Customer Reviews

Beguiled [VHS]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The Beguiled caught me off guard. We rented it knowing only that it took place during the Civil War, it was made during Eastwood's peak years, and that he had sideburns that looked out of place but really cool. I expected an okay movie that would be The Man With No Name kicks butt in the Civil War, but instead I was completely amazed. I'm glad I went into it knowing little about it, because I just got more and more impressed and into the movie as it went on.

Eastwood plays a 'Yank' officer, Corporal John McBurney (or "Mac") who is wounded and taken in by some sort of boarding school for girls in a remote country location. The school is actually a Southern mansion that reminded me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland from the outside. The residents are all female and include a headmistress with a pretty sick secret in her past, a black 'servant' who turns out to be nobody's slave, and several teenage girls. Also, since all the men have been off at war for awhile, they are all pretty sexually frustrated. To keep them from turning him over to the south, where he will almost certainly die of his wounds in a miserable jail, Eastwood's character tries to charms all of them. With some of them, he knows how to play their weak points against them. This unfortunately works a little bit too well, because at least 3 of the women end up having the hots for him so bad that they end up in various stages of fooling around with him. Mac gets WAY more than he bargained for, with more tragic, ugly, and terrible results than you could imagine. Anyone who sleeps with 3 women living in the same city let alone the same house should know that if you are fooling around with 3 women living under the same roof, sooner or later they're going to compare stories, and the whole thing will end up with several women very, very mad at you. Anyway, I knew that at some point he'd get caught with his pants down, and someone would probably get violent at some point, but the way it happens, the timing of it, and the results were all completely unpredictable and stunning.

I don't want to say more about the plot too much other than to set it up, because the best moments for me came when a character said or did the last thing I expected them to -either that, or something that I thought might happen did, but with the last character I expected to do it being involved. Eastwood does do his tough guy thing, but there's way more sexuality, not all of it pleasant, thrown in than usual, and his character is definitely more than 'The Man With No Name'. And boy, if you thought his other movies had some tough, cold-blooded characters in them...you ain't seen nothing yet.

It was only till hours a after I saw the movie that I realized the category it fell into was Southern Gothic...probably one of the best and most powerful I've ever seen. I think this is the only CE movie that made my husband laugh, comment on how cool Eastwood looked and acted, gasp in shock,and cringe to the point of actually covering his eyes all at once in one viewing. I had the same reaction.I'm dying to comment more on the plot developments, the characters, and the moments that blew me away the most, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone, because this is a movie best viewed for maximum effect when you know less about those things.

The Beguiled was way ahead of its time , especially when it comes to strong women, or black female characters that are even stronger.It also probably didn't do as well because the audience was used to seeing Eastwood play a hero (and definitely not used to seeing him as an invalid in one way or another for so much of the movie) and also because audiences wanted a Hollywood ending. I think women who don't especially care for CE films in general would probably find themselves enjoying this one.

There are several shocking things that happen, and enough sex and violence to definitely make it R-rated- this is NOT a movie for kids or the faint of heart. The acting, the story, and the dialogue are all so amazing and original, and it's intense, suspenseful, and brilliant. I highly recommend this lesser known, underrated gem. And yes, definitely get it on DVD or video because if it runs on anything other than cable, I'm sure that many scenes that are important to the plot and have great impact to the characters would probably be snipped. You'll just have to see it for yourself.

This review refers to the Universal DVD edition of "The Beguiled"....

Think of Eastwood, and you think of his cool, tough characters.Harry Callahan, Josey Wales, and The Man With No Name, are the first we envision. Cpl. John McBurney is probably not at the top of that list. Yet, this is a film in which Clint really shines, and one that will hold you from start to finish with it's superb Direction by Don Siegal("Dirty Harry"/"Two Mules For Sister Sara").

The rest of the cast is also outstanding in this psychological drama set in the south during the civil war. Cpl. McBurney(Eastwood) is an injured Union soldier, discovered and nursed back to health by the residents of an all girls school.The first impulse of the Head Mistress, Miss Farnsworth(Geraldine Page) was to turn him over to the Confederate Army, but Mr. McBee, as they have so affectionately come to call him, has charmed nearly all the members of the household from Miss Farnsworth, to the 12 year old Amy(played brillantly by Pamelyn Ferdin),leading each to believe that they are the one he loves. As each disovers the truth, they begin some mind games of their own. Has Clint finally met his match in this tale of jealousy and revenge. Find out in this very different film for Clint...no guns or badges to get him through this one.

The cast includes Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris and Melody Thomas(Scott).

