User reviews

As I watched the moral at the heart of "The Visit" revealed, I couldn't help thinking it was like a lavish version of an episode of "The Twilight Zone".

The blurb on the movie's poster could almost serve as Rod Serling's introduction:

"A woman... once framed and betrayed, then alone on the streets... now wealthy and worldly. Corrupting a town to buy the death of the man she loved. The man... once lover and betrayer... now haunted and hunted. The price on his life is high. And there are many bidders".

Well, sort of.

Mega-rich Karla Zachanassian (Ingrid Bergman), returns to the impoverished town of Guellen, which she left years earlier. She wants revenge on Serge Miller (Anthony Quinn) who forced her to leave pregnant, unwed and disgraced, She offers the townspeople a deal. She will take care of their financial woes in exchange for the execution of Serge. As the story proceeds, the inhabitants at first reluctant, find more and more reasons to go along with her request.

Like other reviewers, I was a little wary about the film at first. The town of Guellen is set in a fictional Eastern European country, and I find movies set in "Ruritania" dead boring. They usually have an overload of eccentric characters all working their accents overtime.

But "The Visit" got me in with Ingrid Bergman rasping out advice and commands as though she was channelling Bette Davis, while Anthony Quinn as Serge acquires insights into human nature through the moral corruption of his friends, fellow citizens and even Mathilda his wife. Nobody could do suffering and haunted like Anthony, see "Barabbas" and "The 25th Hour" for confirmation. Apparently William Holden wanted the role, but William Holden doing an accent? Quinn probably saved him from embarrassment.

The cast is a mix of international stars including Irina Demick, stunning as usual in her relatively short, 10-year movie career.

The movie feels felini-esque or even Bergman-esque, Ingmar that is. Nothing quite beats the marriage of light and shade in a well-made B/W film.

"The Visit" is a metaphor for the way even whole countries have been seduced into going against their better natures. "The Visit" has more than a little in common with Orwell's "Animal Farm". It's too interesting a film not to be seen at least once.

In the small town named Guellen, the Mayor, Council and residents are preparing to welcome the wealthy and powerful Karla Zachanassian (Ingrid Bergman) that left the hometown when she was seventeen years old and now is returning. Guellen and the inhabitants are completely broken since the mines and factory are closed and they hope Karla, who is one of the wealthiest persons in the world, would invest in the town. The owner of a small shop, Serge Miller (Anthony Quinn), who might be the next mayor, is invited to receive Karla since they had been sweethearts. When Karla arrives, the Mayor offers a dinner to her. In his speech, he recalls beautiful moments of Karla while living in Guellen. When he finishes, she tells that his speech is a lie and makes corrections. She tells that her school teacher was abusive with her; her father was an alcoholic and lazy worker; she lost her virginity with Serge and got pregnant; Serge paid two friends to defame her and she lost her daughter that died one year later; because of her record, she moved to Trieste to work in a whorehouse, where she met her husband. Now she offers a fortune (one million) to Guellen and another million to be shared by the residents provide they execute Serge. What will the population do?

"The Visit" is an unknown (only 990 votes in IMDb) masterpiece of revenge, with one of the most acid, ironical and cynical stories ever shown in a film. Ingrid Bergman performing an evil resented woman is a role totally unusual for this beautiful actress. The screenplay is excellent with an unexpected plot point with the revelation of the true intention of Karla. She explores the weak moral of a needy and greedy population. The conclusion is impressive. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Visita" ("The Visit")

Well, I haven't seen the play, but I enjoyed all the performances and plot of this disturbingly gripping and compelling film. Ingrid Bergman is riveting and enigmatic - does a great job with portraying a deeply hurt woman underneath a cold, stoney, vengeful exterior. My palms began to sweat and I felt like I was suffocating during the scene where Anthony Quinn's character tries to leave the town on the train...an excellent mob scene that develops slowly and builds, allowing you to feel Quinn's terror, helplessness and entrapment. Bergman is clearly the most stellar of the cast; her acting is bionic femme fatale and she looks phenomenal in her multi-millionaress outfits. Yes, there are some weaker spots, but I think if one over analyzes any movie one is able to find something worthy of criticism. Just sit back and enjoy "The Visit".

