Spellbound

Spellbound (1945) starring Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst (Bergman) falls in love with a patient (Peck) who suffers from amnesia and a guilt complex. Although the mental analysis seems a little crude by today's standards, this is still a pretty good psychological thriller in the Hitchcock tradition. Refreshingly, Peck was a year younger than Bergman when this film was made -- as opposed to so many films which pair an aging actor romantically with a young starlet. This is really Ingrid Bergman's film, and she is excellent in it. The disc offers both English subtitles and closed captions. Grade: B+

The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense (1999) starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Olivia Williams, Toni Collette. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Spoiler alert -- Do not read this review if you haven't seen the movie. This is Shyamalan's famous first movie, in which young Cole (Osment) sees dead people. Willis stars as a child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe who is shot early in the film by an ex-patient. Afterward he starts appearing to Cole, not realizing that he, Malcolm, is dead. I've seen this movie several times, and it always pulls me in by the end. Willis is good, but young Osment steals the show. He is preternaturally convincing in the role of a boy who sees dead people, and is terrified by the experience. He was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. The film has a series of climaxes, each more intense than the one before, until finally the big "twist" is revealed -- and it's a doozy. The DVD includes subtitles for the hearing impaired, as well as closed captions. Grade: A

Shock Corridor

Shock Corridor (1963) starring Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans, James Best. Newspaper reporter (Breck) gets admitted to a mental hospital with hopes of solving a murder, winning Pulitzer prize. The script is ridiculous, the acting is terrible, and this disc has no subtitles for the hearing-impaired and no closed captions. Grade: F

Repulsion (DVD)

Repulsion (1965) starring Catherine Deneuve. Directed by Roman Polanski. Young Frenchwoman named Carol (Deneuve), living in England, slips into madness -- one of Polanski's favorite themes. I saw this movie in 1965, and found it puzzling. Now I find it merely interesting -- not shocking, as I recalled. When you understand that Polanski's theme is insanity, everything makes sense, and yet of course no sense at all. Deneuve is quite beautiful, and plays disturbed convincingly. Grade: B