Gaslight

This version of "Gaslight" is the original production of the film. A second American production of the film replaced it for many years, as the original was lost, or had expired rights, maybe. Somehow, the original has been recovered and this is the version above, not to confuse, too late.Anyway, the psychological term 'gaslighting' is now mainstream due to this movie. "Gaslighting" someone is a form of manipulation commonly used by the self-righteous narcissist, to make sane people believe they are losing their grip on reality. I won't give away the plot, but if you watch this movie, you 'may' get some insight into how a self-righteous narcissist operates to manipulate the innocent for their own insidious motives and intentions.If you have ever suffered narcissistic abuse, it is great to see how the film plays out, and give insight into how 'gaslighting' happens, or at least an awareness that it does exist.

This was just personally difficult, because it took any months after watching it to understand that I was so easily manipulated with this. Good news: I never forget that there is a lesson, even if I understand it late. Mandatory for my film stash.

This is the original movie of this name. Most people are familiar with the 1944 American Version starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer & the screen debut of Angela Lansbury.Released in 1940 starring Anton Walbrook & Diane Wynyard this was as classic a tale then as it is now. I prefer it slightly over the American version as the storyline is a darker more abusive affair than America's. By the way Walbrook & Wynyard were big stars then & the acting is best in the British version.The story begins with a cruel & foul murder of an old woman knitting in her home. Young love causes a new bride to bring the husband she loves so dearly back to the house her murdered aunt had left to her years ago. No one had been willing to rent the place because of the evil crime. It stood empty & decaying for years despite it's location in Covent Gardens a very desirable location in London. The police had always been suspicious of the extensive damage done to the house & furnishings during the night of the murder & thought the old ladies rubies had disappeared with the killer.In this show it's all about the relationship of wife, husband, maid & the gems. Not to mention the old retired detective who remembered the case from back when & thought he recognized the wife's husband. A 5 star tale & well worth buying if you like your characters dark in a murder story. The disc I got had this 1940 version on 1 side & the 1944 American version on the other. Two worlds- One price. Enjoy!The offer page for the 1940 DVD has the synopsis for the American version that's why the stars names are wrong.

This served to quench a curiosity as to whether this version has as much merit as the Ingrid Bergman/Charles Boyer remake. It is a great story. If you only have time for really good movies, skip this one and watch the remake. In my opinion of course.

To know that people like this exists in real life, is what's so scary. To interact with someone who is constantly gaslighting you, to the point that you question your own sanity is disgusting. There's levels to it and this was shown at one of the highest. Mental and emotional abuse are some of the worst kinds of abuse to experience and I hope we are able to quickly identify the gaslighters in our own lives, so that we can keep them at bay (family) or completely walk away ("friends" or romantic relationships, sometimes family too). This movie gives some insight so that you can see how sinister gaslighting can truly be.

After seeing Anton Walbrook in "49th Parallel" (1941), "The Life and Times of Colonel Blimp" (1943), "Red Shoes" (1948), I am definitely a Walbrook fan. His acting is skilled and magical. This amazing talent was clearly borne out in the 1940 British version of "Gaslight", which I believe to be vastly superior to the slick, Hollywood remake in 1944 with Boyer and Bergman. Overall, Walbrook's performance is just more psychologically correct as the consummate narcissistic, evil killer, who brings his wife, played by Diana Wynyard, repeatedly up, then down with surprising dramatic intensity, in his relentless plan to drive her mad. In the Hollywood remake, I can never quite believe that Bergman's overdone beauty is even physically suited to the role of a victimized, Victorian female, in fact, she seems like she could knock Boyer out, at any time. Not surprisingly, the British version clearly portrays the Victorian social of dominance of men, and in particular, husbands who could have their spouses involuntarily committed to an asylum, simply by summoning a doctor. The painful reality of female status and vulnerability in Victorian England was also sensationally portrayed in the plots of novels like "Jane Eyre" by Bronte, "The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins, "Lady Audley's Secret" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, (all of which I highly recommend). Someday, I hope the 1940 British version of "Gaslight" with Walbrook will be restored or remastered to the best optical and sound quality possible. It simply deserves to be enjoyed, appreciated and treasured, despite MGM's best efforts to have it suppressed, forever. At $4.99 it's a steal!

