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marcus-98
Reviews
Rope (1948)
A hitchcock Gem, and my favourite.
Although not Hitchcocks best, this is my personal favourite. I love the continunity of the film. Hitchcock loved to work within confines of the studio, and this along with Rear Window one of the most impressive of its kind.
At the time of making it Hitch believed that a play should be filmed like a play, without interuptions. But if one is to film a play as a play, it would become quite boring and ridget. Instead there is great movement in this, the actors move around a lot from the lounge to the hallway to the kitchen, the camera moves with them. I'm sure he saw it as an adventure, trying to get the whole thing to work. The collasping set walls, the furniture on casters, the city lights in the background etc... But, if no-one had told you about the 8 minute sequences and continous shots without cuts, you'd hardly notice them, its all done so smoothly.
Hitchcocks facination with murder continues; this time he poses the question; if under certain circumstances it may be acceptable to kill , but in the end relucantly comes to the conclusion that it is wrong.
It would be interesting to know which charater Hitchcock saw himself as. Brandon seems to get the most screen time and the camera seems to linger on him longer than the others. His, is certainly the most enjoyable performance. The awful Farley Granger is in it again, how did he end up in two Hitchcock films, he's one of the worst actors of all time. Stewart, Hitchs' favourite leading man gives a typical Jimmy Stewart performance.
Another of Hitchs' favourite tactics is the dishing out of information, or letting people in. In this movie he tells the audience everthing, we are flys on the wall. Some of the characters know whats going on, Brandon & Philip. The rest are unaware. Hitch was facinated by the idea of the audience knowing more than the characters. This builds in real tension, will the guests find out, will Brandon & Philip get away with it, will Cadell respect/admire their actions.
Hitchcock was very brave in attempting what he did; to stage a play on film, and proves that the cinema is much more entertaining than the theatre.
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Cinema at its purest.
In many way this is a more brillant film than Kane. Kane was technically advanced, but somewhat distant. This is a much more intimate story. The romance between Eugene and Isabele is one of the most wonderful tales of unrequinted love ever put on film. I especially love the opening sequence which introduces us to the life -styles and habits of the Ambersons. I like the way Wells dwells on their array of evening wear, summer wear etc... He creates a great sense of calmness in a timeless era.
Agnes Moorehead is incredible in the role of Fanny. She has to scream for attension every time, like her character in the film. Tim Holt is great as a young Orson Wells (who was still young at the time). This spoilt brat was I'm sure very similar to Wells, or so he'd have us believe.
Obivously we all know what happened to the final cut. It was, and probably still is the greatest crime in cinema history. Its like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa. At the end of this version when Eugene and Fanny are walking off into the sunset, and Eugene looks down at Fanny and says that he was "true to his own dear love" (meaning Fanny), its so absurd. Its the worst tacked-on ending I've ever seen. Eugene was never in love with Fanny, it was always Isabele, but Fanny loved Eugene. Hollywood made a joke of it. The Amberson family had finally got their comeuppance only for hollywood to decide it was too grim, and put on an ending that looked like ot came from another movie.
Initally it was such a piece of genius from Wells to film a story about the downfall of a family rather than their or rise to power, to tell the story in reverse.
Its so sad that we can never see the real version. I really feel that we are missing out on what could have been the greatest film ever made.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Steven Spielberg's finest hour.
ET is such a wonderful film. I think its a film about the way a child views the world, and the way an adult views the world. A child's mind is not cyncial, unlike the adults in the picture. There is a vast gap between the child's world and the adult world.
This is probably Spielberg's most personal film, he grew up in suburbia, he was part of a single parent family, he has a wildly imaginative mind.
There are so many classic moments, more so than any film released in the last 30 years. The bicycles flying past the moon is one of the greatest moments in cinema history. The John Williams score is timeless. Unforgetable quotes "ET phone home"
One of the greatest of all time.
The Matrix (1999)
Best movies of the last 5 years.
Firstly, I don't particuarly like Sci-fi movies, there have been some good ones, but its not one of my favourite genres. Still I think that the most important and innovative movie of the last 5 years was The Matrix. Cinema has been around for over 100 years. In my opinion the most important events throughout its history have be; the introduction of sound in the late 20s, technicolour in the early 30s, relaxed censorship laws (more sex & voilence) in the 60s, 70s, 80s onwards. I think that in the 90s and now, technology is the new phenomenon. There have been a lot of shabby special effects movies made over the past number of years. Each trying to be bigger than the previous. The Matrix is the best special effects fuelled movies ever made. It has turned special effects into an art form. Its a progression, cinema has to go somewhere, it has to move forward. Making movies with querky characters, interesting storylines, witty dialogue, its all been done before, and its great. But surely we should be looking to do somthing cmpletely different. I'm not saying special effects is the answer, but somthing, anything - Don't make me whatch the same movies over and over again evertime I go to the cinema.