Tag: Hitchcock

Vertigo (1958) Film Review

Somewhere…Somehow – He’d Loved and Killed That Self-Same Girl Before!

Rating 12
Length 2h08
Release 22.05.1958
Director Alfred Hitchcock
About John, a retired detective from San Francisco, suffers from acrophobia. He is approached by an old friend, a rich shipbuilder, who wants John to investigate the weird activities of his wife, Madeleine.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: ITV X
Trailer:

The Good

  • James Stewart is as awesome always. Okay, so Scottie is no George Bailey but he is still a likeable character thrown into a complex mystery. I’m not used to seeing America’s Everyman in colour, but bloody hell those eyes take on the lion’s share of the role.
  • The music has that Hichcockian chill to it, adding to the elements that make the director a high profile auteur.
  • The entire filming and cinematography. The flair and experimental shots that jerk you into the scene.
  • All the scenes including Midge are wonderful and I really do wish she was used a little more and not discarded come the final act.

The Bad

“I love you Madeline.”
Really?! She’s your mate’s wife and you’ve been essentially stalking her for 3 days at the point of you uttering those words?! Yeah, I’m cynical, but a bloke who is still hanging about in his ex-fiancee’s place and tasked with following a woman who may or may not be on the edge of a mental breakdown is not the fast-track for love.

The Ugly

I wish it was in black and white. I don’t quite know what it is, but outside of Stewart’s dashing blues, everything seemed off. Almost as if it was coloured in after the film was made.

Final Thoughts

Great film with a few surprising turns that justify its run time.

Film Review: The 39 Steps (1935)

Rating: A
Length: 1hr 26
Release: 18.11.1935
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
About: While on vacation in London, Canadian Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) becomes embroiled in an international spy ring related to the mysterious “39 steps.” Then he meets agent Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim), who is soon killed in his apartment. He must elude the police, who are hunting him for murder, while he tries to stop Professor Jordan (Godfrey Tearle) from sending secrets out of the country. Hannay is assisted by Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), an unwilling accomplice who discovers the truth.

The Good

  • The romance, while a secondary part of the plot, is a brilliant addition to the story. Both Robert Donat and Madeline Carroll do have that wonderful hate/love chemistry you often see in films where two people are forced together for travel.
  • It’s a perfect example of a government corruption leads to a civilian fugitive. I grew up on Enemy of the State and others which are often loud, fast and convoluted. This strips it all back, keeps the tension while focusing more on the characters than set pieces.
  • How can you not love Hitchcock. The camera work is different to anything we’d see today, but that is no bad thing. I found it charming and intimate.

The Bad

  • Not the film’s fault, but the quality of the print I watched wasn’t brilliant in places and made those sections difficult to watch.

The Ugly

  • I didn’t like how it opens. Not the very first scene, but Hannay’s encounter with Miss Smith onwards. Maybe this is of another time, but his casual acceptance of taking Miss Smith home, having never interacted with her before is all rather odd. Her hiding and revealing everything to him, I like. However I just wish there was something that revealed her making a choice to pick him and more of an understanding as to why he agreed and why on earth he was so calm about it all.

Final Thoughts

A short and simply plotted thriller that would benefit from playing a little more on the romance.