Filmed in Louisiana, the picture of this 1970 film is clear and the colors lush in this transfer to DVD. It is presented in anamorphic widescreen(1.85:1). The sound in Dolby 2 Channel Mono, is decent but Mono is Mono!(I probably would have gone 5 stars if not for that). Stereo surround(at least) would be much better.There are some production notes, Cast and Filmmaker Bios, a theatrical trailer and may be viewed with English captions or with Spanish subtitles.

A must see for Clint Fans....enjoy...Laurie

more from the civil war era:
Bushwhackers [VHS]

Love Me Tender (Rpkg) [VHS]

An excellently realised film focusing on the mysterious, erotically charged tension between men and women, particularly a houseful of multigenerational women who have not enjoyed the company of a man for some time. Set in a wonderfully isolated girls-only boarding house in the deep civil-war-torn south filled with plenty of sordid, make that extra sordid, skeletons in those dank, musty closets!
Geraldine page rules the film (and the exceptional ensemble cast) as the head mistress/owner/control queen (of ALL time-OKAY!) whose life unravels as one ugly secret peels away to reveal yet another more twisted detail. She tries in vain to control her brood of females, many of who have fallen for the very handsome and badly wounded soldier who they have rescued from the battle field...wonderfully played(to the hilt)by Clint Eastwood (at his sexiest). While in recovery,Clint's soldier works his manipulative charms on several of the comely young females which conflicts with the head mistress' master plan for him and that sets in motion a series of tension filled and very dangerous games of seduction, deception and plans going horribly wrong.
Once the lies are discovered, the plot charges full steam ahead to a wonderfully stunning conclusion that will leave you silent. Fortunately, hollywood hasn't felt the need to refilm this extremely UNDERATED gothic psycho-chiller. A perfect film ,in many ways.

The Beguiled is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen,contributing to my early love of cinema,and sadly remaining underrated to this day.
While it is hard to pigeonhole the film into one specific genre, be it a thriller or a psychological drama,it is one of the very few films that without the use of blood and gore,manages to be very disturbing and violent.A raw and primitive violence that is directed more at the viewer's mind and psyche.
Don Siegel is one of the best American directors,who like Sam Peckinpah,understood the meaning of this violence and did not shy away from showing it without tantalizing the 'voyeur' in his audience.
His collaboration with Clint Eastwood is one of the most successful in cinema..(Dirty Harry, Coogan's Bluff, Escape from Alcatraz, Two Mules for Sister Sarah)..And with the Beguiled he managed to direct an original film that had the best performances his star had to date,(a transitional role in Eastwood's career, in between the westerns of Leone, and the toughness of Harry Calahan.)
The whole mood of the film has this creepy and sinsiter atmosphere that appears quite subtle on the surface,yet as your delve deeper,it slowly unleashes much darker and well hidden forces.
It is the story of a wounded Yanky soldier(Clint Eastwood)evading capture in the south during the civil war,finds refuge in an all girl boarding school.The headmistress (the geart Geraldine Page)takes him in and provides him with a sanctuary and care that befits her Christian duties and sensibilities.Yet this stranger awakens many feelings in the house: curiosity,jealousy,sexual fantasies, up to the will and determination to murder.
The increased confidence of the recuperating soldier in manipulating the sexual vulnerablity of these girls and their headmistress,goes hand in hand with the change that occur within them,from gentle and virtuous to cold and calculating.
I liked the fact that the contrast between the raging war outside and the serene and peaceful sanctuary inside turns to be only an illusion.
I liked too the fact that despite the rift that the soldier caused directly and indirectly among the girls,they at the end link their fates and bond together,like they carefully did in the face of war, even if this means getting rid of the 'disturbance' that turned their world upside down.
I also loved the fact that ultimately the message of the film is about what a person is capable of doing in certain circumstances, and how a ideal world can hide many deep hidden frustrations that,pushing the right buttons, can be as menacing and deadly as any war.
What is quite interesting too, is how a deeply religious environment and person, can also hide strong sexual desires and energy that are truly haunting.One particularily powerful scene, among many, is the sexual threesome dream that Page has,an unrestrained and perverse passion mixed with religious guilt: an explosive mixture.
The Beguiled reflects a time when directors had the artistic freedom and clout to make the film they wanted.The original script had a happy ending, but Siegel opted to change it to its darker conclusion, something very few studios would allow these days.
The Beguiled is a powerful movie that on no accounts should be missed.A journey into the darkest recesses of the human soul that you will not easily forget.

Another well done moral ambiguity piece where the anti-hero makes it hard to decide who to root for.

If nothing else "The Beguiled" silenced anyone who said there were no good parts for actresses in movies-at least in 1971. There were four excellent parts for actresses in this film and all were well cast and well executed.

