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Svengali

Various (Actor), Noel Langley (Director) Rated:
NR
Format: DVD
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
$9.99
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February 24, 2009 		—
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Product Description

First time on DVD! Famed director Noel Langley exercises unusual artistry in his shadowy "Svengali," played by Donald Wolfit ("Lawrence of Arabia") unveiling an unwashed alley minstrel whose latent, diabolical genius finally emerges out of an uncontrollable passion for beautiful Trilby O'Ferral, played by the German bombshell Hildegarde Neff. Digitally Restored from the 35mm Negative.

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 089859854828
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Noel Langley
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Black & White, NTSC, Color, Widescreen, Restored, DVD, Dolby
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 22 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ February 24, 2009
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Various
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Vci Video
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001NG4218
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 22 ratings

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
22 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Maria Cazanis
3.0 out of 5 stars This is suppose to be a TRAGIC LOVE STORY! DUMB ENDING!
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2021
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While the story of Svengali is told mostly thought the lenses of Trilby and Billie Svengali is Literally pushed into the background as a creeper and jerk who really could not care at all for anyone, the story should have focused on Svengali and Trilby, and their lives together. Svengali teaches Trilby to sing like an angel through the use of hypnotism and gives her an incredible career. Billie her so called "lover" is an ASS in this. He is a Abusive bastard who is jealous and possessive and he PHYSICALLY ATTACKS SVENGALI! Svengali deserves Trilbys love, he is strict and a bit over the top but he DEEPLY LOVES HER! and that ending.. STUPID! Trilby and SVENGALI are suppose to die together, making Trilby live ruins the moral of the whole of the Tragic Story. "He could not live without her and she could not survive without him." Svengali 1931 understood the meaning of the ending. and the original book They die. Their is no happy ending. 3/5.
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retchef
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2017
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took this to Africa and gave it to my hosts Wife
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SamBay98232
4.0 out of 5 stars THE ENDS OF EVIL GENIUS'S
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2015
MY FAVORITE TRILBY MOVIE IS 1931s SVENGALI (INCLUDED IN THIS DVD WITH THE 1955 MOVIE). THE 1955 VERSION IS CLOSEST TO THE BOOK FROM THE 1800s. THE 1955 HAS GREAT ACTING BUT BILLEE IS WRITTEN FAR LESS SYMPATHETHIC THEN HE IS PORTRAYED IN THE BOOK AND THE 1931 MOVIE. THE 1983 FILM WITH PETER OTOOL AND JODIE FOSTER HAS NEXT TO NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BOOK OR ALL OF THE PREVIOUS MOVIES, BUT IS ENJOYABLE.
THE BOOK IS MOSTLY EXPOSITORY PROSE WITH LITTLE ACTION AND DIALOGUE, BUT I LIKE IT. I LAUGHED SEVERAL TIMES. THERE IS A LOT OF FRENCH IN IT WHICH I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND. THE AUTHOR WROTE IT BEFORE THEATRICAL MOVIES BECAME A BIG THING AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.
BECAUSE OF THIS, THE SCREENWRITERS HAD A LOT OF FREEDOM. THE GREAT SCENES OF THE 1931 FILM, LIKE SVENGALI'S HANDLING OF HIS PREVIOUS VICTIM, AND THE BATH SCENES WERE NOT IN THE BOOK AT ALL, AND YET THEY ARE AMONGST THE BEST PARTS OF THE FILM, BECAUSE THEY CONTRAST GOOD LOVING PEOPLE WITH THOSE THAT PRACTICE WICKEDNESS (IE: THE SVENGALI'S, COSSUTIUS'S, AND JEZEBEL'S OF LIFE). THE LIGHTHEARTED INTRODUCTION OF TRILBY TO THE 3 MUSKETEERS OF THE BRUSH, SVENGALI'S HYPNOTISM TO TAKE AWAY TRILBY'S HEADACHE, AND HOW HE TOOK CONTROL OF TRILBY, ARE ALLUDED TO BUT NOT SPELLED OUT IN THE BOOK. THE BOOK TALKED OF HIS MESMERISM. THE MOVIE HAD THE 3 MUSKETEERS WARN TRILBY ABOUT SVENGALI'S HYPNOTISM. THE BOOK DID NOT REVEAL MESMERISM UNTIL AFTER TRILBY'S DEATH, BY GECKO, SVENGALI'S ASSISTANT AND FAVORITE VIOLINIST. UNFORTUNATELY, THE 1931 MOVIE DID NOT INCLUDE TWO IMPORTANT SCENES: 1) BILLEE'S MOTHER VERBALLY CRUSHING TRILBY'S SELF ESTEEM AND CAUSING HER TO DISAPPEAR FROM FIANCE BILLEE AND FRIENDS LIVES. THIS LEFT TRILBY UNPROTECTED AGAINST SVENGALI'S SELFISH PLANS TO CONTROL HER IN ORDER TO GET RICHES AND FAME. 2) NEAR THE END, BILLEE'S MOTHER EXPRESSING SORROW AT RUINING THEIR LIVES, AND ALSO TALKING TO TRILBY ABOUT GOD. THE 1955 MOVIE ALSO DIDN'T COVER #2, NOR DID EITHER MOVIE DEAL WITH TRILBY'S AND BILLEE'S PROLONGED SICKNESS, DEATH, AND GECKO'S REVELATION OF WHAT HAPPENED. I FEEL THAT THE SCREENPLAYS NEEDED TO REVEAL SVENGALI'S LIFE DESTROYING, SELFISH, AND GREEDY WAYS TO INCREASE THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF THE INJUSTICE OF PEOPLE (WITCHES IF YOU WILL) THAT DECEIVE, DESTROY, AND CONTROL PEOPLE TO EVERYONE'S HURT OR DESTRUCTION THAT IS INVOLVED.
SVENGALI IS REALLY MY LIFE STORY. PLEASE READ MY REVIEW OF SVENGALI 1931 AND THE WIZARD OF OZ. HAVING NOW COMPLETED THE BOOK AND SEEING THAT MY FAVORITE 1931 VERSION IS LOOSELY BASED ON THE BOOK, I ALL THE MORE WANT TO REDO THE 1931 MOVIE ALMOST EXACTLY AS IT IS WITH MORE SCENES, AND WRITE AT LEAST ONE SEQUEL!
IN MY LIFE, THERE IS THE DESTRUCTIVE WITCH, AND THE PEOPLE THAT BELIEVE THIS DECEPTIVE FRAMER THAT DESTROYS PEOPLE WHILE STEALING FROM US. IN THE CASE OF "TRILBY," THE BOOK, BILLEE'S MOTHER APPEARS TO BE THE TYPE THAT BELIEVES WHATEVER NEGATIVE EVIDENCE SHE RECEIVES. THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES BOTH TRILBY AND BILLEE AS ANGELS. THE MOTHER MANAGES TO REMOVE 'ANGEL" TRILBY'S SUPPORT SYSTEM WITHOUT ANY APPARENT HELP FROM SVENGALI. THE SVENGALI'S OF LIFE BENEFIT FROM PEOPLE LIKE BILLEE'S MOTHER THAT BELIEVE OR ASSUME BAD THINGS WITHOUT COMMUNICATING IN PRIVATE GENTLY AT PROPER LENGTH WITH THOSE THAT THEY HAVE ISSUE WITH. MY WITCH HAS THE SVENGALI POWER TO DECEIVE AND CONTROL PEOPLE AGAINST THEIR WILL, THE COSSUTIUS PERSONALITY THAT GETS THEIR JOLLIES OFF OF INFLICTING SUFFERING ON OTHERS (WATCH SPARTACUS: VENGEANCE), AND THE POWER OF THE BIBLE'S EVILEST WITCH, JEZEBEL (REFER TO 1KINGS 21).

