Rebecca

The BBC are still refusing to release this superior production of 'Rebecca' officially, but I have finally been able to view a copy, many years after first hearing about it.

So, does it match up to all the discussion and speculation? Close to the book, and well-cast (Jeremy Brett as Maxim, Joanna David - whose daughter Emilia Fox appeared in another Rebecca twenty years later - as the second Mrs De Winter, Anna Massey - the former Mrs Brett - as Mrs Danvers, and Julian Holloway as Jack Favell), it certainly does not disappoint. In four episodes it involves the viewer while making a good stab at translating a complicated book to the screen.

Not broodingly Gothic like Hitchcock's version with Olivier, or convoluted like the Emilia Fox/Charles Dance version, the 1970s Rebecca stands up well against a selection of other period dramas made at the same time by the BBC. Certainly it seems unfair that it is suppressed from view in the UK - the US has had TV repeats, although no video or DVD.

This film contains three superb performances, and it really is a shame that it is not available on video.

Anna Massey, Jeremy Brett, and Joanna David are a wonderful team of actors who bring a great deal of depth to their roles. David has the most difficult job; her character is so self effacing we never even know her name. She is meek without seeming stupid, and perfectly captures the body language of a very young girl.

Anna Massey is a terrifying Mrs. Danvers and is never more sinister than when she is smiling. She did 'everything' for her late mistress, and we get the impression that she was in fact in love with the title character. Massey's original take on this character has influenced all subsequent portrayals. She also resembles an Edward Gorey drawing in her bleak black costume.

Jeremy Brett is all burning eyes and barely-suppressed rage as Max. The character gradually progresses from a vaguely sinister, sardonic figure to a hunted man who finally appreciates his second wife's devotion. This is a fine portrayal by a wonderful actor and it is an excellent complement to his similarly superb portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.

This film has the usual high production values of a British adaptation, and has the sense to use the music of Claude Debussy on the soundtrack instead of some dated 'horror music' that often mars Seventies films.

All supporting cast members are excellent. My criticism is that the show is a trifle long; the Manderley ball and the visit to Max's grandmother do not really need to be portrayed at this length. The ending is, if anything, even more ambiguous than the ending of the novel It would be a wonderful thing to have this title back in print.

I remember seeing this on the TV when it first came out as a teenager and have never forgotten it. However as I have got older I remember it as a film and not a series, either way it was brilliant and Joanna David was the perfect casting as the young Mrs De Winter and Anna Massey is perfect as the housekeeper - Mrs Danvers - I remember her being very scary! The house it was filmed at was amazing and really set the scene for this fantastic programme. I only wish it was available on video or DVD as I would love to see it again. Throughly recommend it to anyone.

I saw the very last part of this 4-part miniseries 12 years ago on PBS. It was so fascinating I rushed out and bought the book. (And read it until the covers fell off, and because of it years later won a "Who was Rebecca?" essay contest and a trip to England.) For the next two years I besieged PBS with requests to re-run it, in 1996 they finally did. I savored each moment of it, and taped it of course. I still have the tapes, but wish it was on DVD.

Jeremy Brett -- later to become forever identified as Sherlock Holmes -- was the perfect Maxim de Winter. After hearing his story of Rebecca, you could finally understand why he married the Second Mrs. de Winter, shy, tongue-tied, and klutzy. She possessed the innocence he desperately needed. Anna Massey was a very creepy, scary Mrs. Danvers. In real-life, Jeremy Brett and Anna Massey were briefly married in their youth. It throws a new slant on the Danvers-de Winter relationship, doesn't it? And Joanna David goes from a girl afraid of her shadow to a woman who can take whatever is dished out to her by the end of the series. Excellent performances.

I've seen the Hitchcock version -- Maxim was too much a caricature of rude aristocracy, and because of the Hayes Commission certain elements of the story were drastically changed, with ill effect. I've also seen the recent Charles Dance version; interestingly the girl playing the second Mrs. de Winter in that one is the daughter of Joanna David, and she isn't bad, but Dance is nobody's notion of Maxim, and for completely gratuitous reasons they changed the story. Du Maurier's work is perfection itself and nobody should ever change it. The Brett-David-Massey version comes closest to the book, is beautifully photographed and hauntingly scored, with Debussy's "Reverie" and other classical and impressionist music played throughout. This is the one that needs to be on DVD...preferably a "collector's edition," with lots of special features.

I remember watching this in serial form on public television with my wife and then 10 year old son. We were mesmerized by it. While the Hitchcock version is terrific, we all wish we could obtain a video of this TV version. Diana Riggs' version was a disappointment...perhaps because we kept comparing it with the Hitchcock version and with our memory of this version.