is questioned about his ex-wife by his new wife. Olivier was a man who had such extraordinary talents who was always careful of what films he would star in and Rebecca is probably his most famous performance. Joan Fontaine's performance as Mrs. De Winter was even better. We never knew what her first name was but I guess that is really good because Rebecca was Mrs. De Winter once and I think we never knew the second wife's first name because I think that the director wanted the audience to imagine what sort of person Maxim De Winter was with Rebecca even though she's dead by marrying his second wife. The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. De Winter is really tense because there seems like there is going to be a shocking twist involved in the film. Judith Anderson's performance as Mrs. Danvers was absolutely amazing because Anderson showed Danvers' really cold ways with the new Mrs. De Winter. Mrs. Danvers was literally obsessed with Rebecca's beauty and sophistication, and preserves her former bedroom as a shrine, even to the point of seeming to worship Rebecca's handmade underwear and expensive négligée. As one event comes to another in her moments in the film, they become very dangerous and very fearful for Mrs. De Winter. I think Danvers has some slight jealousy over her because Rebecca was his wife before and that the new Mrs. De Winter is earning all of the attention and love from Mr. De Winter. George Sanders was awesome as well.
I cannot believe how underrated this Alfred Hitchcock film really is. It is a film that is his first American film but is also one of his oldest films. This is the ultimate introduction to seeing psychological thrillers from Hitchcock. Others he has done are Vertigo and Psycho (of the ones I've seen anyway). Hitchcock has created a film that not that many people will have seen which does annoy me a bit but I suppose it might be better like that because Hitchcock's work on Rebecca would have been over the top if it hit the public that much like Psycho did.
To me, Rebecca is like the Alfred Hitchcock debut because as I said it's like an introduction to what he does best. Rebecca is another Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece which makes this Hitchcock's third best film after Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho. I think this is the only Laurence Olivier film that I've ever seen and this is a performance from him that I was not disappointed in at all. This will probably always be my favourite Laurence Olivier film. 1940 was a great early year for cinema and Rebecca is the second best after Pinocchio. Rebecca is a film that nobody should let go past them because it is absolutely fantastic to watch! Rebecca is one of the greatest psychological thrillers that have ever been made as well as one of the best films of all time.
10/10
