The Astonished Heart

The Astonished Heart (DVD) (*)

~~$20.99~~ $17.98

Language Selections:
English ( Mono )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
85 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1950 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Noel Coward

Written By:
Antony Darnborough
Terence Fisher

Actors:
Celia Johnson ..... Barbara Faber
Noel Coward ..... Dr. Christian Faber
Margaret Leighton ..... Leonora Vail
Joyce Carey ..... Susan Birch
Graham Payn ..... Tim Verney
Amy Veness ..... Alice Smith
Ralph Michael ..... Philip Lucas
Michael Hordern ..... Ernest
Patricia Glyn ..... Helen
Alan Webb ..... Sir Reginald
Everley Gregg ..... Miss Harper
John Salew ..... Mr. Bowman
Gerald Anderson ..... Waiter
John Warren ..... Barman

Synopsis:

Starring Noel Coward and Celia Johnson, this classic film is finally released on DVD for your collection. This film was released in 1950 during the years of post war austerity when the cinema going public were clamouring for glamour. The main setting for the film is a Park Lane flat/office. White telephones, quilted headboards, furs, fresh flowers and cocktails are all in evidence. Adapted by Noel Coward from his own play and written with superb British precision The Astonished Heart is a tale of an adulterous love triangle. Coward creates an intriguing yet compassionate and sympathetic tale of marriage and infidelity fuelled by sexual obsession and human weakness. Dr Christian Faber (Noel Coward) has been happily married to his wife Barbara (Celia Johnson) for 12 years. Into their lives comes Leonora (Margaret Leighton) who when forced together during a period of Barbara s absence embarks on an affair with Christian. Barbara discovers the affair and as each person tries to avoid causing pain to the other two, all fail.

With his previous collaborator David Lean busy on other own projects, Noel Coward had to rely on director Terence Fisher to bring his The Astonished Heart to the screen. Fisher and his stars--Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton, and Coward himself--vividly convey the playwright's brittle, sophisticated view of the world. Coward stars as Christian Faber, a psychiatrist who falls in love with the much-younger Leonora Vail (Leighton). This means that Faber must convince himself that his blissful 10-year marriage to wife Barbara (Johnson) is truly at an end. Once he's made this compromise with his conscience, Faber further deteriorates into petulant jealousy when Leonora begins roaming. The surprise ending is all the more surprising because the audience is pulling for Faber (despite his emotional immaturity) and is hoping that he'll pull himself out of his self-imposed mess. In addition to writing and starring in The Astonished Heart, Noel Coward also composed the musical score.

Noel Coward writes and stars in this adaptation of his 1935 stage play, originally written as part of the ten-part cycle 'Tonight at 8:30'. Middle-aged psychiatrist Dr Christian Faber (Coward) is happily married to Barbara (Celia Johnson), but when he is introduced to her childhood friend Leonora (Margaret Leighton) sparks fly and the two begin a passionate affair that ends in tragedy.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 08 March, 2011.

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