Customer Reviews

Blithe Spirit

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Noel Coward's popular stage comedy BLITHE SPIRIT comes to the screen with considerable charm and notable performances from Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, and Margaret Rutherford in this fantasy of a married man whose seance party inadverdently summons up the ghost of his first wife--who promptly moves in, turning him into an "astrial bigamist."

The Coward script, which zips along with cool one liners, is well played in the best British 'throw-away' tradition, quick, light, and more than a little acid. Harrison is neatly cast as the hag-ridden husband, Cummings is particularly charming as the terse second wife, and Dame Margaret Rutherford steals the show as the slightly dotty medium who conjures up the ghost of Harrison's first wife and then can't get rid of her. Fans of cool English comedy will enjoy it considerably; others, however, may find it all a bit too restrained for their tastes.

This is a review of the script, acting and direction; not of the DVD. This is vintage, brittle Coward. It will obviously not appeal to young, brash kids, who will not be able to believe that English people between the two World Wars actually spoke, thought and behaved like this. However, they did. Or some of them did. In fact, I can remember them doing it: they were just exactly like the older members of my own family. The writing is brilliant, precise and accurate. Strange as it may seem, there actually were people like Madame Arcati: eccentric English spinsters repeating the mannerisms and slang of their schooldays. The plotting is extremely clever: you continually wonder how Coward is going to keep the plates spinning in the air, and are constantly surprised at his deftness and dexterity. The lines are poised and sharp, if slightly one-note. The direction is faultless, but then this kind of play almost directs itself. I feel sorry for those who cannot appreciate the theatrical skills displayed in this performance, or the verbal and mental adroitness being displayed. Modern film technology and techniques are no substitutes.

I purchased this DVD without ever having seen the movie, but I figured I couldn't go wrong with David Lean, Rex Harrison, and Noel Coward. Unfortunately, I didn't take DVD production values (or lack thereof) into consideration.

This is probably a wonderful movie, but the DVD is unwatchable. The sound is absolutely abysmal. I wasn't able to make out Noel Coward's dialog at all. Don't bother getting this DVD; wait for a better transfer.

This is the film adaptation of Noel Coward's comedic play. It is a fast-paced, drolly funny, comedic fantasy of the kind in which the British always excel. The screenplay is sharply acerbic and witty, with the actors engaged in the rapid-fire delivery of its lines. As they say, timing is everything, and here, the timing could not be better.

The plot revolves a well-known novelist, Charles Condomine, played by the ever urbane Rex Harrison. He has been married to his second wife, the no-nonsense Ruth (Constance Cummings) for the past five years, after having been a widower for seven. They live in a lovely house in the English countryside. As part of his research for a new novel that he is writing, he has arranged for a small dinner party, inviting another couple as well as an eccentric medium who calls herself Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford).

After dinner, Madame Arcati conducts a seance. She makes a series of rather odd and funny attempts to speak to the spirit world, and something changes, but the only one who knows it is Charles. It seems that Madame Arcati has conjured up the spirit of his long dead wife, Elvira (Kay Hammond), but the only one who can see and hear her is him.

Of course, the re-appearance of Elvira creates all kinds of mischief in the household, both upstairs and downstairs. Needless to say, Ruth is not happy, when Charles reveals what has happened, and while initially skeptical, she quickly becomes a believer when she sees things happen that are otherwise inexplicable.

When it becomes clear that Elvira is not going to go willingly, and Ruth is not going to let her rival stay without putting up a fight, Charles is caught in the middle. He soon finds out, however, that Elvira has special plans for him that soon backfire on all of them. When Madame Arcati is called back to try and put things to right, more mischief is concocted by those in the spectral realm.

Excellent performances are given by the entire cast. For my money, however, it is Margaret Rutherford who steals the show out from under her fellow thespians for her wacky, over the top performance as Madame Arcati. Margaret Rutherford infuses her character with a wonderful combination of British bluster and eccentric mannerisms that makes Madame Arcati absolutely memorable and quite funny.

This darkly humorous production is deftly directed by David Lean, and, while it could have used some fine-tuning towards the end, it is a minor point. Those who love wonderful vintage films will certainly enjoy this one.

This delightful movie by David Lean deserves a much better transfer/print than the one present in this DVD. Hopefully, nah, make that "surely" this will happen some time in the future, as it almost always does. If you can't wait to own this film on DVD, go for it. But beware, the colors are either washed out, too yellow or too green, and the sound is very poor (despite the Dolby Digital Mono) and most of the dialogue is practically incomprehensible. The quality of this DVD is in fact so poor that it is completely distracting, such that you spend more time struggling to imagine what the film would look and sound like in the right version than enjoying what it is.

This film is great fun to watch. Rex Harrison and Constance Cummings are the married couple and Kay Hammond is the ghost of Harrison's ex who wreaks havoc in their home. Margaret Rutherford is much younger than we usually see her but blissfully her fey self as Madame Arcati. Rutherford is very funny and a real scene stealer. The early colour is quite good (on my DVD) and the print was very clear. Harrison was actually more versatile than is generally remembered (remember "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir"?).

