Notorious Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Notorious
Year: 1946
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Country: US
Language: English

Alfred Hitchcock was a Director that could make great films regardless of how much time had passed. Each decade he worked he would create a masterpiece. In the 30's it was The 39 Steps, in the 40s it was Notorious, in the 50s it was Vertigo, and in the 60s it was Psycho. He was also capable of working with Hollywood's biggest stars of the time. Notorious features two of Hollywood's greatest; Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

Following the conviction of her German father for treason against the U.S., Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) takes to drink and men. She is approached by a government agent  (Cary Grant) who asks her to spy on a group of her father's Nazi friends operating out of Rio de Janeiro. A romance develops between Alicia and Devlin, but she starts to get too involved in her work

Famed French Director Francois Truffaut cites Notorious as the single work that provides the fullest representation of Hitchcock’s art. Critic Roger Ebert claimed that the picture "is the most elegant expression of the master's visual style". Indeed it is quite spectacular; not a single shot is wasted and, due to photographer Ted Tetzlaff, each scene is rich in expression and beauty. The passion and perversity of the situation takes our breath away. Though the Hays Code strictly regulated onscreen sexuality, Hitchcock was smart enough to skirt around this with subtle dialogue and innuendo. We do not see the sex, but there is no doubt that it happens.

Notorious has aged well; the romantic triangle between Alicia, Devlin and the Nazi Spy Sebastian (Claude Rains) is still incredibly suspenseful. We hope for a fairy-tale ending, but Hitchcock never guarantees that it will happen. The most exemplary quality of this film, even more-so than the technical mastery, is its acknowledgement that the capacity for inhumanity is not exclusive to Nazis or various other villains which we are told are fundamentally different from us. Indeed it's quite worrisome, however Notorious has a hint of optimism that vanished from the Hitchcock picture as early as 1948's Rope. 

In conclusion, while Psycho was the first Hitchcock I had seen, Notorious is the first Hitchcock that made me take great interest in the "Master of Suspense". It is brilliantly crafted; a film with romance that isn't necessarily "romantic". A film which shows that  love is difficult, love is sacrifice, and explains that fact in an absolutely shocking way. Praise it! 5/5

The 39 Steps Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: The 39 Steps
Year: 1935
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Country: UK
Language: English

With The 39 Steps the "Master of Suspense" Alfred Hitchcock proves that he is also a connoisseur of the MacGuffin; a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues. In Orson Welles' Citizen Kane the MacGuffin is the word "Rosebud", in this particular film it is the secret of the 39 Steps. It is an object of great intrigue, that catapults this sheer excitement of a story.

A Canadian man in London named Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) tries to help a counterespionage agent, but when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to both save himself and also stop a spy ring which is trying to steal top secret information.

Alfred Hitchcock had financial successes before, but none quite reached the acclaim of 39 Steps. It gave him tremendous international success, being mainly responsible for his emigration to the United States as a first rank film-maker. None of his future successes, like Rear Window and Psycho, would be possible without this picture. 

Discussing the film with French New Wave Director Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock said “What I like best about The 39 Steps are the swift transitions.” Indeed it is swift, unrelenting and gloriously cut. The transitions are seamless, the editing is masterful. The chilling atmosphere goes very well with the brief moments of comedy. In one scene Donat, running away from police, finds himself in a political meeting mistaken for a politician. He finds himself giving an impromptu speech and gets a standing ovation for his efforts. 

 "I know what it is to feel lonely and helpless and to have the whole world against me, and those are things that no men or women ought to feel!" As an audience we connect with Richard Hannay because he is an everyman. Indeed, there is an Indiana Jones aspect, but he is a lot like the general public. He has very human wants and needs. He is not villainous, not overly moral, he is just a man who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He succeeds when he is charmingly dishonest, but never when he tries to tell the truth. When Madeline Carroll enters the picture, it shifts in tone. It becomes less serious and more of a romantic screwball comedy. However, because it's not abrupt and it's rather subtle the film gets increasingly better. 

In conclusion, The 39 Steps is a fantastic picture because it can go from a paranoid thriller to a light comedy and back again without losing its momentum. Hitchcock's deliberate use of the camera is so inventive that many books have been written about it. A mere review could not do Hitchcock's technical mastery justice. 39 Steps is a rarity; a masterpiece that also is a crowd-pleaser. It has not aged a bit, despite being 79 years old. Praise it! 5/5

Rear Window Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: Rear Window
Year: 1954
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Country: US
Language: English

By the 1950's Alfred Hitchcock was well established as the "Master of Suspense". International Directors, like Claude Chabrol and Henri-Georges Clouzot, would be compared to him and judged based on similarity. A decade earlier his Rebecca won Best Picture at the academy awards, and in 1955 he would make the critically acclaimed television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He could do no wrong, and Rear Window was proof of this.

