Revisiting All Rebecca's Manderleys 1979-2020

Rebecca has been brought to the screen 4 times since 1979 and each version has given viewers different takes on the iconic house MANDERLAY. While each adaptation should be taken on its own merit, it is hard not to comparison them to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier.
In the past forty years we've gotten to revisit Rebecca's Manderley in 2 British television miniseries, an Italian mash up and a 2020 Netflix feature film remake starring Lily James as Mrs. De Winter and Armie Hammer as Maxim and all of these offer different visions of the same iconic house.
So let's go back to Manderley and visit all those versions.
Check out my previous video on Hithcock and making Manderley here:
• Hitchcock & Selznick: ...
If you're interested in the films and books mentioned in this video I've listed where you can find them in the links below.
If you buy something through my links I may get a small share of the sale. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Rebecca (1940) DVD: amzn.to/36ybI1g
Blu-Ray: amzn.to/3EwJj87
Rebecca (1997) DVD: amzn.to/3Etu8gd
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (Paperback): amzn.to/3uXoShr
Alfred Hitchcock. The Complete Films (Hardback): amzn.to/3vymbCk
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Пікірлер: 39

  • @mrgeeization
    @mrgeeization6 ай бұрын

    Emilia Fox is Joanna David’s daughter. An overlooked interesting fact.

  • @bdarci
    @bdarciАй бұрын

    The 1979 version is my favorite, but I have to admit that Manderley was short shrifted in that production. Manderley would have certainly had a ballroom, and forced their guests to dance in what looks to be a small entrance hall.

  • @terpsichoreDNA
    @terpsichoreDNAАй бұрын

    Thank you for this thoughtful analysis! For me the best version will always be the 1940 one. Judith Anderson's Mrs. Danvers has never been surpassed. I so agree about the bedroom. The "loveliest room in the house" was the 1940's room. When Mrs. Danvers opens the drapes it's absolutely dazzling. Sparkling with feminine opulence and unabashed decadence, just like Rebecca. I also feel that the casting was the best. I love Joan Fontaine and Lawrence Olivier is stunning as de Winter. The good thing about the 1979 version for me is that it is 3 1/2 hours long and therefore includes much more dialogue from the book and I do like Jeremy Brett as Max. But I would watch any version any time. I just love the story. Daphne du Maurier was a genius.

  • @clairenoon4070

    @clairenoon4070

    2 күн бұрын

    Completely disagree. The 'house' in that film was utterly wrong. All vulgarly American. And this narrator thinking 'glamour' is what it should be doesn't have a clue about the English country house, and what du Maurier was doing.

  • @DMovieman
    @DMovieman2 жыл бұрын

    I never knew there were so many adaptations, besides the 1940 and 2020 versions. I love how you broke them down, especially with the bedroom as a focal point. Great job! 👌👌👌

  • @CinemaCities1978

    @CinemaCities1978

    2 жыл бұрын

    There are a lot of adaptations but I think I'm most intrigued by the Italian version. I would love to find a subtitled version because I wasn't able to watch the entire miniseries.

  • @MaryOliver-pq9ji
    @MaryOliver-pq9jiАй бұрын

    As a huge fan of Jeremy Brett, I have to cast my vote for the 1979 remake. But there was nothing wrong with the Hitchcock version either.

  • @MoreMovies4u
    @MoreMovies4u2 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant follow up CC! Totally agree with your points on Rebecca (2020). I was astonished to hear there was a Jeremy Brett version! He was great as Sherlock Holmes, playing the character for a great number of years on TV over here. The Italian version looks interesting too! Thanks very much, once again I am elevated and educated by your excellent content.

  • @CinemaCities1978

    @CinemaCities1978

    2 жыл бұрын

    Jeremy Brett makes a pretty good Maxim. But, yeah, I kept thinking of Sherlock Holmes (his Holmes mysteries aired over here too) as I watched his Maxim. As much as I dislike the 2020 version, I have to give credit where credit is due and their Manderley was spectacular . .

  • @MoreMovies4u

    @MoreMovies4u

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@CinemaCities1978 Yeah I agree! Ah, thanks. Great to know you guys got 80s/90s Jeremy Brett Holmes too! Now that was television. 👍

  • @ferociousgumby
    @ferociousgumby9 ай бұрын

    May I say, your choice of music is brilliant. Hardly anyone knows how to do this. Generally I hate any music at all, but in your videos it's always a perfect fit, enhances the storytelling and never overpowers or clashes with the narration. The music at the end is so glorious I went back and listened to it three times.

  • @CinemaCities1978

    @CinemaCities1978

    9 ай бұрын

    Thank you so much for recognizing the music. I spend a lot of time (perhaps even too much time) selecting the music for these videos because I want it to enhance the feeling and mood of what you're watching. In fact, I had to go back and watch this video again because I had no idea which music I had used. You're absolutely right; that one was quite nice!

  • @ferociousgumby

    @ferociousgumby

    9 ай бұрын

    @@CinemaCities1978 Beautiful. I look forward to all your videos, but I particularly loved the in-depth look at John Garfield. And I would LOVE a "special" on the brilliant film Humoresque with Joan Crawford, in which she's far more vulnerable than her usual screen self. Oscar Levant was in it as Garfield's sidekick. No one else did what Levant did for a picture - an eccentric character actor and an astounding pianist, whom I think deserves another look. Without him, An American in Paris would have fallen flat.

  • @jonhinson5701

    @jonhinson5701

    6 ай бұрын

    I will have to purchase the 1940 version. I do like Judith Anderson ( Laura, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,) . I bought the version with Diana Rigg. I have always loved anything she did and I have had a platonic crush on her since the Avengers . Mrs Peel was like a female James Bond minus the promiscuity.