IN THE MOVIE, "EVIL GENIUS," ALSO STARRING JOHN BARRYMORE, MARIAN MARSH, AND LUIS ALBERNI, JOHN PLAYS A MANIPULATIVE MAN THAT RAISES A BOY THAT HE BASICALLY KIDNAPPED 15 YEARS BEFORE, CONTROLS HIM, SEPARATES HIM FROM THE TRILBY OF THIS MOVIE, NANA, ANOTHER INWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY BEAUTIFUL FEMALE THAT IS A PERFORMER, AND JOHN'S CHARACTER TAKES TO BED EACH PERFORMER THAT WANTS FAME, WITH THE SAME PREDICTABLE RESULTS: THE MONSTER DAMAGES MANY LIVES AND DESTROYS HIS OWN.
WHEN ARE THE EVIL WITCHES GOING TO LEARN THAT WHAT YOU SOW ON THIS WORLD, GOD PROMISES THAT YOU ARE GOING TO REAP? THAT EVERY THOUGHT AND ACTION WILL SOONER OR LATER COME UNDER GOD'S JUDGEMENT? THOSE THAT ACCEPT JESUS AS THEIR LORD AND SAVIOR AND OBEY HIS COMMANDS WILL BE REWARDED WITH ETERNAL BLISSFUL LIFE IN HEAVEN! IT IS BETTER TO SUFFER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS ON THIS WORLD, THAN IT IS TO DENY THE GOD THAT LOVES YOU AND WILL REWARD YOU SOONER OR LATER.
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F. J. Harvey
3.0 out of 5 stars Stodgy reworking of a fin de siecle classic novel
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2005
Trilby by George du Maurier was a novel that attained a deal of notoreity in its day -the late Victorian era -for its ripe and overblown air of sexual liberation -that said it is very chaste by today's standards .For me the book is more interesting its portarait of mesmerism ,a Victorian obsession ,in the person of Svengali rather than for it heroine the somewhat wan Trilby .The producers seem to recognise this for they have followed tradition ,and like the Lionel Barrymore version from some years previously ,the book has been renamed after the character of Svengali.