The London reviewer and I are of one accord on the perfection of this exercise in WIT as defined by Pope: "True wit is nature to advantage dressed / What oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed." I did not live between the two World Wars and so did not have the privilege of interfacing with the great characters in everyday life then who occupied the charming English country towns of that era. But curiously, I instantly felt I was witnessing a true slice of life when I first viewed this GEM from Noel Coward. Of course, Frank Capra (in "You Can't Take It With You") and C.S. Lewis had put us on notice that folks on both sides of the Pond in the '30s and '40s were dabbling in the dangerous pastime of spiritism and would get themselves into all sorts of mischief when they did. I consider it a tribute to the masterful direction of "Blithe Spirit" that I, a Connecticut baby-boomer born in 1950 and of Irish descent, instantly knew I was viewing real English society in this film. There is a certain delicious human authenticity to this comedy of errors ... I find it just plain irresistible. I love seeing the human spirit portrayed enjoyably in film or in literature (often through gentle social satire), and for reasons I'll never quite understand, I so love this silly, enchanting story and come back to it again and again. Dear reviewer, you are joined by cultural brethren wherever the good breeze of human reflection blows across the arts.

Permit me to make two recommendations for you. One is the film, "The Late George Apley" (a worthy, if truncated, distillation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel) -- hard but not impossible to find, and again a gentle look at the foibles of mankind in a gentler time that I prize, even though I was born after it. Another is an out-of-print (but relatively easy-to-obtain) collection of short stories about characters in the British Isles in the late 19th century: "Grandmother and the Priests," by Taylor Caldwell, who takes us inside the lives of marvelous characters we would like to have met, in one of the most breathtaking exhibitions of literature offered in 20th century literature. Thank you for standing up for the right stuff in your praise of "Blithe Spirit."

Blithe Spirit is a bright, sophisticated comedy. The film is brilliantly acted and the humor still holds up today. Unfortunately, whatever the source is of this DVD transfer, the soundtrack sounds as if it is playing at munchkin-like speed and lip-sync is seldom achieved. See it on PBS where a better copy is shown. If you buy this disc it will wind up gathering dust after the first viewing - it isn't watchable.

I must say, this was a bloody good film. Unlike the other older films that I have watched this one actually had originality, spunk, and a whole lot of fun. Blithe Spirit is the story of a couple that is happy in every way. Rex Harrison and Constance Cummings play a couple, Charles and Ruth Condomine, who have been married for five years. This is both of theirs second marriage. They are seemingly wealthy due to Harrison's books that he has written. His next book is about the supernatural, so he has invited the local gypsy to their house on night to not only study what she does, but also for a form of entertainment.

Wonderfully played by Margaret Rutherford, Madame Arcati (the gypsy) makes her entrance and immediately sets the tone for the remainder of the film. She runs around the room like a hyperactive child, standing ... sitting ... running ... and jumping she puts on a great performance for those watching. After the séance is completed with no results, the two couples find themselves laughing as Arcati leaves for the night. The only one not laughing is Harrison. He has discovered that his dead wife has actually risen from the grave and can see and talk to him. The only trouble, Harrison is the only one that can see her. Harrison, hysterical in a Hugh Grant sort of way, is not so much frightened that she is a ghost, but that his ex-wife is back in the same room as he. He spends the evening, to his current wife's displeasure, talking to Edith (his first wife) about her current disposition. Humor, suspicion, and creative filmmaking continue throughout the rest of this film. The ending to this film surprised me, but also kept well within the themes of this film. Rex Harrison has proved that he was one of Britain and Hollywood's greatest assets.

After my first two run ins with 1940-1950s cinema, I was ready to be board and asleep by now, instead I am awake and have a huge smile on my face. It is so impressive to see such quality and original work come from this time period. Looking at the most recent horror/thriller cinema that has graced our screens lately like The Others, The Sixth Sense, and even The Ring, it was a joy to sit back and enjoy a comedy that combines the same elements from these into a very funny caper. Taken from a play by author Noel Coward, Blithe Spirit sharpens your intellect and brings you deep into the world of British comedy.

The casting was perfect. This is actually my first Rex Harrison film, and I cannot wait to see him again. The style of acting that he has, and it may have just been for this film, is not only sharp, but directly on cue. I couldn't keep my eyes off the old gypsy. Her facial expressions, plus mannerisms showed that she was very excited about this part. The concept of this film was extraordinary. Since I have only seen a handful of 1940s films, the plot and elements in this film far exceed the others plus some of the cinema released today.

I love British humor. I loved the fact that after the first ten minutes, nobody was scared of these ghosts. It was like it was the normality of life for these characters. It took a little longer for Ruth to be comfortable, but Charles stepped right into it. Add to this mix a surprise element about Charles' marriage brings continual laughter and surprises. So, not only do we have ghosts in the house, but we also have a crumbling marriage. Not only do we have a very funny film about ghosts, but we also have an ending that I did not see coming at all.

Overall, it was not just a funny ghost film, but instead a funny ghost film with a pinch of "who-dun-it". If you are in the movie store looking for that 1940s film that will tie you over for the night, please check out Blithe Spirit. I think you will thoroughly enjoy it. No spooky in any way, just straight out fun!!

Grade: ***** out of *****

When you go over to the U.K. Amazon site it looks like they have had this title available since 2003 and is now available in a boxed set. Three years later and still no sign of it yet. Can any one explain the delay for the USA ?