Notorious 1946 - Hitchcock's visual masterpiece

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IMDB rating: 8,1

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Main Cast: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern

"One of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest films, Notorious features the director at his devilishly elegant, self-assured best. The film's smooth veneer largely creates its visceral impact; lurking beneath the gloss are dealings of the most grotesque sort, their execution made all the more insidious by their sophisticated guise. Aside from containing one of Hitchcock's most famous MacGuffins, the uranium ore, Notorious boasts some of his most famous camerawork, most notably the gorgeous tracking shot during Sebastian's party that takes the viewer from the top of a staircase to Alicia's hand, clenched around the key that will lead her to the uranium ore. The camera moves with the quiet intimacy of an unobserved party guest, almost serpentine in its journey. Similarly ingenious is Hitchcock's use of point-of-view shots, particularly that of Alicia's waking up with a hangover and watching Devlin walk toward her as the camera spins 180 degrees. Seeing through Alicia's eyes, the audience sympathizes with her, making the character one of Hitchcock's most full-blooded and enduring heroines. It goes without saying that the success of Alicia's characterization is in no small part due to Ingrid Bergman's performance; tragic, lovelorn, and marked by logical cynicism, her portrayal of Alicia was one of the best of Bergman's career. She was ably supported by Cary Grant and Claude Rains, the former going against his likeable, effortlessly charismatic persona to play an initially charmless man with morals as questionable as the heroine's are supposed to be. Rains, paired with Bergman again after Casablanca, makes Sebastian into one of the film's more sympathetic characters; it is a mark of Rains' ability that when Sebastian turns to climb the stairs in the film's closing scene, we feel real terror for him. That Sebastian's fate is the result of both his own manipulations of others and his heart's manipulations of himself is at the center of the film's true MacGuffin: masquerading as a Cold War thriller, Notorious is one of the screen's classic black romances." - www.allmovie.com

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Gaslight 1944 - A chilling psychological thriller

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IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: George Cukor
Main Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Dame May Whitty, Angela Lansbury

"With three very talented stars (Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten) at the peak of their popularity, 1944's Gaslight is another wonderful, must-see addition to the Cukor filmography. It is a multi-leveled, ceaselessly entertaining film that stands the test of time. Based on Patrick Hamilton's play Angel Street, the script plumbs such ripe topics as manipulation, compulsion, madness and marital relations. Bergman deservedly won an Academy Award for her role as the 'insane' wife who trusts her husband, even if it means she may be going insane; she holds the story together with one of her most impressive performances. It's a difficult character to make believable, but the actress brings such a tethered vulnerability to the part that it gives the film an air of truth and sadness. Gaslight was nominated for seven Oscars - including one for Angela Lansbury's first film role - but Bergman's was the only victory." - www.allmovie.com

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Casablanca 1942 - A truly classic masterpiece

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IMDB rating: 8,6

Director: Michael Curtiz
Main Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S. Z. Sakall

"One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. It's hard to imagine a movie in which the leads are better cast: Humphrey Bogart's tough, effortless cool gives Rick the ideal balance of honor and cynicism, Ingrid Bergman's luminous beauty makes it seem reasonable that men would fight for Ilsa's affections, and Paul Henreid's Victor is cold enough that you can imagine Ilsa's being tempted by her old flame. The supporting cast is superb down the line; Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, and S.Z. Sakall are all so memorable that one tends to forget that none is onscreen for very long. The screenplay often walks the border of cliché, but the story has just enough twists, and the dialogue so much snap, that it stays compelling throughout. And Michael Curtiz knew just when to turn on the schmaltz and when to cut it off. Casablanca blends romance, suspense, humor, and patriotic drama with such skill that one imagines it must have happened by accident, and the movie looks better with each passing year." - www.allmovie.com

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Intermezzo 1939 - Ingrid Bergman's impressive American debut

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031491/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 6,8

Director: Gregory Ratoff
Main Cast: Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, Edna Best, John Holliday, Cecil Kellaway, Ann Todd

"The film that introduced Ingrid Bergman to an adoring American public, Intermezzo is pure, old-fashioned melodrama. Were it to be attempted today, the result would be pure schmaltz, but Intermezzo succeeds because its creators seem to believe in its story, and therefore make the audience care about it too. They also know that this kind of story works best if the viewer doesn't have time to think too carefully as he or she is watching it, and so they keep it to an incredibly brief 70 minutes. Director Gregory Ratoff keeps the pacing swift and turns in some of his best work here. He is helped immeasurably, of course, by Bergman. Radiant, exuberant, and totally mesmerizing, Bergman combines stunning beauty and dramatic intelligence with an intuitive sense of 'movie star' acting, to give a performance that is a pleasure to watch. She practically glows in every scene, her joy in simply appearing onscreen coming through in every frame. Leslie Howard has a hard time keeping up with her, and on the whole, his performance is rather perfunctory; however, there is a chemistry between the two stars and that makes up for his otherwise bland portrayal. Bergman's career stalled somewhat after Intermezzo, with several films that didn't capitalize on her unique talents, but it was jump-started again in 1942 with Casablanca." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/intermezzo-v25072/

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Intermezzo 1936 - A star-making performance for Bergman

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027796/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Gustaf Molander
Main Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Gösta Ekman, Inga Tidblad

"The Swedish Intermezzo was the film that brought Ingrid Bergman to the attention of Hollywood. Bergman plays a fresh-faced music student who falls in love with Gosta Ekman, a very-much-married violin virtuoso. Ekman leaves his wife to live with Bergman and to tour with her on the concert circuit. His daughter's near-fatal accident awakens Ekman to his familial responsibilities. Streamlined from 88 minutes to 70, the plot of Intermezzo was transferred intact to the 1939 American version of the same name, which served as Bergman's Hollywood debut." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/intermezzo-v25074

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