Rebecca

Rebecca takes its sweet time to become a Hitchcock film, but once it gets there it rewards you for waiting. The tension valve is gradually increased and the (for its time) innovative underscoring was great. Turning upper class luxury into a fearful and oppressive antagonist was a marvellous touch. The court stuff and after was unnecessary, but everything else is top-drawer. Waxman, Barnes, and Selznick all get their stamp on the film too for (often) better or (seldom) worse. Great stuff!

The scene where Olivier remembers Rebecca's death is one of the absolute greatest moments (for myself) in cinema: he conjures R's ghost, Fontaine finally grows up and the two lovers finally understand each other. And all the camera does is look around an empty space. While I dislike the Selznick elements, they do nothing to deter from some of Hitch's proudest.

Rebecca is less Hitchcockian than you'd probably hope going in to it. The story is slow and the characters aren't well acted outside of Olivier and Fontaine. That being said, as soon as you start to find out the big mystery it really picks up and makes for a rather enjoyable movie overall. It's certainly not Hitchcock's best but it's clearly a good movie in its own right.

This full of tension movie will haunt you long after watching. I don't think they can make those anymore. Masterpiece.

A unique portrayal of a haunting without the supernatural. Ghosts and curses exist here without ghosts and curses