Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn [DVD]

an underrated emotional opera
A brilliant period costume drama made by hitchcock in colonial AUSTRALIA with a tremendous act by JOSEPH cotten-INGRID Bergman as the estranged spouses who share a dark secret which has ruined their marital bliss ,this is a commentary on colonialism and class distinctions ,set in new south wales in sydney,it follows the miserable lives of the two lovers who find matrimony but at the cost of love itself .
An aristocratic English lady elopes with a stable hand in ireland ,and he makes a huge fortune in the new colony but the scandal follows them to the new world with bergman becoming a recluse and an alcoholic .
it becomes an extremely profound observation on intimate details of jealousy ,convict labour and judicial disharmony ,it works on every level and it's a real class act by bergman playing a deluded,psychotic paranoid woman ,who is riddled with the guilt of her past misfortunes and her guilt eats her soul away on the screen .

the movie triumphs almost like a stage play ,with long brilliant monologues with superlative dialogue and an atmospheric apathy which is naturally endowed upon the unfortunate couple .
Micheal Wilding is a new arrival and a country cousin who falls in love with Ingrid and the affair explodes like a volcano while the annual ballroom sequence is in progress in the governor house ,that sequence alone is a masterpiece in itself and a celebration of cinema,as is the reprisal of the covert secrets of the past which are hauntingly narrated by Bergman in a single monologue.

the whole thing implodes like an emotional opera and the wild eyed hallucinating and delusional bergman is impossible to ignore or forget in this unique role as lady henrietta ,cotten is a great natural talent with a persona that is difficult to even define as he is a unique silent introvert who can relate his suffering and rage with as little effort as possible and here he is in mesmerizing .

An under-rated master act by the master himself, with a brooding , truly romantic movie with great sets and music ,the costumes are dazzling and Bergman looks the true beauty she was even without make-up -a truly unmissable movie for bergman-hitchcock fans .
i find this hypnotic to watch and intoxicating as well thanks to hitchcock and jack cardiff who is the cinematographer .

New York Film critic Leonard Maltin so describes this rather turgid and awkward looking period drama from the Master of Suspense. I, myself, thought that I'd seen, or at least known all of Hitch's movies and owning a good number, including his more obscure.

So, it looks like it's pretty well unavailable as a region 2, unless you've silly money to spare, the region 1 denying the majority. But, would it be worth it, anyway? (I saw it on Turner Classic Movies - TCM).

Set in Australia during Victorian era (1830s) we see Irish Charles Adare (Michael Wilding, sounding very 'proper' English) hoping for a new life with the help of his cousin, the new governor, played by the familiar Cecil Parker. He soon meets ex-con Sam Flusky (Joseph Cotten), a powerful landowner who wants to expand but laws prevent him, so in order to appropriate the goodwill of Adare, an invitation to dinner is summonsed.

However, Flusky's Irish wife (Ingrid Bergman) is a flaky and very ill alcoholic, who, naturally causes a bit of scene. Adare, however, sees Henrietta's (Bergman) inner beauty and sees first hand the bad treatment that the housekeeper Millie garnishes on her, which Flusky definitely encourages.

As you can see, this is a sort of Rebecca, but a muddled one and to my eyes, only got going (and interesting) after Bergman arrives on the scene. Cotten and Wilding are OK, but really fairly ordinary but Bergman really carries her part with flourish and aplomb, despite its unflattering nature.

The Technicolor, shot by ace cinematographer Jack Cardiff, an undisputed master of the technique, is mostly blue, very blue - and lots of it, except for the odd brown that everybody appears. This may well be the print used and not typical but at time it looks unsettlingly odd.

I personally cannot say that my life has been enhanced enormously by knowing of and seeing another 'unknown' Hitchcock. It's OK, but generally no better than many other similar dramas of the time. There are little, if any, of Hitch's signature touches and it's only Ingrid Bergman's performance that take it above the ordinary.

Under Capricorn is definately a curiosity in terms of the Hitchcock cannon. This Australian-set period drama is so far removed from the expected Hitchcock thriller that almost immediately it is swimming against the tide.

Yet looked at on it's own merits this is far from a terrible film, even if it isn't exactly anything approaching a great one.

Joseph Cotton is solid enough as the former convict who has set up a new life of apparent respectability in Australia and whilst it's not exactly one her best performances, Ingrid Bergman makes a fist of her role as his alcoholic wife although you'll have to overlook some over-acting at times.

The star of the film in terms of character is Margaret Leighton's Milly, who brings a much needed frisson to the movie as the family maid. Indeed you will get more entertainment from watching her than you will from wondering exactly what Cotton's motives are (and whether he is a force of good or evil).

It has many faults, not least that it's over melodramatic and far too talky (not something that Hithcock can usually be accused of) but it does have the occasional spark and certainly isn't the total dud that many have suggested.

That said, it probably remains a film for Hitchcock (or Bergman) aficionado's only.