La vendetta della signora

This is one of my all time favorite films. It us the ultimate revenge fantasy. Bergman and Quinn give Oscar worthy performances.

My recent acquisitions of Casablanca and Tivo have me watching a lot of old Ingrid Bergman movies, not to mention Bogie, and I just ran across one that should've been a classic yet I'd never heard of. It did get a minor Oscar nomination, but I thought both the story and Ingrid were superb.

The Visit came out in 1964, late for a black and white film and perhaps that helped limit its success. I can see why that might've been done for artistic rather than economic reasons, though. It is a character study of two main characters (Ingrid's and an old flame played by Anthony Quinn, who also co-produced) and many lesser ones, and all of their lights and darks are perhaps magnified by watching in black and white.

And it has my favorite of all plot devices, which it uses very well. I'd tell you what, but that might ruin it.

I do recommend this one - and if you have Fox Movie Channel, it's on again next week (today being 7/9/05). Twice.

I saw this movie years ago and was slowly fascinated by the allure of the plot. I remember thinking when viewing it for the first ten or fifteen minutes that it would be a boring movie. Far from it for as I kept watching I found it to be very entertaining and as one of the most revealing stories about the character of people under stress that I have ever seen. Anthony Quinn was absolutely believable as Serge Miller and the supporting cast was outstanding. I have been looking for a video or DVD version of the movie, since it is aired so infrequently. For me there are two kinds of movies I enjoy, those that I watch once and those I can watch over and over again. This one fits the latter category.

I cannot express how amazing this film was and I'm shocked it didn't grab any Oscars. Bergman is heart-wrenching as the psychologically tortured woman wronged as a teenager. Her performance is both realistic and touching as the bitter woman who's so desperate to find peace within herself she resorts to revenge, bribery, and murder. One of the most underrated films of all time, unfortunately, but it's up there in my top 5 list of the greatest films ever made. If you love Quinn or Bergman, a must-see. If you love an excellent flick, a must-see.

I'm ashamed I've never seen this film till now. I've always known "of" it, as I've always known "of" the play, and "of" Friedrich Dürrenmatt's controversial take on "epic theater." So its allegorical aspects don't put me off at all. It's amazing to see how realistically and cinematically this play is filmed and acted.

Co-Produced by Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman, who co-star, this entire enterprise is a work of love and art: not commercial entertainment.

And what a payoff! The suspense, the emotional builds, are incredible. Yes, you can see the act breaks that were in the play. No matter. The film surges along seamlessly to the unexpected and shattering climax.

And the acting, from the entire cast, but especially Quinn and Bergman, is something to behold.

The conclusion cuts like a knife.

Watch it again and again for the layers in Bergman's performance. The transitions in her close-ups alone are astonishing.