Alfred Hitchcock (1 Viewer)

[Andy Dufresne]

The Lady Vanishes was just okay.

I thought the stuff at the hotel made it too long. Although I liked how the troubadour's singing ended up being relevant.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I watched North By Northwest again last night and my second opinion is pretty much in line with my first - it's not anywhere near my favorite Hitch movie.

I guess I like everything but the plot, which I find much too straightforward to be considered great.

I love how it looks, though. The sets and colors are great. I did enjoy the tongue in cheek humor parts - Grant knows how to deliver the wry wit.

 

[Eephus]

I watched North By Northwest again last night and my second opinion is pretty much in line with my first - it's not anywhere near my favorite Hitch movie.

I guess I like everything but the plot, which I find much too straightforward to be considered great.

I love how it looks, though. The sets and colors are great. I did enjoy the tongue in cheek humor parts - Grant knows how to deliver the wry wit.

The plot is minimal to be sure. There's a case of mistaken identity, a murder, a romance with a mysterious woman and some nonsense about a piece of microfilm. But Hitchcock and screenwriter Ernest Lehman wrap a compelling story around the barest of plots. The script propels Cary Grant and the supporting character (most are caricatures really) forward from one set piece to another. It does so quickly and efficiently with tremendous wit and without a lot of obvious exposition.

Getting Roger Thornhill halfway across the country including the cropduster scene in the middle of nowhere is harder than it looks. North by Northwest has been taught in screenwriting classes for a half a century. The basic formula has been remade and remixed hundreds of time but seldom with the effortless style of this movie.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I'm not saying it's not enjoyable, just that I found other Hitch movies more so. I really enjoyed the visual style.

The abrupt ending still bugs me. But the cheeky visual joke of the train entering the tunnel makes me laugh.

I'd put it at maybe my 8-10th favorite Hitchcock.

Next up will likely be Saboteur.

 

[Eephus]

Saboteur is a good choice to follow North by Northwest. The plots are similar except the falsely accused hero moves from west to east.

 

[squistion]

I'm not saying it's not enjoyable, just that I found other Hitch movies more so.

I'd put it at maybe my 8-10th favorite Hitchcock.

Next up will likely be Saboteur.

Saboteur can be viewed as a warm up for North By Northwest, and is enjoyable on that level, but doesn't come close to being as good. The plot strains credulity and Bob Cummings, while excellent in light comedy, didn't have the acting ability to handle a dramatic role like this (Hitchcock had originally wanted Gary Cooper for the role). The film has its moments but suffers in comparison to North By Northwest.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

I love Saboteur, that is a place & time movie. Actually some parts of NXNW are too pretty, too slickly filmed. The story in Saboteur is formulaic but you have to realize the stage in Hitch's career, when it came out, and what the audience was, totally different. I love seeing the scenes in the countryside and the manor. I agree with that great nugget that it's a precursor to NXNW, it's a nice, small, really well made film. Graham Greene would have called it an "An Entertainment."

 

[Ratbert]

Wow. I voted The Birds because that movie scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. I doubt anyone else would consider it his "best", though.

This

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I love Saboteur, that is a place & time movie. Actually some parts of NXNW are too pretty, too slickly filmed. The story in Saboteur is formulaic but you have to realize the stage in Hitch's career, when it came out, and what the audience was, totally different. I love seeing the scenes in the countryside and the manor. I agree with that great nugget that it's a precursor to NXNW, it's a nice, small, really well made film. Graham Greene would have called it an "An Entertainment."

Just finished Saboteur (couldn't sleep...movie time!) and, maybe I'm just trying to be contrarian, but I really did like it better than North By Northwest.

I think it is the bolded above that I agree most with. The words that came to mind when I watched Saboteur were "sincere" and "earnest" whereas NXNW just seems a bit "pretentious".

It's almost like the George Lucas effect...the bigger the budget, the slicker it looks but the less enjoyable it feels when you watch it. (Except that neither of Hitch's movies sucked).

And I think I just like the wholesomeness of Priscilla Lane over Eva Marie Saint.

Other things I liked were the technical aspects - the set design and matte work are awesome.

And did anyone notice that several of the characters in the circus troupe match up to those found in A Bug's Life? The Siamese Twins/Tuck&Roll, Bones/Manny, etc.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Next up...Strangers on a Train

 

[Godsbrother]

I always liked looking for the Alfred Hitchcock cameo in his films.

His daughter Patricia was also in a lot of his films. I kinda had a thing for her in Stangers on a Train...

 

[The Man With No Name]

Yeah A.D., Saboteur is a very good one. I like it more than some of Hitchcock's better known films. But not NBNW

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Next up...Strangers on a Train

Excellent, excellent film.Robert Walker is really good - just like he was in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.

There's quite a bit of Norman Bates in Bruno Antony.

 

[The Man With No Name]

Psycho will be shown in a theater near you this Sunday and Wednesday

http://www.fathomevents.com/list-all

 

[squistion]

dblight‏ @dblight 2m

Starting at 8:00 Hitchcock binge on TCM:

Rear Window; North by Northwesr; Dial M for Murder; The Birds; Vertigo; Shadow of a Doubt; Strangers on a Train; The Trouble with Harry; Topaz; Marnie; the Man Who Knew Too Much -- all back to back.

 

[The Man With No Name]

Rear Window has the most votes.

It will be shown in nearly 600 select theaters March 22 and March 25

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/25/rear-window-rerelease

Also, one not listed I like better then some on the list is Foreign Correspondant

I went and saw Rear Window then. Great movie. There have been other Hitchcock films in theaters since then.

In March a 60th Anniversary showing of Vertigo will be in theaters.

Love Hitchcock. Have nearly all on dvd including silents