Academy Award × 2·National Film Registry
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
Hitchcock's only Best Picture winner remains a masterpiece of Gothic atmosphere and psychological suspense, winning over nearly all contemporary critics and holding that reputation across eight decades. The one minor dissent at the time was commercial rather than artistic — some warned the film's darkness and psychological depth might limit its popular appeal — though history proved that concern wrong.
“an altogether brilliant film, haunting, suspenseful, handsome and handsomely played”
Frank S. Nugent·The New York Times
“labored hard to capture every tragic or ominous nuance, and presents a romance which is, I think, even more stirring than the novel”
John Mosher·The New Yorker
“Magnificent romantic-gothic corn, full of Alfred Hitchcock's humor and inventiveness.”
Pauline Kael·5001 Nights at the Movies
“one of Hitchcock's creepiest, most oppressive films”
The Guardian
Drama, Mystery, Romance
DirectorAlfred Hitchcock
StarringLaurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Gladys Cooper
ComposerFranz Waxman
Academy Award × 2·National Film Registry
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
Hitchcock's only Best Picture winner remains a masterpiece of Gothic atmosphere and psychological suspense, winning over nearly all contemporary critics and holding that reputation across eight decades. The one minor dissent at the time was commercial rather than artistic — some warned the film's darkness and psychological depth might limit its popular appeal — though history proved that concern wrong.
“an altogether brilliant film, haunting, suspenseful, handsome and handsomely played”
Frank S. Nugent·The New York Times
“labored hard to capture every tragic or ominous nuance, and presents a romance which is, I think, even more stirring than the novel”
John Mosher·The New Yorker
“Magnificent romantic-gothic corn, full of Alfred Hitchcock's humor and inventiveness.”
Pauline Kael·5001 Nights at the Movies
“one of Hitchcock's creepiest, most oppressive films”
The Guardian
Drama, Mystery, Romance
DirectorAlfred Hitchcock
StarringLaurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Gladys Cooper
ComposerFranz Waxman
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