Words by: Henry Melville
Compiled by: The Seafairy
Chronologically, in an unimportant chronological order
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940): What glorious sets! What beautiful camera movement! What elegant use of the close-up! What humor! The genius of his work is that he uses the very humor and thrills he is known for to undermine (and, in an odd way, accentuate) the themes. And oh boy does he tackle themes in this one. They may not all be entirely fleshed out as fully as in others, but here's a small sample of themes I noticed in order from most explored, to less: Identity, loss of innocence, solitude, alienation (sort of, it's not the word I'm looking for, but I can't seem to find the right one), doubling (A Hitchcockian staple). Not to mention the ubiquitous bird motifs. Clocking in at two hours, this of Hitchcock's filmography is constantly in motion and perfectly paced. A rather under-recognized of Hitchcock. Should be put right up there with THE 39 STEPS.
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I apologetically love BATMAN FOREVER. Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey are great. Val Kilmer is Val Kilmer. Nicole Kidman is pretty/ pretty adorable. The over-the-top style and art direction is only matched by the genuinely funny script and dialogue. This is the Batman movie I could watch over and over and would be my favorite if BATMAN RETURNS wasn't so freaking perfect.
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In response to Criterion November 2012 new releases:
RASHOMON is pretty huge for Criterion, it's like getting a new Chaplin for Kurosawa fans.
Trilogy of Life - Just what we needed. More films from the guy that did SALO...
WEEKEND - YES, they've teased me with being able to buy the poster,
now I can freakin' get a copy. Geez. Love.
HEAVEN'S GATE - 216 minutes long. Worth it? An anti-western western? Sounds great.
End of response.
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KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER is like the 70s version of Supernatural mixed with some good 'ol Don Knotts' THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN with a healthy dose of noir. Starring Darren McGavin, you can't go wrong.
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I want to go back in time to 2005 when relatively no one was excited for a new Batman movie.
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Normally when watching THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, I connect with the Richie, Margot (and, more or less, Eli) storyline. Personally, the Chas/Royal relationship seem to fall into the cracks with my focus on the (arguably) more main characters. Stiller always seemed more over-the-top than his character's siblings so I felt this odd personal and emotional disconnect, but his portrayal of the character dealing with death (in light of recent events) really struck me.
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HEAVEN'S GATE - 216 minutes long. Worth it? An anti-western western? Sounds great.
End of response.
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KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER is like the 70s version of Supernatural mixed with some good 'ol Don Knotts' THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN with a healthy dose of noir. Starring Darren McGavin, you can't go wrong.
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I want to go back in time to 2005 when relatively no one was excited for a new Batman movie.
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Normally when watching THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, I connect with the Richie, Margot (and, more or less, Eli) storyline. Personally, the Chas/Royal relationship seem to fall into the cracks with my focus on the (arguably) more main characters. Stiller always seemed more over-the-top than his character's siblings so I felt this odd personal and emotional disconnect, but his portrayal of the character dealing with death (in light of recent events) really struck me.
"I've had a rough year, Dad." Nothing immediately comes to mind that so encapsulates a single, emotional, profound moment in a character's life that's played so subtly and without intense focus. It's almost a throw away line that isn't lingered on, yet the lingering feeling it causes is immense.
Oh Wes, we love you!
Oh Wes, we love you!
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Hitchcock's SABOTAGE (1936) is incredibly, shockingly, disturbingly grim. As far as I'm concerned, this employs Hitchcock's greatest use of close-ups and camera movement (not to mention special effects) in his British films. He's famous for mixing humor with suspense, but when he utilizes humor first then all-out horrific suspense, it is heightened ten times over. Then you realize the movie is just entering the third act.
Side note: I take for granted watching 30s Hitchcock via Criterion transfers. The DVD I received...well, I suppose it wasn't the worst visual transfer I've ever seen, but the audio is horrendous. Muffled mumbles on top of poorly balanced score/dialogue tracks made the film a chore to follow (totally worth it, but it shouldn't have been so impossible).
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Hitchcock's SECRET AGENT (1936) is unrelentingly grim. Still experimenting with sound elements, some sequences stand out against the others (such as the church scene and the first murder scene [one of the finer in Hitchcock's early British films]). The character of Elsa Carrington is an amazing Hitchcock female dealing with her innocence and fetishization of sex and death in relation to each other.
Her character flips when the innocence is lost in a superbly subtle, yet oddly obvious character development. While SECRET AGENT may not be the best early Hitchcock, or the easiest to swallow and get through (correlation: THE WRONG MAN), it is essential to the development of Hitchcock's style and an introduction to themes he would be exploring for the rest of his fifty year career.
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Alfred Hitchcock's MURDER! (1930) is like watching a artist first come into his craft. Experimenting with audio (the first film to have a person's thoughts in the soundtrack of a film) and economizing every camera movement and edit. While the story is a slow-burn and drags at bits (if not paying attention to the brilliant camerawork), it's a great example of how Hitchcock deals with (and later deals with a lot more) this idea of "real vs. appearance" in regards to the actions on screen and how the film exists in reality. You don't need to take film classes when you can just watch Hitchcock all day/ everyday to possibly learn more than any professor can ever teach you.
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THE LADY EVE. Every aspect of this movie is ridiculous except the chemistry between Stanwyck (pre-feminist movement awesomeness found in this role) and (a very young) Fonda, making it somehow all meld together into a highly re-watchable, fun; funny film.
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Maybe it's because of the mood I'm in, the time of night, or possibly just the haunting score and shot, but the ending of Solaris has creeped me out to the very core. Chills don't even begin...
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After watching Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES, I remembered something about movies that needs to be recognized more often: Stop taking your craft so seriously when it doesn't have to be. Hitchcock's work is cinematic genius, everyone agrees, and his movies always have a tinge of humor and a certain sprezzatura about them. THE LADY VANISHES is one of the most fun psychological thrillers while still maintaining the suspense and mystery of any other thriller. So, Chris Nolan, there's no need to make a, and I emphasize strongly on the absurdity of the word, BATMAN movie that isn't fun. You're not directing THE GODFATHER (which also has this element of fun that's serious), it's BATMAN.
End
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