Under Capricorn (1949)'s comments

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Filmbuff77

The normally excellent Joseph Cotten (The Third Man, Shadow of a Doubt, Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons) is pretty stiff in this, and the movie suffers as a result.

The story has excellent potential though. This film is ripe for an updated adaptation of the novel.

1 year 4 months ago

cfish80

Some extraordinary camerawork, particularly the long takes.

7 years 5 months ago

mathiasa

the colors ruined it for me.

11 years 8 months ago

Brantastic16

Absolutely the worst Hitchcock film I've seen. I liked it even less than Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

12 years 10 months ago

Siskoid

While no Hitchcock movie is going to be bad, there are definitely modes or genres that he's best suited to. Based on the novel, Under Capricorn has some strong cinematography and a mobile camera exploring the space, which is atypical of the era, but it's high melodrama, with revelations coming in long speeches rather than visuals. I didn't care much for Marnie either, to tell you the truth. It's also a period piece (set in Australia when it was still a penal colony) and like the earlier Jamaica Inn, its attempts at suspense are hampered by a script that reveals too much, too soon. At least it has a theme, that of sacrificing oneself for a loved on, which everybody does, often at cross-currents. Ingrid Bergman is good as a woman suffering from mental illness. Joseph Cotten simmers. Michael Wilding I've already forgotten. The MVP though is likely Margaret Leighton as the Iago of this love quadrangle, the vicious gossip who really wants the gentleman of the house for herself. You want to walk through the screen and give her a good slap, and that has to count for something!

3 years 7 months ago

Miss Jitterbug

A highly underrated Hitchcock masterpiece. I loved the lighting in most of the scenes, it definetely is a different Hitchcock movie in many aspects but you cannot help but enjoy it. It also has fantastic costumes and the acting is excellent.

11 years 7 months ago

inhonoredglory

So I found I've come to love period pieces, and this one is no exception. There is such a sense of class and propriety -- and dialogue! Don't I just love that exalted, witty English. So, this 1949 drama by Alfred Hitchcock ... To tell you the truth, I was surprised it was a Hitchcock. It evoked something so much deeper, it seemed. There was such intense, dramatic love and tenderness. It was not the murder! murder! intrigue! so typical of Hitchcock (especially after seeing one too many Alfred Hitchcock Presents). It is the story of an Irish "rogue gentleman" Sir Charles (Michael Wilding) getting inadvertently involved in the lives of an Australian couple (Joseph Cotten and Ingrid Bergman), to whom he offers his service of help to ease the wife from her state of imbalanced depression. Sir Charles is so witty and dashing, Sam (Joseph Cotten) the mysterious husband and ex-con, and Lady Henrietta (Ingrid Bergman) so beautiful and believable (translate: great acting). A character-driven story filled with the depth that emerges from its novel origins, it ends with a finale well-worth the journey. The lighting and scenery was beautiful throughout, the plot quite engaging, the characters enchanting. Quality, wittiness, depth, and a theme of selflessness will always get me, and for this, Under Capricorn gets high stars in my book.

12 years 9 months ago