Intermezzo (American remake)
by Gregory Ratoff
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Product details
Actor: Cecil Kellaway, Edna Best, Ingrid Bergman, John Halliday, Leslie HowardDirector: Gregory Ratoff
Producer: Leslie Howard
Cinematographer: Gregg Toland
Cinematographer: Harry Stradling Sr.
Producer: David O. Selznick
Writer: George O'Neil
Writer: Gustaf Molander
Writer: G?sta Stevens
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, NTSC, Original recording reissued
Running Time: 70 minutes
Release Date: 1999-03-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Starz / Anchor Bay
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
VHS Movie Reviews of Intermezzo (American remake)
Movie Review: "I have been an intermezzo in his life."
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie is a remake of a Swedish film which introduced Ingrid Bergman to American audiences. Selznick Studios liked her so much, they brought her to Hollywood to make Intermezzo in English. The story is about a middle aged musician (Leslie Howard) who falls in love with his daughter's piano teacher (Bergman). He leaves his wife to be with her and the two share happy but fleeting moments together in France. There are times when the story becomes overly dramatic, but what it lacks in believability it makes up for in visual opulence.
Not only does Intermezzo benefit from a beautiful cast and beautiful music, director Gregory Ratoff does an excellent job of making each frame look artistic. Both of the stars are give many gorgeous close-ups and their beauty helps the love story seem believable. The two just glow when they are with each other.
Movie Review: An "Intermezzo" of Romance
Summary: 5 Stars
This film packs a wallop of romance! Starring Leslie Howard (Gone With the Wind) and Ingrid Bergman(Casablanca). Howard plays a sensitive violinist who falls in love with Ingrid Bergman- the only problem is that he is married and she is his daughter's music teacher. Despite these "complications," there love of music and each other prevail. His wife never really undertsood him and despite her desperately wanting to bridge the gap between them, there is a part of him that he could never really share. He found his soul's refuge in Bergman's arms and leaves his wife and two small children to be with her. Bergman undertsood him completely because, in many ways, they were two sides of the same coin with same outlook on life, love, and music. They tour the country together and end up living in Europe as lovers.
Dilemma arises when Bergman is offered a prestigous scholarship to further her musical study and Howard's divorce papers arrive from his wife. Are they willing to cast all else aside in order to be together? Is Howard ready to sever ties with his family and is Bergman going to give up the chance of a lifetime?
The film is a romantic journey through the perils and pitfalls of loving the wrong people. Sometimes love comes in as an "intermezzo" to reality, but whether or not it endures is hardly the point. The point is that it happened- and you remember.
Movie Review: Small-Scale Love Story Offers Fresh-Faced Bergman in Her American Debut
Summary: 4 Stars
The familiar David O. Selznick gloss is all over this minor 1939 soap opera, most noteworthy as the American film debut of 24-year old Ingrid Bergman. She was brought over from Sweden by Selznick for this melodramatic remake of the 1936 film which brought her great acclaim in her homeland. Her fresh-faced beauty and natural manner are intoxicating as she plays Anita Hoffman, first a piano teacher to the young daughter of renowned violinist Holger Brandt and then his accompanist on a world tour. It's a brief movie, only seventy minutes long, directed by Gregory Ratoff (more famous as the ulcer-ridden producer Max in "All About Eve") focusing on the illicit affair that develops between Anita and Holger.
Much of the story has to do with the guilt they both experience in terms of the familial repercussions, and the ending reflects as much. A role away from his Ashley Wilkes in "Gone With the Wind", obviously the more important Selznick movie in production a the time, Leslie Howard plays Holger in his familiar erudite manner. Veteran character actor Cecil Kellaway (later the monsignor in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner") plays the sage maestro who acts as the film's conscience. Scenes often seem strangely truncated to move the story briskly along. Beyond Bergman, the most accomplished aspects of the film are Gregg Toland's lush cinematography, Lyle Wheeler's art direction (making Monterey, California look very much like the Italian Riviera) and Max Steiner's romantic music (oddly uncredited). But the impossibly striking Bergman is the primary reason to see this predictably developed film. The 2004 DVD offers no extras.
Movie Review: 7 Reasons Why Intermezzo Works
Summary: 5 Stars
I normally don't gravitate toward melodramas or 'soaps' nor would I approve, frankly, of a film that centers around adultery. However, this film has such much going for it that I wound up loving this movie the first time I saw it, and still do six viewings later.
Off the cuff, here are seven reasons why:
1) There IS a good message here: that a married person having a fling with a pretty young woman might be an exciting prospect but in the end, "you reap what you sow" and if either of the two parties has a conscience, the illicit romance will be doomed, especially if there are kids involved.
2 ) For male viewers, Ingrid Bergman, making her English-speaking debut, is a real feast for the eyes. She was one of the more naturally gorgeous women to grace the silver screen, I think.
3) Gregg Toland's photography. To fully appreciate his work, get the DVD for this film. Toland was one of the best cinematograthers ever, and this is a beautifully shot piece of work.
4) At 70 minutes, the film flies by, which also makes it easier to watch and enjoy multiple times.
5) Leslie Howard and John Halliday also were excellent in here as the two male leads. I thought Halliday, in particular, had some great words of wisdom.
6) For those who appreciate how difficult it is to forgive people, this ending contained another nice message.
7) Classical music lovers will very much appreciate the soundtrack to this film.
Movie Review: Straightforward, but nicely crafted romantic drama
Summary: 3 Stars
Leslie Howard and Ingrid Bergman (in her Hollywood debut) acquit themselves well in this pre-Brief Encounter slice of romance and adultery. The other thing that really lifts this production above the run-of-the-mill is Gregg Toland's Oscar-nominated photography and lighting.
I also enjoyed one or two of the supporting cast, in particular Cecil Kellaway. His humourous dialogue with the young Ann Todd at the birthday party is charmingly delivered.
Summary of Intermezzo (American remake)
Ingrid Bergman made her radiant Hollywood debut in this David O. Selznick-produced remake of a 1936 Swedish film, in which she played the same role, a gifted piano teacher. Leslie Howard costars as the brilliant violinist whose world tours often take him from the flow of life within his own family. Married to a fine woman (Edna Best) and blessed with two wonderful children, Howard's character only begins to realize that so much is passing by him when he falls for his concert pianist (Bergman). During a Riviera holiday, the two illicit lovers bask in passion while privately agonizing over the collapse of their separate destinies. Can two people find happiness built on the unhappiness of others? That's the question asked by the sage friend (Cecil Kellaway) whom they both share. In the same year Selznick cast Howard in Gone with the Wind, the sophisticated actor did a fine, sympathetic job penetrating the lost and tormented heart of his character in Intermezzo. But it is Bergman--the very picture of spring and a magnificent avatar of the perpetual conflict between mind and heart--who ultimately gives this film its soul. The Selznick machine, with its top-drawer production values and the dreamy gloss of its human stories, makes this film a more poignant experience than the average weepie. --Tom KeoghGeneral Video
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