That was an excellent one.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Bergman and Quinn are ill cast and way too young as the leads but the insurmountable problem is the castration of Durrenmatt's finale - in which the good but greedy citizens of Gullen take the money, strangle Schill and present Claire with his corpse, which she carries off with her with much pomp and circumstance. I saw the Lunts play the leads (their theater farewell) when I was 17 and still remember the play, especially the ending, vividly. (I've seen Kander and Ebb's stab at a musical version, as well.) The play is a kind of dark parable or fairy tale about vengeance and the ways love can be perverted into something horrible. Claire has a line about her love growing gnarled and twisted like the roots of the trees in the forest where she made love to Schill as a girl. The film simply doesn't work. Perhaps in 1964 there was no way to get Durrenmatt's ending past what remained of the censors. Also the film looks pretty bad, obviously shot on the cheap in eastern Europe,and the only available DVD (in the US) is a pan-and-scan version of the original 2:35:1 B&W print.

This is a very "European" looking film, with many of the conventions of European film-making. At the beginning I was trying to figure why the film looked or sounded dubbed, even though the characters were all clearly speaking the lines in English. Turns out, as I read elsewhere, that in many European films, the dialogue is overdubbed AFTER the scenes are shot, which was the case here and would explain this. The sound seems detached from what the acoustics of the setting would be. At any rate, it's a great story with a great premise and great acting. Ingrid Bergmann is absolutely mesmerizing here, and Quinn does his usual wonderful work. There are some artificialities in this story of a wronged woman who returns to her natal town to wreak revenge, but on the whole the story is gripping, as we watch the town, driven by greed, slowly turn on one of its own. The black and white photography is perfect for the story. The final scene is a completely surprising plot twist, and powerful in its fateful implications for the town. "The Visit" is a rarity on TV; catch it if you can.

"The Visit" (1964) the main characters were teen lovers Karla Zachanassian (Ingrid Bergman) & Serge Miller (Anthony Quinn). It's set in a foreign city made up of mean-spirited citizens. 17 year old Karla is taken advantage off by Serge & ends up pregnant. Her parents are deceased & there is no one for her to turn to. Serge will not take responsibility for his actions & bribes others to lie about her. Since Karla was well-hated the people chased her out of town & into prostitution. Her baby was taken from her & dies young.As the film moves on we begin to observe the cruelty that Karla & the citizens carry to gain the goodies she offers & 2,000,000 in cash to help the town & hasten Serge's death. At first the town's leaders fight the idea. Later all they can see is the cash...the prosperity to hold in their hands. This movie will truly open your eyes on the Bible saying where your riches are there will your heart be also...SO, who wins here? You've got to catch it on TCM when you can. IMHO giving it 9 stars out of 10 is perfect.

My recent acquisitions of Casablanca and Tivo have me watching a lot of old Ingrid Bergman movies, not to mention Bogie, and I just ran across one that should've been a classic yet I'd never heard of. It did get a minor Oscar nomination, but I thought both the story and Ingrid were superb.The Visit came out in 1964, late for a black and white film and perhaps that helped limit its success. I can see why that might've been done for artistic rather than economic reasons, though. It is a character study of two main characters (Ingrid's and an old flame played by Anthony Quinn, who also co-produced) and many lesser ones, and all of their lights and darks are perhaps magnified by watching in black and white.And it has my favorite of all plot devices, which it uses very well. I'd tell you what, but that might ruin it.I do recommend this one - and if you have Fox Movie Channel, it's on again next week (today being 7/9/05). Twice.