The Next Reel Film Podcast Spellbound • The Next Reel
"It’s like looking into a mirror and seeing nothing but the mirror."
Alfred Hitchcock had been working in Hollywood for a while by the time he made Spellbound, but it was only the second project he made with David O. Selznick under his three-picture contract. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a struggle for the two men as they both tend to be a bit stubborn in wanting things their way. In the case of this film, it was Selznick’s own interest in psychoanalysis that led him to wanting to make it, but even that became a sticking point with Hitch. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our own analysis of Ingrid Bergman’s films with a conversation about Hitchcock’s 1945 film Spellbound.
We talk about the nature of psychotherapy then and why this film is hard to take too seriously because of its depictions. We look at what Bergman and Gregory Peck as our two leads bring to the table. We chat about the dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí and why it’s only two minutes instead of twenty. And we discuss the nature of the love story and why it makes this film a bit more difficult to buy into.
It’s an interesting film but one that we struggle with. We still enjoy it enough, though, and it allows for a great conversation. So check it out then tune in! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins.
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