Jezebel [VHS]

Jezebel [VHS]
by William Wyler

Jezebel [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Bette Davis, Donald Crisp, George Brent, Henry Fonda, Margaret Lindsay
Director: William Wyler
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Writer: Abem Finkel
Writer: Clements Ripley
Writer: John Huston
Writer: Louis F. Edelman
Writer: Owen Davis
Writer: Robert Buckner
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC, Original recording reissued
Running Time: 103 minutes
Release Date: 2000-09-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video

VHS Movie Reviews of Jezebel [VHS]

Movie Review: "I'll love her most when she's meanest, because I know that's when she's lovin' most"
Summary: 5 Stars

Jezebel is one of Bette Davis' best known films--and for a good reason! Davis turns out an incredible performance as Julie Marsden, a haughty, stubborn, selfish and rather spoiled young woman from a wealthy Southern family who takes her fianc? for granted and enjoys manipulating people. Indeed, Bette Davis acted so well that she won a Best Actress Oscar for this performance. While in some ways the film is a vehicle for Davis, we also get great acting from a very special cast. Henry Fonda plays Preston Dillard, Julie's love interest, flawlessly and George Brent does a superb job of playing Buck Cantrell, a man about town who is also a friend of the Dillard family and Julie's family. Look also for a wonderful performance by Fay Bainter who plays Julie's Aunt Belle; she won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The cinematography is excellent and of course the choreography shines particularly bright in the ballroom scene when Julie and Preston Dillard are dancing.

When the movie starts, we meet several principle characters. There's Julie, who thinks nothing of convention or being polite just so long as she gets her own way. Julie bursts in very late on a party in her honor in their New Orleans home wearing horseback riding clothes when all the other ladies are appropriately dressed for an evening party. Julie also makes a royal mess of things when she insists that her fianc? Preston Dillard accompany her to the Olympus Ball--where she deliberately offends people, bucking tradition and convention, by wearing a bright red dress instead of a white dress which is essentially the dress code for ladies at the ball. Eventually, Preston becomes so infuriated that he calls off his engagement to Julie; and Julie is crushed.

At the same time, we also meet the men of the old South who lived lives steeped in "death before dishonor." Insults were often resolved by duels and men had to "defend" their women who were perceived as "fragile." There are also the slaves who work for the Marsden family: we meet "Uncle Cato" (Lew Payton) and Theresa Harris does justice to the role of Zette. There's even a scene or two with Bette Davis and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson; Eddie plays a slave who goes by "Gros Bat."

The plot thickens when several things occur. After a year up North, Preston returns to New Orleans--with his new wife, Amy (Margaret Lindsay). Needless to say, this irks Julie to no end. There are dinnertime quarrels over abolitionism; and widespread panic ensues when the usually fatal yellow fever grips the city.

Of course, things can still go anywhere from here. Will Julie be able to force Preston to choose yet again between herself and Amy? What happens when Buck Cantrell and Ted Dillard (Richard Cromwell), two good friends, have an intense fight that is egged on by Julie? Will anyone of them catch yellow fever; and what might happen after that? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch and find out!

The DVD comes with the original theatrical trailer and a few other extras. How I wish there was a commentary or interview footage with some of the cast! However, the movie is so special that I can almost ignore this disappointment.

Jezebel remains one of the best films of the entire twentieth century; this is a "must-have" DVD for Bette Davis fans everywhere. Of course, people who love classic movies in general will also want to add this to their collections.

Movie Review: love old movies
Summary: 4 Stars

I love all old movies, I have been teaching school for the last 39 years, I am the oldest of my school but the youngest in spirit, energy

My favorite moments are the time spent watching all my old movies.

I am trying to get as many as I can, I do have quite a collection, of new old, drama, comedies, musicals, westerns, etc

There are still some movies that I can't get yet because they haven't been realised yet. But I am still hoping. Exanple The Blue Veil with Jane Wyman a 1951 movie.
A Certain Smile, with Joan Fontaine, ( in this movie Johnny Mattis sings a Certain Smile. I could mention so many that I would like to have.
Thanks Ellen Doucet Perreault

Movie Review: Must See
Summary: 5 Stars

If you loved Gone with the Wind, you will love this Bette Davis classic! Henry Fonda was wonderful as well. This is one of my top 10 movies.

Movie Review: Takes my breath away every time...
Summary: 5 Stars

Bette Davis is a goddess, or at least she was. We all know this and if you are not yet acquainted with her prestige line of film performances then I urge you to load up your Netflix queue this very instant. That said, `Jezebel' sports not only one of her finest (Oscar winning) performances but it also serves to be one of the greatest films she every lent her talent to. It was Warner Brothers answer to `Gone with the Wind' (or should I say their answer to Davis' longing for the role of Scarlett O'Hara) and to be completely honest I actually tend to feel that `Jezebel' is the better film.

Please, don't hate me.

The film takes play in the early 1850's in a Louisiana town where a young, headstrong woman shakes up the locals and brings dire consequences on those she loves dearest. Young Julie is a very strong-willed woman who tends to allow her pride to get in the way of her better judgment. Engaged to Preston Dillard, a young and successful businessman, Julie finds herself under the watchful eye of everyone around her, including her aunt Belle. When her independent nature finally pushes Preston out of her life she vows to change her ways and win him back, but when he finally returns to town with a new bride on his arm Julie may have to think of a more clever (albeit dastardly) way of winning him back.

The events that unfold within this tragic yet beautiful story are at times shattering, but the script is so elegantly written and that acting is so powerful that one is not allowed to fully crumble. We are carried along with the ups and downs of the characters but never allowed to crash as they meet their fates.

In other words; as devastating as the outcomes may be, this film is far from a downer.

Bette Davis delivers a knockout performance as Julie (our `Jezebel'), capturing her characters innocent selfishness; her desire to be the center of attention and command her mans love and admiration even if it means bucking his authority. She is a force, a dynamic star burning bright on each and every frame. Henry Fonda is also well used here, delivering a strong performance as Preston, the man torn by his love of a woman and his pride as a man. Both George Brent and Fay Banter are remarkable in their supporting roles as the two people in Julie's life who truly look out for her. As her aunt Belle, Banter is splendidly maternal, and as Buck, the man smitten with Julie in ways she'll never understand, Brent is memorable and charming.

`Jezebel' may not carry the epic scope that a film like `Gone with the Wind' carries, but as a human character study or a deep-seated film filled with genuine emotional impact I feel that `Jezebel' reaches that goal with greater results. Truth be told, I have not personally seen `Gone with the Wind' in quite a long time (mostly because my initial response to the film was less than I expected) but I have seen `Jezebel' numerous times, and each time is better than the last.

Movie Review: Good choice
Summary: 5 Stars

I buy this dvd in Amazon, because in Brasil is not avaiable. It's ok and the dvd is great. No damages and fast delivery.
two thumbs up.

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Summary of Jezebel [VHS]

Bette Davis didn't get to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, but she did get to play a troublesome Southern belle in William Wyler's 1938 Jezebel. Davis's character, a coquette fond of stirring up rivalries among the men, goes too far and loses her fianc? (Henry Fonda), but she finds atonement when she cares for him during illness. This handsome melodrama by Wyler (who later directed Davis in The Little Foxes) is fully absorbing (John Huston contributed to the script), and Davis's carefully constructed performance does make one draw instant comparisons with Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind. The DVD release has the theatrical trailer, closed captioning, optional Spanish soundtrack, and optional subtitles in English, Spanish, and French. --Tom Keogh

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