Too often, there are many films that are hidden away from the public even though they are really very well written and well acted movies. "The Visit" is one of these movies, unfortunately, not available on video or DVD. The story is of a poor young girl who leaves a mythical country in Europe (Bergman) only to return years later as the richest woman in the world! The way the movie opens is with a train going across the landscape which adds to the suspense because of the title of the film and the town in this mythical country is very anxious and glad that Karla is coming to visit them since they are poverty stricken. A rare gem, the story is solid and interesting--not like the critics said about it being choppy and hard to follow--and Ms. Bergman's costumes are an eyeful. Anthony Quinn is her leading man and together they both deliver more than fine performances, Ms. Bergman's being the strongest. If you ever see this film, you won't regret it. Put a tape in your VCR to record yourself a copy as "The Visit" is a haunting film with moral issues that are unusual for the time in which it is filmed. This is one you will want to see definitely more than once. You've never seen Ingrid Bergman like this before!!!

This is a very "European" looking film, with many of the conventions of European film-making. At the beginning I was trying to figure why the film looked or sounded dubbed, even though the characters were all clearly speaking the lines in English. Turns out, as I read elsewhere, that in many European films, the dialogue is overdubbed AFTER the scenes are shot, which was the case here and would explain this. The sound seems detached from what the acoustics of the setting would be. At any rate, it's a great story with a great premise and great acting. Ingrid Bergmann is absolutely mesmerizing here, and Quinn does his usual wonderful work. There are some artificialities in this story of a wronged woman who returns to her natal town to wreak revenge, but on the whole the story is gripping, as we watch the town, driven by greed, slowly turn on one of its own. The black and white photography is perfect for the story. The final scene is a completely surprising plot twist, and powerful in its fateful implications for the town. "The Visit" is a rarity on TV; catch it if you can.

This is one of my all time favorite films. It us the ultimate revenge fantasy. Bergman and Quinn give Oscar worthy performances.

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.

I cannot express how amazing this film was and I'm shocked it didn't grab any Oscars. Bergman is heart-wrenching as the psychologically tortured woman wronged as a teenager. Her performance is both realistic and touching as the bitter woman who's so desperate to find peace within herself she resorts to revenge, bribery, and murder. One of the most underrated films of all time, unfortunately, but it's up there in my top 5 list of the greatest films ever made. If you love Quinn or Bergman, a must-see. If you love an excellent flick, a must-see.

The premise is outrgeous. If this movie was made nowadays, noone would have taken it seriously unless it was something like a dark comedy. However, i don't watch old movies for their verisimilitude nor their realism (Many of them are not that realistic). I watch them for their charismatic actors. Because they are classy, beautiful, not cheap, because the creators respect their audience and many more reasons.

So, there are great acting performances here, there is Bergman and that by itself, is enough. Fortunately, these are not the only positives. Plot is totally unrealistic as i said but it's interesting too. Not for a second this became boring. It's intense and i was curious to see how it was gonna unfold, even if guessed the ending. It's highly likely that many of those who will watch it nowadatys, will guess exactly how it's gonna end. But still, it was a fun ride.

It's not a great movie and movie's remarks about human behavior are not that profound neither surprising. Yet, i enjoyed it.

I'm ashamed I've never seen this film till now. I've always known "of" it, as I've always known "of" the play, and "of" Friedrich Dürrenmatt's controversial take on "epic theater." So its allegorical aspects don't put me off at all. It's amazing to see how realistically and cinematically this play is filmed and acted.

Co-Produced by Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman, who co-star, this entire enterprise is a work of love and art: not commercial entertainment.

And what a payoff! The suspense, the emotional builds, are incredible. Yes, you can see the act breaks that were in the play. No matter. The film surges along seamlessly to the unexpected and shattering climax.

And the acting, from the entire cast, but especially Quinn and Bergman, is something to behold.

