Hitchcock Film By Film Thread

Actually, IIRC, this thread fizzled out before we even got to the films that Hitchcock is most noted for, specifically the 1950s and early 1960s films.

 

Like you I love Rebecca. Wonderful and moody film.

 

That should be amazing...

 

So, how was it?

 

I recall going over to Universal Studios theme park here in Florida way back after it first opened, this had to be back in the early '90s. There was an exhibit called Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies (described in Wikipedia as: )

At the time we went there, they were showing a segment of DIAL M FOR MURDER in 3-D in the theater part of the attraction. It wasn't the whole film, just some excerpts, but it made quite an impression on me.

I also remember a miniaturized set showing the courtyard from REAR WINDOW and a demonstration of the "vertigo-in-the-bell-tower" effect from VERTIGO.

I haven't been back to Universal Studios since then, but I hear it's all different nowadays.

Harry

 

Thanks for this review....I don't suppose there's any chance something like this will get a limited release in other selected cities? Even then, I doubt poor old Louisville would get it....

 

I saw the 3D "Dial M" in Ann Arbor in 1994-95, as part of a double bill with "House of Wax." The difference in the two films' use of 3D was astounding. "House" used it for gimmicks -- like the rubber band/rubber ball racket scene right into our faces.

"Dial M," remember came from a stage play, and it seemed like Hitchcock was trying to turn the audience into another member of the cast; the viewer feels like he/she is sitting on the set among the actors. Of course, there is the rare "razzle dazzle" of the some scenes, such as the scissors scene, in which Grace Kelly seems to be reaching out to the audience to help her. However, I thought Hitchcock used the 3D in a way unlike any other director before or since. I loved it.

 

I'm pretty sure they were colored. San Francisco, opening night. Frenzy played first and the theater filled up (you could take your glasses as you walked in). When the movie ended, no one stood up and left. Nervous laughter slowly broke out, as we noticed 200 people waiting in the back of the theater, and maybe 50 of them got a seat.

 

I read an interview where he said he wanted it to very subtle. he didn't want the movie to appear gimmicky. This, of course, made the scissors scene really work well.
I'm sure he would've gotten grief if he threw in special effects--this had been a successful stage play and people would've groused about him taking too many liberties with the source material.

 

Ah, right you are. I had forgotten we were working backwards and we DID cover that era.

Thanks for the review of the 3-D movie at the theater. Shame about the 3-D dropping during the pivotal scene. I'd love to see that movie in 3-D though.

 

I saw this in Baltimore back in the early 80s in a double feature with a Three Stooges short. I agree that the 3D effect were for the most part subtle and naturalistic and quite a contrast to the Three Stooges. The one stoking exception was the scissors scene where it felt like the scissors were right in front of you.

The subtle scene that's really stuck with me is when someone is in a chair smoking and the smoke slowly drift out towards you.

BTW, the Thee Stooges were door to door cream pie salesmen at a mad scientist's haunted house.

 

I always thought they were polarized, but not red/blue.

 

I've read this thread from start to finish over 3 or 4 nights.

Great read!

 

This thread sort of died with a 3-D discussion, but that's not what prompts me to re-open it.

I've spread out my Hitchcock watching over the years, every now and then finding one I haven't seen and giving it a whirl, and I'm nearly never disappointed. One that I've not seen, but I think I'm ready for is THE 39 STEPS, and I see that Turner Classic Movies has it scheduled for Sunday evening at 8 PM Eastern (along with a couple of other Hitch films).

My question is for those who may have seen this on TCM. Is their print decent enough? I've only got access to a standard-def TCM. Is it worth trying to record? The film is from 1935, so I can't imagine it would be in pristine shape anyway, so wouldn't this standard-def telecast be decent enough, assuming the print was OK? TCM usually shows better-than-average prints.

Just a stream-of-consciousness kind of question...

Harry

 

Harry: This film was released on blu-ray by Criterion several months ago. Iirc, the original negative has been lost, and so they had to make it work with various prints. They basically were able to get a decent presentation of this very good film, but it's not visually as crisp as Hitchock's later films.

It's a good movie! If you know his later films, such as Saboteur, North by Northwest, etc., you'll notice that 39 Steps provides a template of sorts for that kind of movie. The plot is simple but compelling—a man seems to have committed a crime that he didn't actually do, but everyone (including the police) thinks he's guilty. And so he must find the real criminals involved in order to clear himself, which involves many misadventures as well as a romance.

There's a MacGuffin in this film, just as in NNW.

The movie was made a few years before WWII, and you can sense that approaching if you read between the lines.

Probably worth taping, since the blu-ray costs c. $30!

 

Man, how did I miss this thread??

I've got just about every Hitchcock film on DVD that's officially available... I think the only one I'm missing is Jamaica Inn.

 

I regret that it never picked up to get to THE LADY VANISHES and older.

Harry

 

HGN: I think you can feel free to restart the discussion....