Product Details

• Actors: Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris, Darleen Carr
• Directors: Donald Siegel
• Writers: John B. Sherry, Grimes Grice
• Producers: Donald Siegel
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: June 1, 2010
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783227930
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,545 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Beguiled" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman. A Union soldier wounded during the Civil War is taken into a Southern girls' school to recuperate, stirring up mixed feelings among the seven women in this atypical tale. Directed by Don Siegel. 1971/color/109 min/R/widescreen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 90 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Where has this movie been hiding? July 7, 2001

By Kitten With a Whip

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

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. Read more ›

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Bedazzled by "The Beguiled" September 25, 2003

By L. Shirley TOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

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] Read more ›

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the hens show the rooster whose boss. June 8, 2005

By BOYWAY

Format:DVD

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey Into The Darkness of The Human Soul November 30, 2003

By "mobby_uk"

Format:DVD

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. Read more ›