The conclusion cuts like a knife.

Watch it again and again for the layers in Bergman's performance. The transitions in her close-ups alone are astonishing.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt's original play is brought to the screen by Austrian-born director Bernhardt Wicki, whose most notable previous film was DIE BRUCKE (THE BRIDGE, 1959).

I did not feel comfortable with the notion of an "independent" town in the 20th Century. The town of (? Gallan) is not identified on the map, but it is supposedly within reach of Trieste, in Italy, to where then 17-year-old Karla Zachanassian (an Armenian surname) flees in shame and with her reputation tarnished after being made pregnant by Serge (Anthony Quinn), who found two male witnesses to claim that they had slept with Karla (Bergman) so that paternity could not be established.

Interesting parallel with Bergman's personal life: in 1946, she watched the Italian neorealist film, PAISÁ, directed by Roberto Rossellini, and promptly left for Italy to shoot STROMBOLI under Rosselini. She also fell under his amorous spell, and pregnant, and puritanical Hollywood ostracized her for 10 years for her morally questionable conduct, until she made a glorious comeback with an Oscar for ANASTASIA in 1957. The whole incident, including the shunning of the great actress that Bergman was, reeked of cinema industry and social hypocrisy.

I think Bergman found points of personal contact with the story of Karla, and an opportunity for a veiled attack on the morals driven by the Hays Code and even HUAC communist witch hunt.

Going back to the screenplay, pregnant Karla flees to Trieste where she earns her living as a prostitute. That Bergman was one of the most beautiful actresses ever to grace the silver screen is common knowledge, but even beautiful prostitutes seldom get to be wealthy. In Karla's case, she amasses such a fortune that she buys the "independent" town of (? Gallan) - sounds like Rome, Venice, Florence, other city states that would eventually become Italy - and kills its industries in order to reduce the population to such dire poverty that its officials have no option but accept her money offer of 2 million (currency not specified).

She sets one condition, though: Serge (Quinn) must be tried for the harm he did to her good name, for the child born out of wedlock who subsequently died, and the punishment must be death. The town officials first reject her harsh demands but then money talks louder than any social and moral values.

To me, that harsh demand removed credibility from the film. Sequences of Quinn, his family and shop under fire in the dark, and his attempt to flee Gallan on a train only to be blocked off by the town's entire male population, all because he had made Karla pregnant and defamed her, seems too over the top.

Karla eventually gets the quickly put together kangaroo court of town elders to meet her wishes, only to tell them that that is not enough, she actually seeks revenge on the whole town for allowing those tragedies to be visited on her.

Bergman certainly displays chilling venom and vindictiveness. She powers into town in a top luxury limousine, complete with a compartment for her "panther" (actually a cheetah), and starts dictating terms.

Serge hardly rates better. After making her pregnant, rejecting her, paternity of the fetus, plus defaming her, he can only rate contemptible, but at least he faces town and trial. He does more than that: he gets into Karla's quarters and they still love each other, despite all the contrariness of the situation. Well, another nail in the credibility coffin.

I found the acting of a superior standard, especially from Bergman, Quinn and Stoppa. Though competent, cinematography comes across as rather plain, and the editing unmemorable.

The script could and should have been better. In the end, I felt nothing for any of the town's citizens. Karla often addresses Serge as "panther", and when she commands the town's armed men to "shoot the panther between the eyes" I thought she meant Quinn, but it turned out to be the cheetah - and that is the sole creature I ultimately felt sorry for as Serge's wife riddled it with bullets. For the human being to prevail, the rest of creation suffers.

In the end, I felt that I had seen a delicious-looking cake hollowed out by its improbability. 6/10.