The everyman actor James Stewart stars as a wheelchair bound photographer who spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and eventually becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

The hero of Rear Window, L.B. Jeffries, is a very energetic man who unfortunately has been laid up with a broken leg and a large cast. He is unable to leave his apartment, living in solitude with exception of two visitors; His visiting nurse Stella and his fiance Lisa Fremont. She lectures him, because in his despair he would rather live vicariously through the lives of others than himself. Through this character, Hitchcock displays voyeurism- a common theme amongst his films- at its finest. Obsessed with photography, he neglects to work on his own relationships. He would rather have what he can observe, rather than what he can hold.

Just like the man, the audience too is trapped. We are trapped inside his point of view, trapped inside his lack of freedom and opportunity. We are forced to share his obsession, even though we know it is wrong to spy on others. The picture presents its methods of spying in plain view, we see what he sees and draw the conclusions that he draws. There are many moments in the film where Jeffries is required to act, but he doesn't because he prefers to be in his passive role. He is not corrupt, but neither is he tied to his morals.

James Stewart plays his role as the passive player rather well. Each time I view the picture I see the character in a different light. My first viewing I greatly sympathized with the man. Grace Kelly embodies every emotion the character feels. She is intelligent, cool and elegant- yet she is very hurt that Jefferies does not give in too her. However even when her fiance doesn't give in to her sexually, the camera does. Hitchcock weaves a profound level of suspense between these characters, far elevated above the cheap thrills of modern horror flicks.

In conclusion, Rear Window has been called "the thriller equivalent of foreplay." Each brilliant scene pays off in a shocking conclusion. Indeed the act of watching any film makes us voyeurs, passive players in strangers lives, however this is a level above that. I do hope this is fondly remembered throughout time. Praise it! 5/5

Grand Illusion Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: La Grande Illusion
Year: 1937
Director: Jean Renoir
Country: France
Language: French

Grand Illusion is one of French Cinema's finest films. It brought Jean Renoir massive acclaim from the United States, even President Franklin D. Roosevelt gazed at the picture in admiration. Made a few years before the start of WWII, Illusion travels back to the previous World War, a war that Renoir claims was “based on fair play, a war without atom bombs or torture." Renoir succeeds in showing the humanity of both sides, during a time when the axis seemed sub-human.

During the First World War, two French soldiers are captured and imprisoned in a German POW camp. Several escape attempts follow until they are sent to a seemingly impenetrable fortress which seems impossible to escape from.

Grand Illusion transcends the tight confines of the war genre. There are no trenches, rarely a gun is shot and there are no battle sequences. The accident of war appears to bring out the best of POW's and their captors, who in peacetime would be strangers to one another. Men on both sides subscribed to the same code of behavior, no deaths are unjustified slaughters. This old European order died in the trenches, as the Nazis were not so civilized.

The "grand illusion" in Renoir's title does not refer to the POW prison escape attempts, but rather the illusion that somehow the upper class are above warfare. German Commandant Von Rauffenstein (Erich Von Stroheim) is absolutely shocked that his prisoners attempt to escape, especially when aristocratic De Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) gives him his word that they will not. For an enemy Rauffenstein is a rather commendable fellow. Deluded by romantic notions of chivalry and friendship, the Commandant makes for a touching character.

Grand Illusion ran for 26 weeks in New York, but was banned by Mussolini in Italy and Goebbels in Germany. Goebbels would declare it "Cinematic Public Enemy No. 1,” ordering the original negative seized. The print would then move along borders, out of reach of Nazi hands. However, it was eventually assumed that the negative was destroyed by an ally air raid in 1942. In the 60's Renoir worked to "restore" his film, but efforts would prove futile. The original negative, meanwhile, was captured by Russians as they occupied Berlin and shipped to an archive in Moscow. The world would wait 30 years after it's premiere for a proper print that looks and sounds crisp and clear.

In conclusion, while Rules of the Game is considered another Renoir masterpiece, I feel that Grand Illusion has aged better. It is incredibly suspenseful and truly mesmerizing. His sympathy for every character stuck in this terrible war fills every shot, not a frame is without passion for his fellow man. Praise it! 5/5