The Alfred Hitchcock Collection: The Best of Hitchcock, Vol. 2 (Vertigo / The Birds / The Trouble with Harry / Frenzy / Marnie / Saboteur / Torn Curtain / Alfred Hitchcock Presents Vol. 3)

The Alfred Hitchcock Collection: The Best of Hitchcock, Vol. 2 (Vertigo / The Birds / The Trouble with Harry / Frenzy / Marnie / Saboteur / Torn Curtain / Alfred Hitchcock Presents Vol. 3) Review

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was trying to make a statement that we as moviegoers are voyeurs and are just as fanatically obsessed by the images on the screen as "Scottie" Ferguson is with Madeleine in VERTIGO. VERTIGO is in effect a movie about people who love the cinema and are captivated by it. Those people who do not like VERTIGO state that it is not realistic and too improbable. That is just the point. VERTIGO is about an artificial world and the fascination of that world. Those who like VERTIGO are drawn to it over and over because it is about something that is inside each of us that is ever so fleeting and will always remain unobtainable. Bernard Herrmann, the film's composer seems to have understood the essence of this film as he captured the erotic passion and ultimate hopelessness of its characters with his haunting score. Herrmann had always expressed his desire to be a symphony conductor, yet the lure of the cinema was more than just a means of collecting a paycheck for him. I think he had a great understanding of the cinema and its power over human emotions, yet it seems to have remained an enigma even for him.
THE BIRDS metaphorically plays out the frailties of the human heart as befuddled humans' fears are visually juxtaposed against hoards of birds gone on a destructive rampage. Humans rebel against nature and each other as the birds represent nature in harmony turned against human progenitors who stand to disrupt harmony. Rod Taylor's solid performance, as the steadfast Mitch Brenner who gradually realizes (but cannot fathom why) that things are beyond even his control, is pivotal to the progression of the story. The importance of Taylor's performance has been long overlooked. This film is a masterpiece full of vivid histrionics running the gamut of human emotions.
"She's wearing my necktie." That's what Alfred Hitchcock said in the trailer for FRENZY as he returned to the United Kingdom to film this movie. Again the wrong man is accused for crimes he did not commit. And so it goes. Barry Foster's mesmerizing performance is both disturbing yet charismatic far overshadowing would be hero Jon Finch. Also Alec McCowen as Chief Inspector Oxford has never been better. The opening shot of London accompanied by Ron Goodwin's score is an instant classic.
MARNIE is one of Hitchcock's masterpieces. It has been highly underrated and misunderstood by viewers and many critics alike. It is not a straightforward narrative as it deals with the compulsive and obsessive nature of its two main characters (Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery). The viewer has to become absorbed and drawn into the film's sights and sounds. The viewer has to elicit from what is seen and heard to fathom the motivations of the film's two main characters. Some of its images are just unforgettable and disturbingly haunting. Sound too plays an important part in the viewer's experience. In accompaniment is Bernard Herrmann's low-key score. I watched this film again several times over. Herrmann's score is always present, yet never intrusive. I used to think this score was somewhat repetitive, but it is quite diverse. It complements the images in such a way that it almost evokes some hidden and suppressed experience from the viewer that creates an emotional bond with the main title character of the film. I found the DVD print to be of exceptional quality and most pleasing in the wide-screen presentation (a prerequisite in this format).
TORN CURTAIN was Alfred Hithcock's 50th motion picture. This film marked a departure from his most recent bulk of films at that time, not in directorial style, but in the absence of many of his close-knit artistic-technical company he had been utilizing. Distinctively missing is collaborator-composer Bernard Herrmann. However, John Addison does a commendable job in Herrmann's absence, as his score seems to fit this film very well with the passage of time. This was a cold war drama set behind the Iron Curtain. The hero of the story as portrayed by Paul Newman is motivated less by personal staunchness for democratic idealism, but rather by his inner confrontation coming to grips with his own failure as a scientist. This very suspenseful film is really about his own redemption for his perceived failure. This film is has been highly underrated.
The Autumnal colors of New England seen in THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY are a beautiful backdrop to this dark comedy enhanced by Bernard Herrmann's reflective score. As life comes full circle the quirkily eccentricities of the human heart take on new meaning as an artist (John Forsythe) somehow, perhaps unwittingly, makes it all come into perspective. THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is one of my favorite Hitchcock films.
SABOTEUR certainly looks like a forerunner of his NORTH BY NORTHWEST. This WWII espionage tale planted on American soil is an impressive bit of filmmaking from Alfred Hitchcock. He uses his familiar theme of the wrong man on the run from the law and implicated by those who are in fact guilty, our hero Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) must uncover the culprits before they carry out their next act of terror and destruction before he himself is apprehended. Simultaneously Kane must clear himself of the initial crime with the aid of Patricia Martin (Priscilla Lane). Set against the backdrop of that familiar icon of freedom, The Statue of Liberty, our hero must undergo a death struggle both metaphorically and realistically demonstrating that we as Americans value our freedoms as well as all human life no matter how malevolent it be because it is in our nature to go the distance for all that is virtuous in the world. Despite the fact that Alfred Hitchcock stated that it would have been more suspenseful to have the hero dangling from The Statue of Liberty rather than the villain Fry (Norman Lloyd), this scene demonstrates the compassion for humanity that we as Americans hold dear and goes straight to the ideals of the fiber of our inner fortitude to preserve that way of life as Kane struggles to save Fry's life. Otto Kruger's performance as Charles Tobin is very stylistic and on the surface he seems more sophisticated than our earthy hero Kane but Tobin's eloquence is superficial in every sense of the word. Jack Otterson's Art Direction and Joseph A. Valentine's Cinematography are standouts. John P. Fulton's un-credited Special Effects are impressive.