Bergman and Quinn are ill cast and way too young as the leads but the insurmountable problem is the castration of Durrenmatt's finale - in which the good but greedy citizens of Gullen take the money, strangle Schill and present Claire with his corpse, which she carries off with her with much pomp and circumstance. I saw the Lunts play the leads (their theater farewell) when I was 17 and still remember the play, especially the ending, vividly. (I've seen Kander and Ebb's stab at a musical version, as well.) The play is a kind of dark parable or fairy tale about vengeance and the ways love can be perverted into something horrible. Claire has a line about her love growing gnarled and twisted like the roots of the trees in the forest where she made love to Schill as a girl. The film simply doesn't work. Perhaps in 1964 there was no way to get Durrenmatt's ending past what remained of the censors. Also the film looks pretty bad, obviously shot on the cheap in eastern Europe,and the only available DVD (in the US) is a pan-and-scan version of the original 2:35:1 B&W print.

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.

I saw this movie years ago and was slowly fascinated by the allure of the plot. I remember thinking when viewing it for the first ten or fifteen minutes that it would be a boring movie. Far from it for as I kept watching I found it to be very entertaining and as one of the most revealing stories about the character of people under stress that I have ever seen. Anthony Quinn was absolutely believable as Serge Miller and the supporting cast was outstanding. I have been looking for a video or DVD version of the movie, since it is aired so infrequently. For me there are two kinds of movies I enjoy, those that I watch once and those I can watch over and over again. This one fits the latter category.

Even though the movie itself wasn't that successful and some critics even stated that it was one of the greatest film-flops in the history of Hollywood and Ingrid Bergman's career, I can just say: Non-sense!!

Of course, it IS a challenge to see Ingrid, the lovely Ilsa Lund from Casablanca or funny Anna Kalman from Indiscreet, in the part of the revengeful BAD Lady but oh, what a GREAT challenge!! It is a pleasure to watch her unused cynical and sarcastic behaviour. Even though she starred Carla Zachanassian differently than the book-character, she does an awesome job. It's a pity that she didn't play more such "bad" parts, which she can realize just perfectly!!

A must-have for people who just think of Ingrid Bergman being GOOD from head to foot ;) ...

Having caused international outcry for her "immoral" behavior with director Roberto Rossellini in 1950, Ingrid Bergman returned to Hollywood in 1956 with "Anastasia" and got her revenge with a Best Actress Oscar. One can't help recalling Bergman's true-life travails with this adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play "Der Besuch der alten Dame" (The Visit of the Old Lady) in which a multi-millionairess returns to her dirt-poor hometown in the European city of Güllen and offers the citizens money and material goods in exchange for the execution of her former lover, who got her pregnant as a young girl before shunning her and smearing her name. Themes of greed and revenge are not intricately woven into the narrative--they are slammed home by director Bernhard Wicki, who uses extreme close-ups of the grinning, grotesque residents to make his points on capitalism and corruption. Bergman, glitzy and glinty-eyed in her quest for twisted justice, twitches with angry anticipation in a series of glorious gowns, wigs and jewels (and eyeglasses!). She's fun to watch, for awhile--as is Anthony Quinn as the man she wants killed--but the picture is so heavy-handed it begins to resemble its protagonist: decadent and poisonous. **1/2 from ****

Comeuppance is a tasty dish when it comes calling for those that have it coming and we get to watch. This movie delivers it up and you get your fill. Who doesn't like to see justice done? Wrongs righted? What money can buy? What it can't buy? As we are experiencing this and more, our emotions get on a roller coaster starting with a slow introduction that catches you off guard so that it can sneak in the hook that will capture you but good soon enough. It does! From that point on, the wonderous dynamic that I enjoy asking when watching a quality film or reading a book of adventure kicks in: What would you have done? Why? That too is presented for your pleasure and there is plenty to consider from all points of view. An added dynamic is the fact that the injured party is a woman who suffers indignities, shame, humiliation, degradation and more only to not only live through it all but emerge as a sort of champion. Now it can be argued in the opposite way but that is what life is all about i.e. sometimes you have to choose a side. In the Count of Monte Cristo, a similar injustice takes place and a very neat full circle of closure comes about. I say bravo and say this too: Be careful with people and how you treat them not just for the obvious reasons but to remember we all got to where we are with the help of others...lots of others. As for pain and sorrow, inflict not on anyone for life does that without asking. Help people where you can if you can but hurt no one as you journey or else you may get A VISIT.....

