Underplayed Gems

The Astonished Heart (1950)

The Astonished Heart poster
Directed by
Terence Fisher
Genre
drama film
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
1h 25m
Rating
4.8 of 10 from 6 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A psychiatrist becomes obsessed with another woman, leading to turmoil in his marriage. The story focuses on the emotional unraveling of the characters as they confront betrayal and guilt.

dramaticintimatemelancholicmeasuredbittersweetintrospectivetalkyrestrained

What happens

The Astonished Heart is a 1950 British drama film directed by Terence Fisher and Antony Darnborough. Starring Celia Johnson, Noël Coward, and Margaret Leighton, the film is based on Coward's play The Astonished Heart from his cycle of ten plays, Tonight at 8.30. Inspired by the great success of the 1945 film Brief Encounter, which also had been adapted from Tonight at 8:30, Coward agreed to have The Astonished Heart produced as a motion picture. As with the previous film, Coward also wrote the screenplay. Production began in 1949 and featured not only Noël Coward in one of his rare film appearances, but also actor-singer Graham Payn in a supporting role. The Astonished Heart was released in 1950 to indifferent reviews and was a commercial failure. The title is taken from a passage in the Bible Deuteronomy 28:28: "The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart", referenced by the lead character. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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