I'm being forced to watch this in my English class. I can't believe how horrid this is. Charles Dance puts Maxim De Winter to shame. He is not charming, not handsome and he lacks the inner turmoil that is very much a part of the character. And Emilia Fox.. she is too sweet, too innocent and also lacks the character's struggle to develop her own personality. Mrs. Danvers is just bad. She is not at all evil or sinister like the Mrs. Danvers in the book. Also, the mood of the story is supposed to be dark and very gothic. It's dark alright but not it's only dark because the lighting is horrendous. It doesn't set the mood of the story it just makes it seem like they are acting in a studio with only one light. The outside of Manderlay is not what you'd expect. It is bright, cheerful and sunny. In drastic contrast to the dark mood of the story. Also, the flashbacks including Rebecca really took away from her mystery.. they personified her breaking down the magical barrier that seems to have built up around her. It's a distracting point of the movie. All in all, this is one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. And I work in a video store so I watch a lot of movies. If you can avoid this movie do so at all costs. Hitchcock's 1940 version is so much better. I may be a die-hard Hitchcock fan but the Academy agrees with me. It won best picture and Olivier was nominated for his performance of Maxim. It's so much better than this monstrosity.