As per Brandon (John Dall), the universe can be divided into 2 kinds of people. Those who are the superior beings and obviously the other being the antonyms. And as per Brandon, the inferior beings do not have a right to exist and should be done away with as fast as possible.
In fact, Brandon takes this vicious thought one step further. He strongly believes that the superior kind should indulge in “ensuring” that the inferiors are done away with. In other simple words, ensure that the inferior beings are killed. And how will this be achieved? His proposal involves a certain quota of killings per superior being, various kinds of “killing days” etc.
Morbid? The only person who could have thought about this, a year after the Brits decided to leave India (I wouldn’t call it independence because I firmly believe that is the biggest farce that has been pulled off ever), would have been the great Alfred Hitchcock. How in the world do you handle a topic like this?
Rope deals with Brandon & his partner in crime – the paranoid Phillip (Farley Granger). They decide to commit the perfect murder. One that involves killing David Kentley (Dick Hogan) who comes in early for a party that Brandon has called for. The two strangle David with – a rope – and then stuff his body into a large wooden trunk. One they intend to dispose after the party.
Who are invited to the party? David’s fiancé Janet (Joan Chandler), his father Mr. Kentley (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), his aunt Mrs. Atwater (Constance Collier), Janet’s ex boyfriend Kenneth (Douglas Dick) and the group’s house master from school, the radical Rupert Cadell (James Stewart).
Hitchcock brews a heady mixture of a concept that can be described as offensive and you would be very kind to it. But the magician does so with such conviction and class that you are riveted to the screen – just because you want to find out what will happen next. Who will figure out that David has been murdered. How will they figure it out? Will they figure out at all?
There are zillions of questions that run through your head over the hour and twenty minutes. Honestly it feels like a one act play with some brilliant use of music and screenplay / dialogues that are mind blowing. 8 on 10 for this one. Hitchcock fever is hitting me harder than I imagined.
Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3ZZLKF0XR4
Showing posts with label Alfred Hitchcock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alfred Hitchcock. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Vertigo
I do not know much about the lives of The Master (read Satyajit Ray) & Alfred Hitchcock. However, if I were to hazard a guess, I would stick my neck out and say they were very close friends. If not, they were at least huge fans of each other. What else would explain the stunning similarity between their styles of movie making.
No other movie would epitomize this theory more than Vertigo. Hitchcock’s capability to build suspense out of just images and music is taken to a level that very few can imagine even today. From the first few minutes – and don’t miss the titling that will give you a sense of Vertigo on the big screen – Hitchcock makes it amply clear that less than 25% of the movie has dialogues in it. But worry not because the music will hold you glued to the screen like there is no tomorrow.
When Pierre Boileau & Thomas Narcejac wrote their novel D'Entre Les Morts, they would not have expected in the least bit to be immortalized by Hitchcock. I am sure they would be pleased beyond expectations with the response to the movie.
John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) has been forced to move out of police work because of acrophobia – the fear of heights – more often than not described incorrectly as Vertigo. A pity, he learnt about it at the expense of a cop who dies trying to save Scottie.
As Scottie is trying to come to terms with his new life – or lack of it – a blast from the past comes in to kind of save him from unemployment. Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) who had all but disappeared around the war returns to manage his wife’s ailing shipping business. Gavin and Scottie were together in school.
Gavin wants Scottie to trail his wife Madeline (Kim Novak) who has of late been behaving quite strangely. She loses attention in fits and starts and moves into a different world altogether. It is like she has been possessed with a ghost of sorts. And then there are times when she takes long drives and comes back with no recollection of them. Gavin is unable to understand why. He trusts her but wants to understand more.
Hitchcock takes the aspect of the unknown and twists and turns it around in a manner that only he can. If I were to hazard a guess as to how he manages to achieve this, it could be because there are just 2 leads and 2 supporting actors worth mentioning in the movie. It just makes it so much easier to manage. So even if Ellen Corby – the manager of the McKittrick hotel has to be on screen, she has about a minute or 2 of screen time.
James Stewart’s performance did not earn him an Academy nomination but he brings the element of suspicion, awe and disbelief to life extremely well. Kim Novak pretty much nails the fact that actresses of over 50 years back were a mix of great looks and talent. Some of our current crop to pick a cue or 2 from them.
Firmly entrenched in the Top 50 movies of all time from imdb and @ #9 on American Film Institute’s top 100 movies of all time, Vertigo is one movie that you just cannot miss. Definitely a 9 on 10.
Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5jvQwwHQNY
No other movie would epitomize this theory more than Vertigo. Hitchcock’s capability to build suspense out of just images and music is taken to a level that very few can imagine even today. From the first few minutes – and don’t miss the titling that will give you a sense of Vertigo on the big screen – Hitchcock makes it amply clear that less than 25% of the movie has dialogues in it. But worry not because the music will hold you glued to the screen like there is no tomorrow.
When Pierre Boileau & Thomas Narcejac wrote their novel D'Entre Les Morts, they would not have expected in the least bit to be immortalized by Hitchcock. I am sure they would be pleased beyond expectations with the response to the movie.
John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) has been forced to move out of police work because of acrophobia – the fear of heights – more often than not described incorrectly as Vertigo. A pity, he learnt about it at the expense of a cop who dies trying to save Scottie.
As Scottie is trying to come to terms with his new life – or lack of it – a blast from the past comes in to kind of save him from unemployment. Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) who had all but disappeared around the war returns to manage his wife’s ailing shipping business. Gavin and Scottie were together in school.