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The Alfred Hitchcock Collection: The Best of Hitchcock, Vol. 1 (Psycho / Rear Window / Shadow of a Doubt / The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) / Rope / Topaz / Family Plot / Alfred Hitchcock Presents Vol. 2)

The Alfred Hitchcock Collection: The Best of Hitchcock, Vol. 1 (Psycho / Rear Window / Shadow of a Doubt / The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) / Rope / Topaz / Family Plot / Alfred Hitchcock Presents Vol. 2) Review

Some of Alfred Hitchcock's most impressive and mature films are available in this DVD box set so that a new generation of fans can admire the expert craft and knowing sensibility that the acclaimed director put into his imposing resume. SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943) is a superb Film Noir thriller boasting a great dramatic turn from screen veteran Joseph Cotten, a ripping musical score from 50s Hitch stalwart buddy Dimitri Tiomkin. ROPE (1948) is less impressive, with the experimental style where the camera never "cuts" fails to impress (Hitch later stated that he didn't think it was a good idea) and the story meanders aimlessly. We all know what happened with the murder at the beginning, so the tension is virtually non-existent. Jimmy Stewart has his first Hitchcock collaboration, but it's not his best role, playing an atypical mentor to two men who commit murder as an experiment. John Dall and Farley Granger (STRANGERS ON A TRAIN) are really good as the two friends who murder. The film has its moments, but a technical achievement aside, there isn't much to like here.

Far more impressive is Hitch's best film ever and possibly the greatest film ever made. Forget CITIZEN KANE, CASABLANCA and GONE WITH THE WIND, REAR WINDOW (1954) is a masterpiece of voyeurism and thrilling suspense. Few movies have affected me like this, and James Stewart gives such a convincing performance and Grace Kelly is fabulous. Stewart is photographer L B. Jefferies, stuck in a wheelchair in his apartment with nothing to do but stare out the window, until one day he starts seeing things that possibly point to a murder. In an Oscar-worthy role, Stewart really ensconces himself in the role of Jefferies, and Raymond Burr is terrifyingly superb as Lars Thorwald, the man who may or may not have murdered his wife. Filming the entire movie on the one apartment set should feel claustrophobic, but its not, in fact, it feels more elaborate and fantastic than other experimental thrillers like 39 STEPS. A fantastic movie masterpiece. A remake of the 1938 original, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1955) is another fantastic Jimmy Stewart film, and Hitch's strong directorial style shows through in many of the film's tense action scenes.

Slammed by some critics for being vulgar and disgusting upon the film's release in 1960, PSYCHO is the first 'slasher' film, but it's a lot more than that. Who ever heard of setting your story around an actress, providing an engrossing story, problems, solutions, then killing off your main character 25 minutes through? Robert Bloch's fascinating book is a great starting point for a movie, giving everything what it needs, and Anthony Perkins gives a bone-chillingly-horrifying turn as Norman Bates, the deeply disturbed young man with parental problems. Bernard Herrman's unnervingly creepy score wracks up the terror. The famous shower scene alone is worth watching the film for. Unlike other slashers, PSYCHO actually does things artfully, with unique camera moves and amazing film techniques. TOPAZ (1969) is less impressive, with some nice performances, but this was the first film to signal Hitch's unfortunate decline in quality, and FAMILY PLOT, his last film in 1976 is far from his best movies. However, Bruce Dern gives a solid performance, and surprisingly, this is a fitting swansong for the director whose career spanned almost 50 years and 60 amazing films. Alfred Hitchcock will always be remembered forever as the master of suspense, inspiring young filmmakers for generations and scaring the pants of audiences for years to come. This is an essentail DVD collection for film fans

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