Rebecca is a book written in the 20's by Daphne Du Maurier. It tells the story of a young lady who in a twist of fate meets the arrogant and dashing Mr. De Winter who appears to like her with no evident reason. The two start a friendship. The young girl falls in love with him and is very upset when she realizes she must leave him soon. But Mr. De WIter is not as cold as he seems and proposes to her. She agrees to marry him and they go to live in Manderley, his huge mansion.
Life in Manderley may seem perfect but for the second Mrs. De WInter it's harder than it seems. She feels haunted by Mr. De Winter's first wife who was perceived as the perfect wife: beautiful, pleasant, smart and sophisticated - Rebecca.
This book may be considered a master piece but for me it's just a dull and unrealistic portrait of the suffering of one person that seems to be too much for one person alone to bear. The story goes on and on about how she's suffering, he's suffering, they're all suffering!!
Despite all of this, I liked the movie because it is directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock. You may not like his creepy style ut you've got to admit: he's good. Th story that is dull in a book actually translates well into film. A beautiful example of cinematography is the party scene where Joan Fontaine appears in a beautiful white dress. Speaking of which, Joan Fontaine delivers an intense performance as does Laurence Olivier but not as goos as good as this movie's big star - Judith Anderson, portraying the insane Mrs. Danvers with such class and crazyness that the viewer itself is afraid of her.
Book: 5/10
Movie:8/10