  • @valeriea.larsson1687

    @valeriea.larsson1687

    Ай бұрын

    If you want to hear great music that fits the movie perfectly & contributes to leaving the viewer w/ chills, watch "Tomorrow is forever".

  • @Kjt853
    @Kjt8538 ай бұрын

    You are correct. When the 1979 TV version was first televised, Daphne Du Maurier claimed she thought it superior to the 1940 Hitchcock version. (Off topic, I know, but I’ve long believed that Hitchcock would have done better with “The Birds” had he retained Du Maurier’s actual story, filmed it in b&w, and used it on his TV series when it went to 60 minutes sometime in the early ‘60s.)

  • @CinemaCities1978

    @CinemaCities1978

    8 ай бұрын

    Du Maurier hated Hitchcock's version of Jamaica Inn for the same reason, he sort of just tossed to novel aside and did his own thing.

  • @Gertyutz

    @Gertyutz

    5 ай бұрын

    @@CinemaCities1978 I've seen only the 1940. Did any version keep the original ending in which Maxim had actually killed Rebecca?

  • @Gertyutz

    @Gertyutz

    5 ай бұрын

    @@CinemaCities1978 The one done in the '80's with Jane Seymour was faithful to the book.

  • @BoBo-ti6jh
    @BoBo-ti6jh Жыл бұрын

    Your videos are great. Enjoy them very much. You forgot to mention that Faye Dunaway played the role of Mrs. Van Hopper in the 1997 version. She was the best thing in it.

  • @glw2088
    @glw20882 жыл бұрын

    I have really enjoyed these Rebecca videos. Wonderful!!!

  • @CinemaCities1978

    @CinemaCities1978

    2 жыл бұрын

    I’m really happy to hear that! Thanks for watching and subscribing!!!

  • @RK-fx4sv
    @RK-fx4sv Жыл бұрын

    The one with Emilia Fox and Charles Dance is great. Can you do an analysis of White Mischief?

  • @psnaris
    @psnaris Жыл бұрын

    And Emilia Fox is Joanna David's daughter.

  • @maureentuohy8672
    @maureentuohy8672 Жыл бұрын

    Jeremy Brett was just a brilliant actor! He was a wonderful. By the way…Anna Massey was Brett’s x-wife. Interesting!

  • @lindsaycaress450
    @lindsaycaress450Ай бұрын

    Mrs Danvers's narrow attitude towards Mr De Winter. annoyed me as it was his ancestral home, not Rebeccas. She was the bride who entered the house and not the only one who added to the splendour on Manderley. Manderley was cherished by many generations of the DE Winter clan. Mrs Danvers s could only lay claim to Rebecca's very little influence also she was not a loyal bride to her husband.

  • @drordror3
    @drordror32 жыл бұрын

    Epic research and a great video!!

  • @CinemaCities1978

    @CinemaCities1978

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

  • @Mandibil
    @Mandibil11 ай бұрын

    I will only ever watch Hitchcock's version

  • @valeriea.larsson1687
    @valeriea.larsson1687Ай бұрын

    Nothing, no one, can top Hitchcock as director, Orson Wells & Joan Fontaine. Why, today isn't there anybody who can do his own thing rather than copy great msterpieces? The attempt always meets with failure. fontain

  • @PillayAllRounders
    @PillayAllRounders2 жыл бұрын

    Hi from South African vloggers 🇿🇦 😀 ❤️ 🌍 ...

  • @CinemaCities1978

    @CinemaCities1978

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hello 😊South African Vloggers!

  • @Dparish24
    @Dparish24 Жыл бұрын

    I prefer the 1997 adaptation, I know I'm in the minority. Emilia Fox is almost who I imagined in my head when I read the book. I thought the interiors look amazing and rich in detail. I wish they had a slightly better cinematographer to film and light it better, but I understand limitation for a miniseries in the 90's. I didn't mind sort of seeing Rebecca, as we get to see it from Maxim's point of view and it's a biased and bitter memory of her, very femme fatale.

  • @kimberlypatton205
    @kimberlypatton2059 ай бұрын

    There’s no one like Orson or Joan Fontaine! Gayle Sondergaard is the quintessential Mrs. Danvers.. none can compare to her portrayal.. she scared me!

  • @Kjt853

    @Kjt853

    8 ай бұрын

    I’m confused. In the Hitchcock 1940 version, Maxim was played by Laurence Olivier, not Orson Welles, and Judith Anderson played Mrs. Danvers. (Interesting you should mention Sondergaard, however. Sometime in the early ‘40s, Abbott and Costello made a movie, the title of which I’ve forgotten, in which Sondergaard plays a housekeeper. Toward the beginning of the movie, one of the female characters says to her, “Didn’t I see you in ‘Rebecca’?”)

  • @ggaworowski
    @ggaworowski Жыл бұрын

    I loved the Netflix version!

  • @CinemaCities1978

    @CinemaCities1978

    Жыл бұрын

    I think they did a wonderful job in giving the house a strong personality. Also, the production design was beautiful.

  • @TheFiown
    @TheFiownАй бұрын

    I watched the 1940's one twenty times, read the book many times but the 2020 version was a total disaster WHY make it ?

  • @lorihogue5015
    @lorihogue50155 ай бұрын

    Hitchcock's 1940 version of Rebecca was hands down the best. I'd place the Charles Dance version in second place with Lily James version in third. Would've score higher but I absolutely DETEST Armie Hammer ... ewwwww!