The first issue of the night appreciation movie, watch "Butterfly Dream" with everyone
Butterfly Dream Poster
Butterfly Dream was the 1941 Oscar for Best Picture and the first film made after suspense master Hitchcock moved to the United States. Although it is a black-and-white film, it is still regarded as a classic decades later.
Hitchcock photo
The story begins
On the cliff by the sea, a man stands fixedly, looking like a suicide, and is stopped by xiaofang, the heroine who paints here, but finds that it is a misunderstanding.
Heroine Joan Fontaine
Xiaofang is a rich wife's escort, simple personality, the two met many times in the hotel, went out for a ride, and gradually developed feelings. It turned out that this man was named Derwent, a rich man, there was a large manor named Mandeline, there was a wife named Rebecca, it was rumored that she was gentle and virtuous, clever and smart, but unfortunately died in a shipwreck at sea.
Falling in love, the two quickly held a wedding ceremony and spent their honeymoon abroad, and Xiaofang became Mrs. Derwent. Back at the manor, there was a large number of servants, and an expressionless housekeeper, Mrs. Danfoss. There are many rules in the manor, and Xiao Fang, who is from a poor background, is very uncomfortable and has caused some trouble.
Although rebecca, the former Lady of De winter, is dead, she has her breath in the manor. Mrs. Danfoss has an almost obsessive worship of Rebecca, so she hates and frames Xiaofang, never calling her Lady. She constantly hinted that Xiaofang would never be as good as Rebecca, making her mentally tense. And Xiaofang has also become fragile and sensitive under the guidance of step by step, and there is also a gap between husband and wife.
At a masquerade ball, Xiaofang wants to please Bodwinter, and is deceived by Mrs. Danfoss to make the costume on a portrait of a noble lady in the manor, but it is Rebecca's portrait, and Derwent is furious. Xiaofang ran back to the room crying, and Mrs. Danfoss kept encouraging her to jump out of the window in her ear. In the eerie atmosphere, XiaoFang gradually collapsed.
Mrs. Danfoss instigated Xiaofang
At this time, fireworks suddenly fired from the seashore, a boat hit the reef, and the people went down in a row of divers, and found Rebecca's boat below, and found Rebecca's body inside. Xiaofang rushed over to look for Derwent, and under questioning, Derwent told the truth.
Stills from Butterfly Dream
The plot has developed to this point, let's take a break. The image of the people in the play began to change significantly, the story changed from a love thriller to a crime suspense, and the truth was revealed step by step (I don't want to be spoiled to see the original film).
It turns out that the "Rebecca" in the family cemetery is actually a nameless female corpse that was casually washed up on the coast, and De winter knows about this but lied and buried her as Rebecca. The outside world thinks that they are deeply in love with each other, but the male protagonist hates her. Through Devint's recollections, Rebecca's image changes from an elegant and capable good woman at the beginning to a slut. She secretly messed with her cousin, and Derwent wanted to divorce him, but she forced him to make an agreement, and for the sake of family reputation, Dewinter had to accept that she fooled the outside world and built the manor into a lively and lively place, which was actually lost.
Still
Rebecca's behavior became more and more excessive, and Derwent couldn't bear it, arguing with her, during which Rebecca was tripped and hit on the head and died. The male protagonist believes that the outside world will not believe his innocence, and can only pretend that Rebecca died after encountering a storm after going to sea.
At the end of the plot, when the police investigate the matter, Rebecca's cousin is suspected by the police of being the murderer for his arrogant behavior. Through the testimony of the doctor rebecca had seen, the police investigated and found that Rebecca was terminally ill, so she thought she was suicidal and closed the case.
Manor entrance
At the end of the story, De Winter returns to the manor, and as he approaches it, he finds that the house has been set on fire by Mrs. Danfoss, and Xiaofang escapes, while Mrs. Danfoss is buried in the fire with the morbid worship of Rebecca and the manor in despair.
(It is worth mentioning that the manor in the movie was built at a cost of millions of dollars, and it was burned to the ground in one fire, which was not a small stroke in the year.) ）
The most brilliant thing about the film is that Rebecca has never appeared in the whole film but is everywhere, and her image has also been portrayed in three points, which is what Hitchcock is best at: planting the seeds of suspense and promoting the plot with something that does not appear.
Editor's Conclusion
"Butterfly Dream" is one of Hitchcock's masterpieces, and the editor here recommends that you watch this film in person, and in the quiet of the night, to experience the master's grasp of the plot and atmosphere. At this point in the story, I hope that the audience can write down their understanding and ideas after watching the movie and discuss it with you.
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