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Bell, Book and Candle

Bell, Book and Candle

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $19.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sensitive
Review: Here is a movie that takes the Christmas season and brings a set of characters together for your entertainment and your thoughts toward the notion that anyone can fall in love. Set in New York it will bring you to a place that only those who are lovers will appreciate. The soundtrack speaks for itself. And music lovers also will want to obtain it if still available. There has been nothing close till "Sleepless In Seattle". Trust me , if you are in love with someone you'll hear what I have to say .

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not as good as Vertigo, but very pleasing...
Review: I bought the DVD. I saw the film when it was released many years ago. It's a fun film with a great cast. Jimmy Stewart is a charming in this as he was in Harvey, and Kim Novak is great. The best performance is given by Jack Lemmon -- brother warlock (seeing the fiendish look on his face as he plays the drums is worth the price of the DVD). Ernie Kovaks is his usual self--mildly funny. Several British actresss play witches (Hermione Gingold, Elsa Lancaster) and they are as droll as their modern counterparts Maggie Smith and Judy Dench.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: NOVAK'S CAT AND KIM'S FEET
Review: I cannot be objective with a movie starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon and Elsa Lanchester. Even if director Richard Quine's BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE is not a masterpiece, the movie is still a lot better than the 90 % of the actual production of Hollywood.

Kim Novak is perfect in the role of a sentimental witch longing for something different. The seduction's scene of James Stewart is already part of Movie History. Remember her eyes ?

The scene in the Zodiac night-club with an incredible performance of Jack Lemmon and the Ernie Kovacs show are also worth multiple viewings.

Too bad that the DVD is not at the level of the film. Images are grainy and colours mix dangerously. Columbia/Tristar can do a lot better.

A DVD for the nostalgic ones.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointing Jimmy Stewart Movie
Review: I dislike saying anything negative about a Jimmy Stewart movie, but...
This was one of the worst written, poorly edited, and badly acted movies I've seen in a long time. The story was choppy, incomplete and unbelievable (even for a movie about witches and warlocks!). It was so painful to watch that I stopped it less than 1/2 way through and came back to it the next day, hoping that a good night sleep would make it more palatable. It didn't.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GREAT FUN!!!
Review: I love this film! It is so much fun to watch! I love it because of the writing. It is all about witchcraft but you won't find a single dark, stormy night or overwrought special effects in the entire film...it all takes place in New York during the Christmas season and ends the following Spring!!! Favorite scene...Stewart, Gingold, a thimble, an old shawl, a bowl of "yuck" and an old bird...still makes me laugh and I've watched this scene at least 20 times!...and that Christmas Tree is just the wildest!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a cute comedy
Review: i thought it was a cute comedy about witches, spells, and relationships. Jimmy Stewart put on a fine performance in this film. I think everyone should watch it at least once.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Quirky Romantic Film
Review: If watching unpredictable films are your cup of tea, Bell, Book and Candle is the one to watch. The teaming of James Stewart and Kim Novak is excellent. The supporting roles from Elsie Manchester and Jack Lemmon bring a touch of comedy to the movie. And the sloppiness of Ernie Kovacs as the snooping author brings dimension to the story.

A scene at the Zodiac Club where Lemmon bangs on the bongos with his combo brought the atmosphere of the counterculture of the late 1950s in Greenwich Village. It was hilarious when the band blared their tune of "Stormy Weather" and speeded it up in front of James Stewart's character's fiance. You could feel the tension between Kim Novak and the woman since Novak's character was a witch, and was falling for Shep(Stewart) she got Nickie(Lemmon) to get the band to annoy Novak's rival. I thought this scene stood out.

Though some make think the movie is outdated, it is not at all. I loved the wintery street scenes of New York during Christmas time and the swurling colors of purple, pink,and green throughtout the film. The soundtrack was good too.

An excellent romance film, but also a film of relationships of characters from different worlds.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A quirky gem!!!...
Review: If you viewed the Hitchcock Masterpiece Vertigo, then you should wish to see the teaming again of the stunningly beautiful Novak and Stewart in this tale of witches in Manhattan. Stewart is the henpecked fiance of the socialite that used to be a college roomate of Novak. Now Stewart is Novak's tenant, who does not suspect he is surrounded by witches. The whole cast is perfection with a very young Jack Lemmon playing her younger witch brother.

Great fun!! A nice contrast to the heavy melodrama of Vertigo.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Quirky Romance At Its Best!!!
Review: If you want an old fashion love affair movie with great comedy this movie is for you. The chemistry between Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart is fantastic. Jack Lemmon is at the height of his comic game and Else Lancaster is always charming in the slightly ditzy comedic roles. Witchcraft and New York during the christmas season just seem to pull the whole story together. A movie you should not miss.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Last Romantic Days of Jimmy Stewart.
Review: In this charming comedy, Jimmy Stewart plays Sheperd Henderson, a somewhat stodgy book publisher and editor. Henderson becomes bewitched on Christmas Eve after he has telephone problems and uses the phone of his lovely downstairs neighbor, Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak). Henderson's life quickly changes after meeting Holroyd and his entire perspective is altered. But is it love or only magic?

Jack Lemmon has an interesting role as Gillian's quirky brother, Nicky. His timing in the role is perfect and he steals much of the show. Elsa Lanchester plays pesky Aunt Queenie and Ernie Kovacs makes a running cameo throughout the film as Sidney Redlitch, a writer who has become famous by authoring books about witches.

BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE is a quite enjoyable film. There isn't much substance, but the movie is written well. The film begins rather slow and mundane, but the pace rapidly quickens. Jimmy Stewart was in his 50's when the movie was made and other than the Broadway play it is based on, it's best known for being Stewart's last "leading romantic man" role and for supposedly being the inspiration for the "Bewitched" television show. Simplied, the movie is a usual romance between a muggle and a witch. However, the performances by Novak, Lemmon, Lanchester, Kovacs and the mere prescence of Stewart make the film a notch above the ordinary.


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