Pamelyn Ferdin did a fine job as Amy and would go on to play "Wanda June". This must have been the first time an adult male box office star shared an extended kiss with a twelve-year-old girl on camera, wonder if there was much controversy about this at the time. It was probably Polanski's favorite scene. Given the fate of Amy's turtle "Randolph", it is no surprise that Ferdin grew up to be a hardcore animal rights activist.

Geraldine Page was likewise excellent, playing a complex character with just the right amount of restraint. It is interesting that she died just three days after Elizabeth Hartman committed suicide (throwing herself through a fifth floor window) as they had also worked together in "You're a Big Boy Now".

Hartman (who looks like she could be Blair Brown's sister) was wonderful as Edwina and should have gotten an Oscar (no other performance was even close that year), but given what we now know about her you wonder just how much of her performance was a studied effort and how much just came from inside her. Edwina shows such raw pain it is difficult to watch. Like Marilyn Monroe's incredible performance in "The Misfits", the viewer is probably seeing a whole lot of her own demons in the character she is playing.

Finally there is Jo Ann Harris who is stunningly perfect as the flirty Carol. For my money Harris was the sexiest actress of the 1970's, combining sensuality with intelligence and humor. She was the best reason to watch the "Most Wanted" television series and the only reason to watch "Wild Wild West Revisited". Hard to believe that someone who could bring all that to the screen never became a big star.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

A complete bomb at the time of its release because audiences went expecting a typical Clint Eastwood actioner and instead got this eeire drama about the sexual mind games between a wounded Union Soldier and the "inmates" of an all-girls Southern school. Nearly thirty years later, we can appreciate the film's artistic qualities, the almost surreal direction, and the uniformly wonderful acting. And we can certainly admire Eastwood and legendary director Don Siegel for striking out in a new direction with high quality material.

"The Beguiled" is one of my favorite Clint Eastwood films, and a departure from his typical early roles. Directed by Don Siegel, with whom Eastwood collaborated on several films, it was made a year before Eastwood's directorial debut with "Play Misty For Me". An alternate title considered for the film was "Pussy-Footing Down At The Old Plantation", which thankfully was not used, otherwise I am sure raunchy jokes about the fact that it takes place at a girls' school would be difficult to avoid. I first saw this movie in one of my college film classes in the mid-1970's, and was immediately taken with it. I only had an old battered VHS tape of it until I recently purchased the widescreen DVD, which also includes the hilarious, awful trailer (which made me laugh out loud, the trailer makes it sound like a "Peyton Place" soap opera, and conveys none of the creepiness of the film).

Eastwood and Siegel had to battle with Universal Pictures to keep the original ending, and they won out. However, the film was billed as a western, which it certainly is not. It is a gothic tale of deception and horror that is set in the time of the Civil War, and an underlying tone of eroticism and sexual tension runs throughout the film.

I'm not putting any spoilers in this review, and if you want to see the film as it should be seen, then be careful of looking this film up on the internet, as spoiler reviews of it do abound.

Clint Eastwood portrays John McBurney, a Union soldier who is shot on Confederate ground and discovered by a young girl from a nearby girls' school. She rescues him and takes him back to the school, but instead of notifying the local patrol of his presence so that he will be taken to prison, the headmistress, Miss Martha (Geraldine Page), her assistant Edwina (Elizabeth Hartman), their black female servant Hallie (Mae Mercer), and the mostly teenage girls take him in, heal him, and fall under his spell. The film sets its tone of creepiness and Gothic horror right from the titles, as it shows real battleground shots from the war, while Eastwood's voice is heard quietly singing a funereal song of the time. The opening scene of his encounter with the little girl who saves him sets the tone of his character, and the tone of the entire movie. To say any more than that would spoil the surprise of their first encounter. To say much more about the film itself might ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it...if you are into creepy, Gothic horror, find it and rent it. Eastwood is excellent in the film, and it is interesting to see him in an early, or any role, where he portrays a character that is for the most part very unsympathetic.

Geraldine Page had a plum role in the film as the headmistress, I cannot imagine another actress of the time being as good in the role; a long shot could have been Piper Laurie, but I don't think Laurie could have embodied the role in the same manner. Her performance was worthy of an Oscar nomination, IMO.

Elizabeth Hartman (who also did a wonderful performance in the film "A Patch of Blue" as a blind girl who falls in love with Sidney Poiter's character) is at her prime here, delicate and masterful at the same time. Unfortunately, her delicacy on film was also a part of her real life; she committed suicide at a young age, having battled depression on and off throughout her brief, and extremely talented, life.

I end this review with this observation: one manipulative, lying Yankee man is no match for a houseful of deceptive and libidinous Southern belles.

This disturbing, haunting southern gothic film from director Don Siegel is one of the best, if least known, Eastwood films.