The Visit (1964) : Brief Review -

Money vs. Justice/Injustice in an intellectual way! An international co-production between American, French, West German, and Italian companies, The Visit is a small film with a big intellectual message about human races. You can relate to it because you might have seen it happening somewhere around you, and maybe you have forgotten it. Just like the village people in this movie, they have forgotten their wrongdoings for two decades. All it takes for them to break the rules of humanity is money. I have seen many Hollywood movies using the money conflict in crime dramas, film noirs, social dramas, political thrillers, etc. But The Visit displayed a new feature of the same conflict-using it against humans to fight humans. Karla Zachanassian, a wealthy woman, returns to the decaying village where she grew up. She had been run out of town twenty years prior when, at 17 years old, she was impregnated by local shopkeeper Serge Miller. At his trial, Serge denied paternity and bribed two local men to testify that they had slept with Karla, destroying her credibility and ensuring he would not be found liable. She offers 2 million for the death of Serge, leaving the villagers fighting one of their own for a better future. The entire village vs. Serge drama looks interesting, but then comes a solid climax, which makes Karla the only winner in this fight and all the villagers losers for life. It serves as a fantastic intellectual twist to the revenge theory. Throughout the film, you, as a viewer, can't really decide which side to choose. Karla, because she has suffered, or Serger, who has done a great injustice to a 17-year-old girl. The film uses money as a powerful weapon, which wasn't justified in my opinion. However, it fits the bill for a revenge theory because you know Serge and the villagers were guilty and deserved to be punished. Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn's performances are unmissible, and Bernhard Wicki's direction is superb. Don't miss this small film with a big subject.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

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.

If you've never seen an Ingrid Bergman movie, do not start with The Visit. I'm not going to tell you the plot, but I will give you that warning. Rent Casablanca or Gaslight or Saratoga Trunk-just don't rent The Visit.

So, since I'm not going to tell you the plot, what can I say to recommend this tense, exciting drama? In the opening credits, Ingrid Bergman's entourage is credited: Wardrobe designed by Rene Hubert, Executed by Nina Ricci, Makeup by John O'Gorman, Hair by Giorgio of Rome, Furs by Maurice Kotler, and Jewels by Bulgari. If that seems excessive, it's only because you haven't seen the movie yet. Ingrid is breathtakingly beautiful, more beautiful than in any other movie. Her exquisite costumes, furs, hats, and jewels fit right in with her character; she even has a pet cheetah! Not only does she command attention by her physical appearance, her performance in The Visit is perhaps the best of her career, rivaled only by my sentimental favorite, Gaslight.

Anthony Quinn is the male lead in the film-both Tony and Ingrid were co-producers of the film-and while it's impossible to take attention away from Ingrid in this movie, his performance is also very good. Ingrid is such a larger-than-life woman that often she overshadows her leading men. Tony can not only stand up against her energy, but he has an abundance of his own to give. Fans of unsettling films like A Farewell to Fools will find a new favorite in this stylized classic. It will leave you wanting more, and it will drain you. And, in the day and age of the feminist resurgence, it could easily be remade with any number of Hollywood icons vying for the lead.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, since there's an upsetting scene involving an animal, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

A now-fantastically-wealthy widow (Ingrid Bergman) returns to the impoverished town she was cast out of as a teenage girl to get revenge on the lover who got her pregnant and then abandoned her.

This unusual and little-seen revenge tale feels more like a nightmarish allegory in the same vein as High Noon, The Trial or High Plains Drifter than other English-language films of the time, with the whole town slowly turning against Anthony Quinn as the promise of riches eats away the morality and social fabric of his community.

A little far-fetched and heavy-handed, it doesn't entirely work but it's powerful and memorable all the same, and definitely worth a watch. Interesting to see Bergman as a villain for a change, and Quinn is particularly good as the everyman paying a terrible price for a youthful mistake.

6.8 / 10.