The movie is set in Paris in the late Victorian age ;Trilby is a young woman orphaned by the death of her father and she takes work as an artists model and quickly becomes a popular member of the Bohemian crowd in the city ,She particularly is drawn to Billy Bagot a young and crippled English painter who shares lodgings with two other struggling artists ,The Laird ( Derek Bond) and Taffy (Paul Rodgers).Svengali is a hanger on who insists he can transform Trilby into a great singer by mesmerism or mind control .A great bear of a man -roughly bearded and of pungent aroma -he is ate best tolerated but when pressure from Billys parents causes her to end her engagement to him she is tempted by Svengali's wiles .Under his influence she becomes putty in his hands and a great singer ,When Billy hears of her sacrifice he sets out to win her back .

The art direction is pur 50's kitsch and the acting variable .Wolfit is suitably melodramatic in a role where underplaying would be inappropriate but I was uneasy about his makeup -and the conception of the role borders on the anti-semitic .Hildegarde Neff ,a German ,is miscast as the Anglo-Irish Trilby and is too pallid to be convincing .The other players are competent but no more .The score ,by William Alwyn is excellent and merits a CD re-issue

The movie is an intersting curiousity , a decent spin on a semi-classic novel ,but the definitive movie based on the book has yet to be made
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Gunter Sanders
4.0 out of 5 stars svengali
Reviewed in Germany on June 15, 2015
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der film hat mir recht gut gefallen, obwohl er auf englisch war; aber besonders frau knef sprach sehr gut, so dass man sie gut versteht. die atmosfäre des alten paris ist sehr gut getroffen. der darsteller des svengali" ist sehr unheimlich, frau knef sehr überzeugend.
gunter sanders
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R H Warwick
3.0 out of 5 stars Donald Wolfit eating the scenery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2013
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An odd film to say the least. I'm not sure if then and now who the
film is aimed out. Not unless you want to see the big ham of
Donald Wolfit over acting. If you had seen Donald Wolfit in the Film
Room at the Top, when he's very good. But this film it seems as he is acting
in a different film to the rest of the cast.
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Steffen
5.0 out of 5 stars Steffen
Reviewed in Germany on October 14, 2017
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Alles gut Ware war ein Geschenk ist rechtzeitig gekommen Verpackung war in Ordnung dvd original verpackt. Qualität kann ich leider nichts zu sagen. Sonst war die Freude groß.
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Jeffrey L.
5.0 out of 5 stars A mesmerising performance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2009
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Sir Donald Wolfit was one of the leading Shakespearean actors of his day and it is a matter of great regret that he was never asked to film any of his major interpretations, especially that of King Lear.

It is a matter of good fortune that Wolfit appears in the lead role of this film as the part was originally to be played by Robert Newton. The screenplay is based on the once-popular novel "Trilby" by George du Maurier which concerns a young artist's model (the Trilby of the title) who, although practically tone-deaf, is transformed into a great operatic star by the hypnotic powers possessed by the sinister Svengali.

It is no surprise that the film's title bears the name of the evil genius Svengali, rather than duMaurier's original title, as the charismatic Wolfit gives a performance of prime "ham" which proves itself a cynosure at the expense of all the other actors in the film...such, apparently, was his way in the theatre!
The background score is by master film composer, William Alwyn, and Hildegard Knef's singing voice in the operatic scenes, when Trilby is under Svengali's influence, was dubbed by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.

All in all this is a hugely enjoyable piece of vintage melodrama and a valuable memento of one of this country's most notable actors.
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Mr. William Kearney
4.0 out of 5 stars Svengai
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2009
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I saw this film back in the 1950's and was delighted to see it was available on DVD. The greatest feature is the wonderful singing of the young Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and it was good to see Harry Secombe and a few other familiar faces. Donald Wolfit is fine in the title role and I loved Hildegard Neff.
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