SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Good idea lost in the noise

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

If only for watching INGRID BERGMAN play up her dark side, THE VISIT makes an interesting film to watch, given the fact that it tends to move too slowly toward the moralistic conclusion.ANTHONY QUINN is the anti-hero, a man Ingrid wants to destroy for ruining her life years ago when she was a young woman. The back story makes her motives seem plausible but still, there's an unreal quality about the whole story that nothing can dispel which may be attributed to either the script or the direction. Nevertheless, it's an interesting parable of greed and evil.Quinn is the shop keeper in a dying town who thinks Bergman will reward the town with a gift of money--a huge amount since, by her own admission, she "owns the world." Little does he, or the viewer, know what her real intentions are as the film very gradually makes us understand the purpose of her visit.Bergman plays the role with a hardening of her features but is still regally costumed and given an elegant hairdo. The townspeople all think she is about to award them a great sum of money and are led to believe so by Quinn who is under the false impression. The intrigue is nicely sustained and your enjoyment of the film will depend on whether you are hooked into the story at this point."Let us go from gracious lies to brutal truth," she announces to a room full of admirers. Bergman's two million offer is made after she reveals why she wishes Quinn to be put to death. But it is at this point in the story where reality fades and we realize we're watching a parable about the good and evil in men. She gives the town time to make up its mind.Bergman and Quinn are both excellent, each giving a variety of nuances to their roles.Summing up: Sets up an unusual, intriguing premise but fails to deliver on it. Worth watching for Bergman's performance.

After twenty years, an old resident (Ingrid Bergman) of a small European town is returning. However, in the meantime, she married one of the richest men in the world and after his death, she is immensely wealthy. The town, in effect, is sucking up to her in the hopes that she'll give them money--especially since their economy is in ruins.However, when she returns, she has a very strange proposal--she will give the town $1,000,000 and another $1,000,000 to be divided up among the people if they kill a man! Twenty years ago, Anthony Quinn, had gotten her pregnant and then denied paternity--even going so far as bribing some friends to lie and say she was a whore. As a result, she was driven out of town and into a life of prostitution. In effect, the entire town and Quinn had conspired to ruin her life.What makes this film so fascinating is its look at human nature. Slowly watching Quinn's "good friends" turn on him was fascinating. However, the most fascinating part occurred when Bergman had truckloads of products shipped into town and extended credit to everyone in order to push them towards a city-sanctioned murder. The most delicious scene was seeing Quinn's own wife lining up to buy this merchandise!! The film really excels at social commentary, as it pulls few punches. People in this film are almost universally scum. In addition, Bergman puts on one of her best performances--at times looking like a spider as she watches Quinn suffer.The only negatives were that towards the end, there was a very brief scene between Quinn and Bergman by the lake that just didn't ring true, plus the film seemed to go on a bit too long--lessening its overall impact. But, if you ignore these things (and I certainly could), this is an amazing and cold view of the worst aspects of human nature. A delicious drama that is creative and very hard-hitting.

I really don't want to write a full technical review of the Movie. Suffice it to say it was a stunning and gripping tale. It is a real shame this is not available commercially. Anyone with more information about who owns the rights to this film or it's current where abouts please let us know via additional posts I guess. It's a must see....Bergman is compelling in her seamless performance. The film has an absurdist/existential feel to it almost like an extended high comedy with a taste of twilight zone. It has kind gestalt impact like Blue Angel and Children of Paradise.

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.