$39.95
FREE Returns
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 22
Or fastest delivery Tuesday, May 21. Order within 10 hrs 50 mins
In Stock
$$39.95 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$39.95
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Letter From an Unknown Woman (Olive Signature)

Joan Fontaine (Actor), Louis Jourdan (Actor), Max Opuls (Director), Rated:
NR
Format: Blu-ray
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 189 ratings
$39.95
FREE Returns
Additional Blu-ray options Edition Discs
Price
New from Used from
Blu-ray
December 5, 2017 		—
1
$39.95
$39.95 —
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$39.95","priceAmount":39.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"39","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"AWmciiTsqcogDb0koZuKuQ9SSdvpBPziGcuAHJLoaVHqfgzb92lLsPuTCNS6h858XKiRz0ixrY3jRIlYsVpIOuI%2F%2BlceSsNU6DXf7bElscHTKMRxdUGBgRlK%2BwRT9bXgkYiCD8blCsVXYDXN0iTuHA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Genre Drama
Format Blu-ray
Contributor Diane Lee Stewart, Diane Stewart, Otto Waldis, Howard Freeman, Watson Downs, Sam Gilmore, Vera Stokes, Arthur Lovejoy, Jack George, Rex Lease, Cy Stevens, Betty Blythe, Mady Christians, John Good, Manuel Paris, Al Eben, Pietro Sosso, Gordon Clark, Marcel Journet, Sven-Hugo Borg, Norbert Schiller, Edna Holland, Paul Rochin, Harry Anderson, Mauritz Hugo, Louis Austin, Louis Jourdan, Bruce Riley, George Blagoi, Lisa Golm, Tom Costello, Jack Gargan, Leo Mostovoy, John Bambury, Carol Yorke, William Vedder, Judith Woodbury, June Wood, Kay Morley, Tay Dunn, Joe Garcia, Lorraine Gale, Mary Worth, Blanche Obronska, Curt Furberg, C. Ramsey Hill, Donald Chaffin, Audrey Wilder, Douglas Carter, Guy L. Shaw, Paul E. Burns, Jamesson Shade, Erich von Schilling, Irene Seidner, Herbert Winters, Max Oph ls, Lester Sharpe, Bill Schroff, Jean Ransome, Doretta Johnson, Shimen Ruskin, Michael Mark, Frieda Stoll, John McCallum, William Trenk, William Hall, Ashley Cowan, Edmund Cobb, Walter Bonn, Edit Angold, Joseph Kamaryt, Sonja Blyden, Lois Austin, Max Willenz, Joe Ardao, Ramsay Hill, John Houseman, William Gould, Leo B. Pessin, Roy Gordon, Paul Peter Szemere, Robert W. Brown, Roland Varno, Patricia Alphin, Torben Meyer, Sonja Bryden, Countess Elektra Rozanska, Howard Mitchell, Roy Bross, Lotte Stein, Doug Carter, Gabrielle Windsor, Helen Dickson, Fred Nurney, Lisl Valetti, Polly Bailey, Hal Melone, Betty McDonough, Will Lee, Helen Spring, Hermine Sterler, Max Opuls, Ilka Gruning, Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Kerr, Celia Lovsky, Peggy Remington, John Elliot, Edwin Fowler, Erskine Sanford, Jack Worth, Art Smith, Walter Soderling See more
Language English

Frequently bought together

Letter From an Unknown Woman (Olive Signature)
$39.95
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 22
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
A New Leaf [Blu-ray]
$19.99
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 22
Only 7 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Johnny Guitar [Blu-ray]
$25.38
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 22
Only 16 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Product Description

Director Max Ophuls' classic tearjerker stars Joan Fontaine as Lisa Berndle, a woman in fin de siècle Vienna who has a one-night encounter with callous concert pianist Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), whom she's been infatuated with since she was a teen. Unknown to Brand, Lisa bears his son and marries another man, but a chance meeting years later leads to tragedy. With Marcel Journet, Mady Christians. 86 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo.