I love the Bergman/Boyer Classic, and having seen a very badly chopped up copy of this version, dismissed it as being a lousy film because of that. Having seen the full version at last, all I can say is this is every bit as good, and without the unneeded and unrealistic romantic hero. As someone who divorced a gaslighting husband, I can honestly say a new man in her life was the last thing Bella would have wanted (or trusted). Really, both versions are well worth seeing.

shows its age in that the woman is soooo docile, so malleable. so easy to convince she is crazy. and the guy is not even particularly good at it. but it is an enjoyable watch all the same, makes you hate the perp and feel bad for the woman. the plot development that involves a nosy neighbor is a little hard to believe, but that is part of enjoying it.

This, the original version of the classic 'Gaslight' is, by a considerable degree, the best version of the film. Originally made in England in 1940, it is a chilling tale of manipulation and coercive control, but like many of the best British films of the era, is laced throughout with dark humour that the American film makers never quite mastered. The story goes that the makers of the Ingrid Bergman Hollywood version wanted every print of the original destroyed, so as not to incur critical comparisons, but director Thorold Dickinson had kept a copy back, and it is from that that this version is made.Quite simply, it is a masterpiece; Anton Walbrook makes for a suitably cold and menacing lead, whilst Diana Wynyard as his oppressed, but ultimately vindicated wife projects vulnerability and uncertainty. These roles are contrasted by the would-be 'detective, Frank Pettingell, and his assistant, a young Jimmy Handley, very engaging. Apparently, this version is vry close to the Patrick Hamilton stage play, and it must have made rivetting theatre, if the film is anything to go by. This BFI version is beautifully restored, and the cinematography is beautiful. The Music Hall scenes are entertaining, too! FIne film, well worthy of your investigation.

I first saw this film when I was in my teens in the '60's. I didn't see the Boyer/Bergman version until a few years later; that version proved the principle that remakes are very seldom anywhere near as good as the original. Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard may not be as big names as Boyer and Bergman, but their performances, and Dickinson's direction, are as near faultless as makes no difference. There is an ambiguity and brooding menace here that makes the film at certain points (even now when I know how it ends and I'm more than old enough to know better) very difficult to watch - which is the whole point of the exercise. It's really not a good idea to try to suppress the work of a rival in the way Hollywood tried to suppress this film - it demonstrates to everyone that you know your version isn't nearly as good. This is a real treat - it keeps me in suspense right to the end, and leaves me with questions that drive me back to watch it again.

So good that Hollywood tried to eradicate it when it was remade four years later. Thank goodness that director Thorold Dickinson managed to keep a print intact and this superb film lives on. Dickinson had a particular flair for unsettling, gothic inspired studies of madness. In Gaslight, an outwardly loving and caring husband (Anton Walbrook, visually stunning and artistically magnificent) is slowly, subtly trying to drive his wife (Diana Wynyard) insane. Is he who he says he is, why is he intent on destroying his wife's mind, and which of them is truly insane at the end? Gaslight is wonderfully atmospheric and keeps the suspense taut until the final scene. Unmissable for any fan of vintage cinema.

This review is for the BFI BLU RAY and DVD Dual format release. I watched the BLU RAY and what an excellent transfer it is. Superb crystal clear B/W 4,3 ratio with good sound (tho I did detect a very slight hiss for a couple of minutes around 75 mins in.) Optional English subtitles are good. Extras include several shorts (none of which I have yet seen). I don't remember seeing this original version and I am so pleased to have this opportunity to see a classic in all it's glory. Of course the film is pure melodrama of almost Victorian intensity, but viewed with that in mind it still works perfectly. I can't recomend the film to everyone of course, but to those who are curious and/or lovers of good British vintage cinema then this is for you!

This original 1940 Thorold Dickinson version of Gaslight is without doubt much stronger than the 1944 MGM remake that won an Oscar for Bergman. Eschewing the Hollywood glamourous approach, this film has a truly oppressive atmosphere and Dickinson paces it with a Hitchcockian instinct for suspense.Anton Walbrook simmers with sociopathic menace, while Diana Wynyard gives a brilliant performance, teetering precariously just on the edge of mental collapse.A masterclass in the art of successfully translating theatre for the screen, it is unconscionable that MGM attempted to eradicate the film from the archives in favour of their version. Huge thanks go to whoever secreted a print in the vaults, and kudos to BFI for this beautiful restoration for DVD and Blu-ray.