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Rope  (1948) Alfred Hitchcock

One of my personal favorites for the self-imposed technical constraints, twisting of sympathies, and Farley Granger. The moving camera, in addition to being an absolute technical marvel, also makes you complicit in the action, adding to the stomach twist you feel during the close calls. It’s a talky film, but I think in a different way from Dial M for Murder - Hitch is great for his visual storytelling, and he’s at his best when there is a discordance between what you see and what you hear, which is the case here.

#188 9/13/2012

Lifeboat (1944) Alfred Hitchcock

Despite the heavy-handed jingoism, I quite liked this one. In stark contrast to the actual human beings of, say, Das Boot, we are expected to believe that each German soldier is just another interchangeable member of the Nazi party, all working toward the same evil goals. Not exactly the most nuanced portrait of humanity.

Still, the film is not without moral commentary on this, shown in one of the most chilling scenes I’ve seen lately.

While it lacks humor, it packs in the pure Hitch visuals - beautiful compositions, technical constraints, a focus on key objects. And the story is otherwise compelling and keeps you guessing (although perhaps it’s because you think that it can’t possibly be so one-sided).

#167 - 7/25/2012

I Confess (1953) Alfred Hitchcock

Oh, so that was Montgomery Clift.

It’s always comforting to finish watching a Hitchcock film, and come back to his interviews to find that you feel the same way about his film that he did. While I don’t think that it should never have been made* (due to disbelief that the priest would not speak up; a view that was apparently held by everyone except the Catholics), I do think that it was heavy-handed and lacking in humor. That tone, that humor and sense of irony, is one of the strongest defining characteristic of his films, and something that he touches on over and over throughout his talks with Truffaut. Its absence (for the most part) is definitely felt in I Confess.

But so yea, Montgomery Clift. phew! Not quite Marlon Brando-level magnetism, but close. His intensity and dignity really carries the role. I didn’t mind Anne Baxter, although Hitch did. And Karl Malden, <3. The film also looks beautiful. Aside from some heavy-handed imagery and a surprising overuse of canted shots, the cinematography is really beautiful, and the settings look great - it was shot in several churches in Quebec.

Also interesting - some things that I had suspected were then confirmed in the wiki article, so if you have seen the film, I recommend taking a look (first paragraph here).

*FT: Then would you say that the basic concept of the film was wrong?

AH: That’s right; we shouldn’t have made the picture.

And also…

AH: As a matter of fact, it was difficult [trying to reconcile the criminal and religious elements in the screenplay], and the final result was rather heavy-handed. The whole treatment was lacking in humor and subtlety. I don’t mean that the film itself should have been humorous, but my own approach should have been more ironic, as in Psycho - a serious story told with tongue in cheek.

#156 - 7/9/2012

North by Northwest (1959) Alfred Hitchcock

There’s something about North by Northwest that I just don’t like. I recognize that it’s a great film; it takes the same basic concept as The 39 Steps, builds it out, polishes it up, and adds Cary Grant. Sounds pretty foolproof to me. 

But both times I’ve seen this one, something has left me cold. I felt more that I should like it, instead of actually liking it. I think that something may be Eva Marie Saint. This film really hinges on the relationship between Roger Thornhill and Eve Kendall, and I never get to the point where I want Roger to end up with her. Whereas with The 39 Steps, I adored watching Donat and Carroll together.

So my personal quibble aside, North by Northwest is still very entertaining, very funny, very exciting. The set pieces are great. I enjoyed reading about how Hitch wasn’t authorized to film at the UN, and so had to conceal a camera in the back of a truck to get some of the external footage. And the way that Hitch builds the tension in the crop duster scene is excellent - establishing time and space very clearly in order to build tension. 

A quote from Hitchcock in Hitchcock - Truffaut displays his brilliance - “I’ll tell you how the idea came about [for the crop duster scene]. I found I was faced with the old cliche situation: the man who is put on the spot, probably to be shot. Now, how is this usually done? A dark night at a narrow intersection of the city. The waiting victim standing in a pool of light under the street lamp. The cobbles are ‘washed with the recent rains.’ A close-up of a black cat slinking along against the wall of a house. A shot of a window, with a furtive face pulling back the curtain to look out. The slow approach of a black limousine, et cetera, et cetera. Now, what was the antithesis of a scene like this? No darkness, no pool of light, no mysterious figures in windows. Just nothing. Just bright sunshine and a blank, open countryside with barely a house or tree in which any lurking menaces could hide.”

#143 - 6/23/2012