Product details

  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.88 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Max Opuls, Max Oph ls
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ December 5, 2017
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, Marcel Journet, Art Smith
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Producers ‏ : ‎ John Houseman
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Olive
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07798ZLGV
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 189 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
189 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Fernando Silva
5.0 out of 5 stars A Piece of Art...
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2004
Verified Purchase
I must say that there have been few movies (dramas) which have emotioned me so much as this work of art by master director Max Ophüls (credited as Opuls here)...only films like "Portrait of Jennie" or "Dodsworth"...this was another one-of-a-kind experience for me.

I had read so much about it, that I had to SEE it...so I bought this VHS here, at Amazon.com marketplace sellers, where I've always made great transactions & had very good overall experiences, especially when it comes to obtain, these "out of stock/print", kind of elusive gems.

Joan Fontaine gives what one can easily be, the most wondrous, poetic, performance, she ever gave, including "Rebecca" and "Suspicion"...Here she simply is at her very best, close to perfection...just as Jennifer Jones, gave (IMHO) THE performance of her career in the aforementioned "Portrait of Jennie". She convicingly grows from an "innocent" adolescent who falls deeply in love with an artist (Louis Jourdan), looking him, following him, listening to him, "in hiding", "in the shadows", quietly, living her life only "for/because of him"... although he's unaware of that. This obsession of hers with this man, reaches to a point where nothing makes sense to her without him. It's platonic love & adoration, taken to extreme limits, almost to the boundaries of insanity, yet so disarmingly naive and true!

Louis Jourdan is equally effective, as the debonair, devil-make-care, playboy, man of the world, pianist, who realizes too late, what has been going on.

Wonderful art direction, sets, mood, atmosphere, cinematography, narration...excellent "raccontos/flashbacks"...great camera work, gowns, period detail...everything is so right...especially the truth in Lisa's (Fontaine) very deep love for this man, who becomes the only reason of her life, of her "breathing", of her "existence".

Max Ophüls really made a work of art, out of this movie...which by the way, I read somewhere, had a similar plot than the 1933 "Only Yesterday", which marked the debut in the american cinema, of that gorgeous actress, Margaret Sullavan; although Ophüls' film, is by far superior...'cos it "trascends" the "Tearjerker" status; it has an ethereal quality all of his own.

Not since watching "Shadowlands" in March of this year, I had felt & been so moved by a film. Really, ROMANTIC, unrequited love, at his best. And I tell you, I'm not an "easy" person...in other words, I do not "emote" easily, and at the film's conclussion, I have no shame in admitting that I cried like a baby. It reached my heart & soul.

This film ought to be restored and released on dvd format, since it is one of the landmark films of all time. Although I must say the Republic VHS Edition, is decent indeed.
43 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Lana
5.0 out of 5 stars It has attained the well-deserved status as one of the greatest romantic films of it's kind.
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
Directed by the famous french director, Max Ophuls, this classic romantic film is considered a quintessential story of bittersweet unrequited love, through it's tale of imaginary romance, pinning for love, yearning, embodied in doom, delusional and illusory relationship with the self-absorbed, frivolous, concert pianist. Then the seduction that leads to a pregnancy, then to a loveless marriage to another. She would wait for hours to run into him, while he never remembered her. Both missed opportunities over a span of years, ultimately failing to attain true love. Told through flashbacks and the deathbed letter written by the wife of the man the pianist must duel at dawn.

Starring Joan Fountain and Louis Jordan, as the pianist. Written by Howard Roch, previous Academy Award winner (Casablanca), adapted from the 1922 novella, by Stefan Zwelg. Joan Fountain's own production company produced the film. John Houseman, Orson Wells' former partner and un-credited co-author of Citizen Kane 1941, was the the film's producer. The DVD has no special features, but the sound is good and the picture is good.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amanda
5.0 out of 5 stars Look What You Missed
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is a superb production well acted and directed, and it is as romantic as a film gets. However, the utter lack of character definition is an obvious flaw in the story. For the woman, it is an obsession as she never really knew the man she claims to love all her life, and he did not even remember her after a brief, sexual love affair that resulted in her becoming pregnant. Nowhere in this story is her character defined except that she's in love with a handsome, talented ghost of a man, who has a child by him that was cared for and loved, but sadly, died of Typhus at 12. As she's dying of the same disease, she writes a letter to the object of her love and, basically, lets him know what he missed all those years.

Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan were accomplished actors, and their performances were much enjoyed!
12 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Still Egg
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Excellent film
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
The story of a man who learns of the love of a stranger and regains his lost decent.
Helpful
 Report
SciFiGirl007
4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful, Lesser Known Joan Fontaine Movie
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
Lesser known JF movie. Main character Stefan Brand is a self centered, womanizing coward who is planning to run away before he has to show up at a duel between him and another man. He finds a letter written by Lisa Berndle who has been in love with him since she was a young teenager. The film is beautifully directed, the music is moving. It is difficult to review further without giving away details. Worth a watch!
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
England's own.
5.0 out of 5 stars Who would have dreamed?
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2014
Verified Purchase
Way back when I first saw this movie I loved it. I loved it so much I could almost recite the dialog. I still love it. It's very hard to love someone who does not love you.... Who would have dreamed that one day I would own the movie? There are those who decry technology but how wonderful to be able to watch a movie in your own home. Kids today take so much for granted. Louis Jourdan was Louis Jourdan in the movie. He became a captive of the lover parts but Joan Fontaine was outstanding. Marvelous. Great. To love someone all your life and not be remembered is beyond sad.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Dennis J. Pauly
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally available in the states
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2012
Verified Purchase
Until now the only versions available were region 2 and the quality left a lot to be desired. Once again, Olive Films has rescued a film forgotten by many. Joan Fontaine considered this one of her best and she certainly is outstanding as Lisa whose obsession with Louis Jourdan, an obvious rotter, causes her downfall. Directed by Max Ophuls the blu-ray qualities are top notch and hopefully many collectiors in the U.S. will consider adding it to their collection. Mady Christians, who created the role of Martha Hansen in the Broadway version of I REMEMBER MAMA is seen here as Fontaine's mother. Thank you, Olive Films for making another film available.
18 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
JEAN
1.0 out of 5 stars Not being able to use the above on my CD.
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
I could not play it on my CD because it was made for a foreign CD player. I sent it back and I did not receive credit because it went back to a foreign country. If you can please let me know why I could not receive credit when I sent it back. Thank you..
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Lig
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2024
Verified Purchase
Watch this film. I had never heard of it and then caught half on tv. It's wonderful.
Report
wanz
4.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in India on October 23, 2018
Verified Purchase
Good
Report
M. Dove
5.0 out of 5 stars DVD in excellent condition. I obtained this movie based only on ...
Reviewed in Canada on April 20, 2016
Verified Purchase
Quick delivery, DVD in excellent condition. I obtained this movie based only on printed recommendation. I had read about it in an article somewhere, and wanted to find out more about it. When it was offered by Amazon, I decided to purchase it. It is a grand addition to my DVD collection. I am very pleased to own it. A quiet, haunting movie that aches in its own way. Thank you.
Report
s_watanabe
5.0 out of 5 stars マックス・オフュルス監督の傑作ラブ・ロマンスがHD化(北米盤Blu-rayレビュー)
Reviewed in Japan on December 20, 2013
Verified Purchase
*レビュー掲載後追記:
【以下レビューは、北米盤Blu-ray(ASIN:B008NNSDBY)に対するものですが、Amazon.co.jpが、勝手に他メディアにも転載しています】

邦題『忘れじの面影』

1900年頃のウィーン。明日に決闘を控えたピアニスト、ステファン(ルイ・ジュールダン)は、重い気持ちで家に帰って来た。決闘から逃げ出す準備をしていたその晩、彼は、見ず知らずの女性からの手紙を受け取る。「あなたが、この手紙を読み始めた頃には、私はすでにこの世の者ではないかもしれません」という衝撃的な一文に驚きつつも、ステファンは、手紙を読み進めて行く。やがて、彼は、おぼろげながら、10年前の事柄を思い出し始め…。

シュテファン・ツバイクの小説" Letter from an Unknown Woman and Other Stories "を、名匠マックス・オフルスが監督した美しくも悲しいラブ・ロマンスの傑作。ベテラン脚本家ハワード・コッチによって、絶妙に脚色されている(主人公の職業が、小説家から音楽家に変更、女性に名前を与える…など)。先日、亡くなった(2013年12月15日没)ジョーン・フォンテーンのお気に入りの作品だったと言われている。2004年には、女性監督シュー・ジンレイによって、舞台を北京に移した『 見知らぬ女からの手紙 [DVD ]』(日本劇場未公開)としてリメイクされた。

