The Three Faces of Eve | | Cast : | Joanne Woodward, David Wayne | | Director : | Nunnally Johnson | | Studio : | Fox Home Entertainme | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | September 23, 1957 | | DVD Released Date : | October 05, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | Unrated | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 25, 2005 | | Summary | Joanne Woodward's greatest performance | Content
 | THE THREE FACES OF EVE remains to this day a riveting and fascinating glimpse into the mind of a person afflicted with multiple personality disorder, with Joanne Woodward in her Academy Award-winning tour-de-force.
The story concerns a meek young married woman called Eve White (Joanne Woodward) who begins to have regular consultations with Dr Luther (Lee J. Cobb) when she starts experiencing moments of blackout and amnesia, which are later discovered to be the manifestations of multiple personality disorder. When Eve White passes out, the more-seductive and confident Eve Black emerges and wreaks her own kind of havoc. Then there is the third personality, the well-grounded and assured Jane. All three fight for the ultimate and permanent control of Eve White's body, but only one will win...
Joanne Woodward's performance is truly phenomenal. She deserved her Oscar win and then some. Lee J. Cobb is fantastic as the patient Dr Luther with David Wayne as Eve White's bewildered husband. This was based on the well-documented medical case of a woman with three personalities and much of the dialogue comes verbatim from the original medical case-notes (by Corbett H. Thigpen MD and Hervey M. Cleckley MD). Also featuring Edwin Jerome, Nancy Kulp and Douglas Spencer. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 24, 2005 | | Summary | OUTSTANDING FILM! | Content
| The three faces of Eve is the true story of a woman by the name of Eve White (aka Eve Black, and Jane) who is married and has a child. Eve starts having what she thinks are "blackouts," but eventually learns that she has a split personality. The movie tells the story of Eve's journey to a psychiatrist who helps her determine who the personalities are and how they came to inhabit her body. During the exploration, Eve loses a husband and her child, but then gains a different husband and her child in the end. The fact that this movie is based on a real-life person makes the film all the more compelling.
Joanne Woodward plays the part of Eve, Eve and Jane, and she was unbelievable in this film! Joanne won the academy award in 1957 for her stellar and haunting performance.
The supporting cast is also very good. The film is in black and white. The direction is brisk and the film flows smoothly from scene to scene. The sets are uncluttered and "comfortable."
This movie is superb, and you should definitely add this to your collection! |
| Rating | | | Date | December 22, 2004 | | Summary | All about Eve and Eve (and Jane) | Content
| A Georgia housewife suffering from multiple personalities seeks psychiatric care in this film based on a true story. Joanne Woodward, in her tour-de-force Oscar performance, portrays the troubled young woman, whose personalities are identified as "Eve White" - an insecure and troubled woman, "Eve Black" - her alter ego - a loose, party girl and finally "Jane," a stable and headstrong woman who is the dominant personality.
Woodward's acting is definitely the high point of the film. Despite the filmmaker's attempts at portraying a psychological disorder in an understanding light, there are several problems. First of all, the widescreen Cinemascope format was probably not the way to go with such an intimate subject matter. This is a film that begs for close-ups and confined scenes - the wide screen format makes that hard to do. The cinematography and set design also doesn't help and the film looks rather like a cheap tv documentary or an episode of "Dragnet." Another problem is the use of humorous passages and dialog that result in the film losing its tone. Although a scene with David Wayne (as Woodward's country bumpkin husband) and "Eve Black" comes across as pretty funny, it hurts the film on the whole and leaves the audience confused about the films true intentions. Finally, the incident and root of Eve's psychosis is never fully explained in enough detail and leaves the viewer with more questions than answers.
Look for Nancy Kulp ("Miss Jane Hathaway" on "Beverly Hillbillies") in a brief scene near the end as Woodward's mother.
The dvd transfer is very good, presented in the original wide screen format. The print looks clean with few noticeable scratches or debris. Extras include a commentary by film historian Aubrey Soloman, a Movietone newsreel with highlights from the Academy Awards and Joanne Woodward receiving her Oscar and the trailer. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 19, 2004 | | Summary | Strong performance makes this "Face" memorable | Content
| "The Three Faces of Eve" broke new ground when it was released. It was the first examination of multiple personality disorder in a dramatic setting. Joanne Woodward gives a stunning performance as Eve a southern housewife who suffers from migranes, seems in constant emotional turmoil and has memory lapses. Her psychiatrist Dr. Luther (played by the marvelous character actor Lee J. Cobb) believes he's treating a common form of depression but he's startled to discover during one of his sessions that he's not speaking with Eve but with a whole different person. Based on the famous book documenting the real case (and not a "novel" as per the DVD case) by Corbett Thigpen, MD and Harvey Cleckley MD, Nunnally Johnson's script may be a bit pedantric for audiences today but there's still powerful performances and sharp direction that makes it worthwhile.
This special edition from Fox part of its "Studio Classics" collection includes a commentary by film historian Aubrey Solomon. Solomon's commentary provides precise and fascinating tidbits about how the film varied from the book and from the real case in addition to the usual background on the production of the movie. There's also a Movietone News Reel included of the Academy Awards (Joanne Woodward won for Best Actress). The original theatrical trailer is included and the restored image and sound are quite good.
Well worth picking up for fans of classic Hollywood movies from the 50's. My only complaint is Fox should have done a featurette on the making of the movie with interviews of Woodward and others and/or an alternate commentary track from the actress discussing the making of the movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 03, 2004 | | Summary | Wonderful movie, and terrific acting! | Content
| I just wanted to clear one thing up. An earlier review was titled something like "Groundbreaking Hollywood treatment of schizophrenia". I'm sorry if I quoted that incorrectly. However, this movie is about multiple personalities, not schizophrenia. They are two entirely different mental illnesses and should not be confused. This show is about a woman with mulitple personalities. Wonderful acting and a very engrossing movie! |
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