Set in the deep South during the Civil War, Eastwood plays a wounded Northern soldier brought to a nearby, nearly deserted all-girls school to be treated before being turned over to the Confederate Army. As long suppressed desires begin to surface in the headmistresses and some of the students, Clint slowly begins to play the women against each other in a bid to avoid being turned in. Unfortunately, such passions can give way to much darker feelings and actions.

Clint is excellent in a role that falls between villain and hero, and he is matched by the wonderful women in the cast. As the senior headmistress, the remarkable Geraldine Page delivers one of her most controlled and effective film performances. And Elizabeth Hartman very movingly portrays naive longing and reticence. Her performance here easily matches her more famous one in "A Patch Of Blue". Mae Mercer is fine as the wry slave who sizes Clint up from the start, and the cast of young actresses playing the students are all equally fine.

One of the most striking things about the film is the use of color and light. The deep hues and dark shadows are among the richest ever captured on film, while the use of natural light, especially the evening scenes and the candlelit scenes, are stunning. The deep sound is also excellent.

Unfortunately, this video edition fails to capture this. The color is washed out almost beyond belief compared to the earlier video editions and the sound is thin with a noticeable hiss on the track. The earlier video editions were excellent, so there's no excuse for Universal's slipshod work on this one.

Five stars for the film; one for the video. This great movie deserves to be seen, but in a better edition.

During the American civil war, wounded Yankee soldier, John McBurney is rescued on the verge of death by a teenage girl from a Confederate boarding school. She manages to get him back to the school, and at first the all-female staff and pupils are scared. As he starts to recover, one by one he seduces the sexually repressed women and the atmosphere becomes filled with jealousy, deceit and brutal revenge.

Eccentric, offbeat melodrama combining the conventions of both Western and Grand Guignol chiller, and directed as if it were an art movie, this is one of Eastwood and Siegel's strangest collaborations. Beautifully shot (especially the nightmarishly skewed first person camera perspective of that famous amputation scene, and chiaroscuro lighting effects [such deep, dark shadows]}, carefully paced, this is a haunting, elegant work that seems to have influenced the much later - and inferior - Misery.

No disc extras as such, but excellent production notes, and a crystal-clear transfer with well-preserved colour separation make this an essential DVD purchase.

Now pass the mushrooms...

When I was a kid growing up in the '70s, I thought "The Beguild" was one really cool movie. The two things I remember most from my childhood viewing of this film were Clint Eastwood's reaction to his amateur surgery and the little school girl's last line about the difference between good and bad mushrooms.Over thirty years later, I rewatched this film on DVD and I'm still fascinated by this creepy, yet highly erotic, southern-gothic tale.The story takes place in the South during the American Civil War. A little girl (Pamelyn Ferdin) is hunting in the woods for wild mushrooms and finds the badly injured Union soldier, Cpl. John McBurney (Clint Eastwood). She takes him back to her small, all-girls boarding school, where the Head Mistress (Geraldine Page) decides to let the soldier recover from his injuries, rather then immediately turn him over to the Confederate authorities.As McBurney starts to get stronger and healthier he precedes to start sexually seducing and manipulating all of the female staff and some of the students.But is he the one manipulating them or is it really the other way around? Sexual longing, jealousy and paranoia seem to be the main subjects being taught at this school.Things get so crazy (and erotic), that one really disturbing night, McBurney finds himself the subject of some table top surgery at the hands of the head mistress! Was the Head Mistress really trying to save his life or was she just being sexually vindictive? McBurney dosn't like what the ladies have done to him. He attempts to regain charge of the school and the situation, but the women serve the soldier up his just desserts in a very memorable and eerie ending! Long time Director, Don Siegel ("Dirty Harry", "Coogan's Bluff") has crafted a tense and claustrophobic film, that can really get under your skin.The film reminds me of one of those old 'EC' comic books (you know the ones your mother didn't want you warping your minds on...), where the bad guy eventually recieves some creepy, unworldly retribution for his misdeeds. But who actually is the bad guy in this film? Eastwood? The Head Mistress? The other women? I think the movie leaves this question open for interpretation. The acting in the movie is superb! Eastwood breaks out of his "Man with No Name' persona and really gives us an interesting characterization. We never know, what he is going to do next.Veteran, Broadway actresses Geraldine Page and Elizabeth Hartman both give some great,'over the top', scenery chewing performances. I love watching both their characters (the Head Mistress & the young teacher) seem to crumble in hysteria right before the viewer's eyes!The DVD to the film is pretty bares bones with little in extras (just a trailer). The picture is O.K. but the sound remastering is awful. But don't let that stop you from seeing this southern-gothic gem! If you want a tense, suspenseful film, which just might keep you up at night, then I highly recommend "The Beguild".