純愛(殉愛？)ゆえの無垢と残酷な現実を、これほどまでに甘美に、そして繊細に紡いだ作品は、そうあるものではない。生涯一度の至高の愛を描いた至高の恋愛作品と言っていいのではないだろうか。もちろん、主人公リーザのステファンへの一途な(妄念とも言える)愛は、現実的な冷静な判断を曇らせ、愚かに見えることもあり、実際、悲劇的な結末を迎えることになるのだが、オフュルス監督は、そういったリーザを批判的(あるいは皮肉を含んだ視点で)ではなく、あくまで、生涯一度の愛を貫き、それを永遠の愛へと昇華した女性として同情的に見つめ、描いている。まさに、女心を知り尽くしたオフュルス監督ならではの叙情美に溢れた逸品だ。

流麗とか華麗などと―若干、手垢にまみれた―形容をされることが多い、オフュルス監督の演出が、本作でも効果をあげている。全編通して、緩やかで、ほとんど官能的とさえ言える動きをみせるキャメラ・ワーク(フランク・プラナーによる)が、何と言っても、素晴らしい。リーザの恋する気持ちのときめきや高ぶり、震えるような心細さといったものを一瞬でも逃すことがないように、カットで割って中断させずに、彼女の動きをつぶさに捉える長い移動撮影の妙。長廻しの移動撮影というものは、時として、これみよがしな技巧の面だけを感じさせてしまうこともあるのだが、オフュルス作品のそれは、話に沿い、無理なく溶け込んだ微妙な語りの方法論として、イメージの広がりと豊かさを生む源泉になっている。初めてステファンを目にしたリーザが、はにかみながら(一言も声を掛けることも出来ず)、彼のためにドアをそっと開ける場面、初めてリーザが、ステファンと夜の遊園地でデートする場面、客たちが帰ったカフェで、楽士たちの演奏に乗って、リーザとステファンが静かにダンスをする場面…など、涙が出そうになるほど切なく胸に迫り、忘れ難い印象を残すのだ。

さらに、リーザを演じるフォンテーンの素晴らしさも、この作品を支えている。10代後半のあどけなさを残す少女(当時31歳ながら、化粧気のない少女にしか見えない！)から若く美しい淑女までを、慎ましやかに、そして、儚げに演じている。劇中、ステファンが、彼女にぴったりの花として、一本の白いバラを贈るが、まさにフォンテーンは、清く繊弱なイメージそのもの。ちょっと、彼女以外のリーザというのは想像出来ないほどだ。リーザという役の方が、フォンテーンを選んだのかもしれない。

本Blu-rayは、売れ筋ではないものの、興味深いパラマウントの佳作、秀作をライセンス発売している米Olive Filmsのもの。新たに、35mm原版からフィルム・スキャンして作られたHDマスターを使用。パラ(細かいキズ)などもあるが、白黒諧調の豊かさ、ディテール表現(フィルム・グレインも程よい)の細やかさが素晴らしい極上の画質。モノラル DTS-HDマスター・オーディオの音声も、明瞭だ。仏Wild Side Video盤、英Second Sight盤のDVDを持っている方でも、十分、買い換えに値する質なのは間違いない。

例によって、特典は一切なく、本編のみ(メニュー画面は、「再生」と「チャプター」のみ)という味気なさ。英語字幕は未収録。北米盤ながら、日本同様、R-A仕様なので、日本のBlu-rayプレーヤーで問題なく視聴可能なのは嬉しいところ。

映画史に残る傑作にもかかわらず、日本では、出処不明のマスターを使ったパブリック・ドメイン(著作権切れ)DVDが、長い間、流通するという嘆かわしい(と同時に、腹立たしい)状況が続いているので、本Olive Filmsのマスターを使った正規日本盤を発売するのが急務だろう。
5 people found this helpful
 Report
Dolly
4.0 out of 5 stars film clé d'aprés la nouvelle de stepham zweig
Reviewed in France on January 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
film incourtourbable malheureusement l'exemplaire acheté était défectueux
film à réediter au plus vite à Prix normal 10-12 euros max dommage de paser par des reéditions chinoises!
Report