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MOVIES / ON DVD / DARK VICTORY
Dark Victory

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Dark Victory (1939)

82%
N/A
78%
N/A
N/A
N/A
82 %
Reviews Counted: 17 Fresh: 14  Rotten:3 Average Rating: 7.1/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Synopsis: Bette Davis soars in this superb, soapy starring vehicle, chauffeur-driven by director Edmund Goulding (THE GREAT LIE, GRAND HOTEL). A flighty, energetic socialite with a passion for champagne and country living, Judith (Davis) won't admit there's something wrong with her vision until... Bette Davis soars in this superb, soapy starring vehicle, chauffeur-driven by director Edmund Goulding (THE GREAT LIE, GRAND HOTEL). A flighty, energetic socialite with a passion for champagne and country living, Judith (Davis) won't admit there's something wrong with her vision until she almost dies in a horse jumping accident. When a handsome doctor (George Brent) examines her, he discovers a rare and incurable brain disease. They fall in love and get married, determined to make every last moment count, aware that she might pass on at any time. A batch of familiar faces helps make these last few months as happy as possible: Geraldine Fitzgerald, terrific as Judith's friend and secretary; Humphrey Bogart, sporting an occasional Irish brogue as a horse trainer; and Ronald Reagan, slurring up a storm as Judith's boozy pal. Although the men acquit themselves nicely, the film belongs to the women, and Davis and Fitzgerald are both first-rate in this typically tough and lovely Warner Brothers tear-jerker. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan

Director: Edmund Goulding
Producer: David Lewis
Screenwriter: Casey Robinson
Composer: Max Steiner

DVD Info

Release:

Jun 14, 2005

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case - Amaray
  • Full Frame - 1.33
  • Single Side - Dual Layer

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Mono - English
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - James Ursini - Film Historian
  • Featurette - 1939: TOUGH COMPETITION FOR DARK VICTORY
  • Trailer - Theatrical Trailer

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image
C

A classic women's pic that strings together a collection of syrupy clichés that can make a real man double up in pain.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/09/08
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
A-

Guilty pleasure: One of Warner's best acted melodramas and Bette Davis's all-time favorite, in which she lives hard but dies in dignity as an heiress gone blind. Also Davis revenge as Tallulah Bankhead failed to bring the role to life in the 1934 play.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/30/07
Emanuel Levy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
1/4

It's horribly dated, playing today like some weird, contrived burlesque of common sense.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/21/06
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/07/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/4

Even by the standards of a typical Bette Davis melodrama Dark Victory is an embarrassment of riches.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/28/05
Keith Uhlich
Slant Magazine
Ratings Image
2.5/5

What happens when a three-hankie picture just isn’t that sad? You get Dark Victory.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/01/05
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
01/03/05
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
Ratings Image
B+

Of interest to both Goulding and Davis fans...Dark Victory catches both of them operating at their best while also learning new tricks from each other.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/12/04
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/02/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ratings Image
74/100

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
03/16/04
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/23/03
Brandon Judell
PopcornQ
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Frank S. Nugent
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

A classic women's weeper with Bette Davis at her peak.

comment Comment
11/14/02
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
10/30/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image
4/5

Classic glossy soaper that still works.

comment Comment
07/30/02
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image
3/5

a soap opera, yes, but a pretty fine one

comment Comment
07/29/02
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
Ratings Image
5/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
02/27/01
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Ratings Image
N/A

Dark Victory (1939) is a sentimental, tragic and moving melodrama ("woman's picture") from Warner Bros. studios

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films
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