DVD Review: Hitchcock’s Under Capricorn (1949)

Alfred Hitchcock is frequently praised for his use of long takes in “Rope” (1948), but the very next year he employed the same filmmaking style for “Under Capricorn,” which is one of the master director’s most neglected and misunderstood films. As a result, the Kino Lorber blu ray release is most welcome.

“Under Capricorn” is an offbeat item for Hitchcock, even moreso than his comical “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (1941) had been. This is not a suspense drama, it is a rather more conventional love triangle set during colonial Australia. Based on Helen Simpson’s novel Michael Wilding stars as Sir Charles Adare, who enters into a business deal with ex-con Sam Flusky (Joseph Cotton). Sam’s wife, Henrietta (Ingrid Bergman), was a childhood sweetheart of Sir Charles, but has succumbed to alcoholism and bizarre behavior. What transpires from this point further defines the characters and challenges their ways and mores.

Considered a failure, including by Hitchcock himself, “Under Capricorn” is actually an impressively shot, visually stimulating film, with an intriguing narrative structure buoyed by magnificent camera work. The performances are committed and effective, enhancing the novel adaption significantly. And while Hitchcock’s vision may not be typical, it is no less impressive, as he approaches this far different material with methods more conducive to its genre.

Hitchcock recalled in an interview with Francois Truffaut, that “Under Capricorn” was such of a box office flop, the financers took possession of the film and it was out of circulation until its first TV appearance on American television in 1968. While much of its failure was due to audiences going in expecting a suspense drama in the inimitable Hitchcock style, another factor was the casting of Ingrid Bergman at a time when her affair with Roberto Rossellini was headline news. The public would not be forgiving toward her for some time.

Unfortunately, due to these factors, “Under Capricorn” has been unfairly overlooked. Now, away from distracting controversies and misunderstandings, it can be approached more open mindedly as an effective tangential venture for one of the cinema’s most important directors. Cahiers du Cinema championed it as among Hitchcock’s finest films

Kino Lorber’s blu ray includes audio from the Hitchock-Truffaut interview, a discussion by Claude Charbrol, and the always welcome commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger, which is typically insightful and interesting.

“Under Capricorn” certainly deserves greater notoriety among Hitchock’s filmography, as it stands on its own as something different that exhibits another layer to the master filmmaker’s talents.

The blu ray is available here.