Gavin wants Scottie to trail his wife Madeline (Kim Novak) who has of late been behaving quite strangely. She loses attention in fits and starts and moves into a different world altogether. It is like she has been possessed with a ghost of sorts. And then there are times when she takes long drives and comes back with no recollection of them. Gavin is unable to understand why. He trusts her but wants to understand more.
Hitchcock takes the aspect of the unknown and twists and turns it around in a manner that only he can. If I were to hazard a guess as to how he manages to achieve this, it could be because there are just 2 leads and 2 supporting actors worth mentioning in the movie. It just makes it so much easier to manage. So even if Ellen Corby – the manager of the McKittrick hotel has to be on screen, she has about a minute or 2 of screen time.
James Stewart’s performance did not earn him an Academy nomination but he brings the element of suspicion, awe and disbelief to life extremely well. Kim Novak pretty much nails the fact that actresses of over 50 years back were a mix of great looks and talent. Some of our current crop to pick a cue or 2 from them.
Firmly entrenched in the Top 50 movies of all time from imdb and @ #9 on American Film Institute’s top 100 movies of all time, Vertigo is one movie that you just cannot miss. Definitely a 9 on 10.
Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5jvQwwHQNY
Sunday, 29 April 2012
North by Northwest
I wasn’t aware that North by Northwest was nominated for 3 oscars. And I must say that embarrassingly so, my research finally revealed that Ben-Hur actually never lost an Oscar in editing (despite the infamous red or white Mercedes). So all this while I have been led to believe that my favourite question in a quiz never existed. Damn. This is embarrassing. And what led me to this revalation is that George Tomasini – one of Hitchcock’s favourite editors (Psycho, Vertigo & Birds to his credit) – was nominated for North by North West and lost it to Ben-Hur. And my embarrassment suddenly hit an all time high. I cannot even recollect the number of times I have asked that question only to be told several years later that the question didn’t exist. Damn! Damn!! Damn!!!
Well we need to move to the crux of the matter which revolves around successful advertising executive Roger O Thornhill (Cary Grant). Now Roger finds himself in a club for a meeting when the bell hop goes around calling for George Kaplan. Roger, inadvertently bumps into the bell hop for different reasons completely but a couple of suspicious looking bystanders mistake Roger to be Kaplan and kidnap him @ gun point. They take him to the residence of one Mr. Townsend (James Mason) where he is grilled to no end and then force fed a bottle of bourbon in an attempt to make his death appear like a car accident under the influence of alcohol. Little do they know that Roger can hold a drink better than most people.
Whats worse – Roger is now determined to prove his innocence to the police. A determination that leads him into a web of high level espionage that involves organizations and people that Roger cannot even imagine being involved with. But the romance with the mysterious and gorgeous Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) keeps him in the hunt for the truth and gives us a heady concoction that one can expect only from the great Alfred Hitchcock’s table.
Now who am I but a mere mortal to comment on the #37 in the imdb’s top 250 list. North by Northwest was an absolute hit in its time and over 50 years since its making continues to be rated as one of the best movies of all time. Thanks to wonderful cuts from Tomasini and a tight screenplay with very little wastage from Ernest Lehman (The Sound of Music, Sabrina, West Side Story, King and I, Hello Dolly).
Hitchcock’s direction is unquestionably brilliant. Especially in the cult sequences of the aircraft chasing Roger over the Prarie grasslands and the most spoken about climax on Mount Rushmore. A movie in which the technical aspects far outshine the performances, North by Northwest will forever find itself in the list of best Hollywood movies of all time. The only thing I would change in hind sight would be the undue emphasis on the romance between Eve and Roger. But then it sold in 1959 and I guess it would sell even today. 8 on 10 for certain.
Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi473956889/
Well we need to move to the crux of the matter which revolves around successful advertising executive Roger O Thornhill (Cary Grant). Now Roger finds himself in a club for a meeting when the bell hop goes around calling for George Kaplan. Roger, inadvertently bumps into the bell hop for different reasons completely but a couple of suspicious looking bystanders mistake Roger to be Kaplan and kidnap him @ gun point. They take him to the residence of one Mr. Townsend (James Mason) where he is grilled to no end and then force fed a bottle of bourbon in an attempt to make his death appear like a car accident under the influence of alcohol. Little do they know that Roger can hold a drink better than most people.
Whats worse – Roger is now determined to prove his innocence to the police. A determination that leads him into a web of high level espionage that involves organizations and people that Roger cannot even imagine being involved with. But the romance with the mysterious and gorgeous Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) keeps him in the hunt for the truth and gives us a heady concoction that one can expect only from the great Alfred Hitchcock’s table.
Now who am I but a mere mortal to comment on the #37 in the imdb’s top 250 list. North by Northwest was an absolute hit in its time and over 50 years since its making continues to be rated as one of the best movies of all time. Thanks to wonderful cuts from Tomasini and a tight screenplay with very little wastage from Ernest Lehman (The Sound of Music, Sabrina, West Side Story, King and I, Hello Dolly).
Hitchcock’s direction is unquestionably brilliant. Especially in the cult sequences of the aircraft chasing Roger over the Prarie grasslands and the most spoken about climax on Mount Rushmore. A movie in which the technical aspects far outshine the performances, North by Northwest will forever find itself in the list of best Hollywood movies of all time. The only thing I would change in hind sight would be the undue emphasis on the romance between Eve and Roger. But then it sold in 1959 and I guess it would sell even today. 8 on 10 for certain.
Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi473956889/
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