The MoFo Top 100 Film Noir Countdown

Spellbound is a film that requires some suspension of disbelief, since the science its plot depends upon has become less and less credible over the years. I still found it thoroughly enjoyable, but I can imagine it being an obstacle to certain audiences. As one would expect from Hitchcock, many shots are brilliantly framed, and the cinematography helps builds tension in many scenes. I've seen some criticisms online regarding Peck's performance, which surprised me because I quite enjoyed him in this. I thought he had great chemistry with Bergman, which given their alleged affair during filming, was likely authentic. Bergman was undeniably the real star though, and she carries much of the film on her own.

I personally think that Salvador Dalí is incredibly overrated as an artist. While I'm not a fan of surrealist paintings in general, I find his work to be particularly unappealing. However for some reason I absolutely love his contributions to this film. That dream sequence is simply fantastic, with initially startling imagery that becomes more bleak and angular as it continues. Every second of it was a treat to watch. It's very restrained in comparison to Dalí's paintings, but still strange enough to be intriguing. The black and white photography gives it a very clean look as well, and makes me wonder if I'd like his artwork more if the colours were different.

While I found the music to be quite effective overall, it was often far too loud and infringed upon the scenes rather than enhancing them. I'm not sure if that was a deliberate choice during production, or if I just didn't like the audio mixing on this particular release. I often have similar problems with the sound in older films, so it's probably just me. This restoration also included an extended overture that I almost couldn't sit through, though I'm not going to hold that against the film since those openings were typically intended for a theatrical setting anyway, and not the home viewing experience.