tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post2427176827447888201..comments2024-01-11T05:02:32.321-05:00Comments on Goodfella's Movie Blog: 1954: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-86313006555755297422009-10-13T09:12:08.372-04:002009-10-13T09:12:08.372-04:00On the Waterfront is a movie that will always have...On the Waterfront is a movie that will always have a special place with me, because it was the first "classic movie" (a stupid term I know, but that was my thinking as a kid) that I saw when I was younger and fell in love with.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-43079466191201283432009-10-12T18:39:16.963-04:002009-10-12T18:39:16.963-04:00On the Waterfront.
Rear Window is of course a gre...On the Waterfront.<br /><br />Rear Window is of course a great, great movie but I remember being slightly disappointed the first time I saw it. I was on a Hitchcock kick as a teenager and the films I'd seen up to that point - Spellbound, Vertigo, maybe Psycho (whose entire plot I already knew, in any case) - were dark, psychological, dreamy, with mysterious premises and twists at the end. Rear Window with its more lighter tone and emphasis on the procedural rather than the mysterious, surprised me. Same was true of North by Northwest. I now love both films, but I'm still a Vertigo/Notorious/Psycho Hitchcock fan at heart - the master is almost always both macabre and playful; for whatever reason my favorite works of his tend to emphasize the former quality.MovieMan0283http://thedancingimage.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-62676141701660623132009-07-26T03:07:36.742-04:002009-07-26T03:07:36.742-04:00I recently saw 'Rear Window' and loved it ...I recently saw 'Rear Window' and loved it - now after reading your review I will have to watch it again and see all the things I missed! I'm not commenting so much now that you've reached the 50s as I haven't seen as many films from that era as from the 30s and 40s (though there are loads from those decades I still need to see too...) but am nevertheless still reading and admiring your reviews. JudyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-10361753400884912882009-07-24T18:37:38.920-04:002009-07-24T18:37:38.920-04:00Samuel - Glad that you liked Sansho. I like Seven...Samuel - Glad that you liked Sansho. I like Seven Samurai too, but there are a few other Kurosawas that I prefer. Still, both are great films.<br /><br />Definitely try and get a copy of Touchez pas au grisbi! As I've said before, until I saw Le Samourai, I would have argued that Touchez was the best French gangster film I had seen.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-33199817938796054002009-07-24T12:43:10.955-04:002009-07-24T12:43:10.955-04:00Saw Sansho last night. I'd agree with Dave in ...Saw Sansho last night. I'd agree with Dave in preferring it to Ugetsu among Mizoguchi's work but it didn't dislodge Seven Samurai in my ranking on the first viewing. I did come away more impressed with Mizoguchi's style, and I'll have more to say about the film over the weekend.<br /><br />Now I have to find a copy of Touchez Pas Au Grisbi. I used to see it everywhere before I realized it was something I wanted to see. Isn't life torture?Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-82199864454682211002009-07-23T19:35:28.322-04:002009-07-23T19:35:28.322-04:00Thanks, John... definitely a film I've wanted ...Thanks, John... definitely a film I've wanted to write about for a while and now I finally had the chance. In your list of films, to this day I still haven't seen "Them!". Seeing it as one of your runner ups reminds me that I've been meaning to see it for a long time.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-58048624025565688422009-07-23T18:38:58.592-04:002009-07-23T18:38:58.592-04:00Dave – What passion in your article and I totally ...Dave – What passion in your article and I totally agree with your choice. It was tough between Rear Window and Seven Samurai. <br /><br />Personally, I think this is one of your best articles! I agree with your opening paragraph on the futility of list making, though I am addicted to it myself. As your mention , 1954 was a great year as I am a big fan of Les Diabolique an On the Waterfront also.<br /><br /><br />#1 Rear Window<br /><br /><br />Runner ups<br /><br />Seven Samurai<br />Les Diabolique<br />On the Waterfront<br />Bad Day at Black Rock<br />Johnny Guitar<br />Dial M For Murder<br />The Caine Mutiny<br />Them!<br />La StradaJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-71005493962343276832009-07-23T08:11:47.876-04:002009-07-23T08:11:47.876-04:00Sam - Thanks again for the kind words. I have to ...Sam - Thanks again for the kind words. I have to admit that I was quite proud of this one after finishing it. This is the first time that I had tried to write anything on this film, so I had quite a bit to say on it.<br /><br />I can't argue with your assessment of Sansho the Bailiff. It really is a shattering film -- that image of Anju walking into the lake is still haunting. Sansho and a certain film that might make the countdown in the very near future (I won't give everything away!) are the two films that I would argue are the best ever made in Japan.<br /><br />There are a few films on your runners-up list that I am actually counting as 1955. I saw that Les Diaboliques and Bad Day at Black Rock are listed as 1954 in Allan's timeline, but the dates I find for their initial premieres are January 1955. So, as I said in the note I posted a few days ago, just for the sake of uniformity that is what I am sticking with. A minor thing, ultimately, because neither would be a selection in either 54 or 55!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-17544829740032618792009-07-23T00:38:06.379-04:002009-07-23T00:38:06.379-04:00There is an annoying typo in my second runner-up, ...There is an annoying typo in my second runner-up, which should read TWENTY-FOUR EYES.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-21511448026208815702009-07-23T00:36:29.763-04:002009-07-23T00:36:29.763-04:00My Own #1 Film of 1954:
Sansho the Bailiff (Mizo...My Own #1 Film of 1954:<br /><br />Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi)<br /><br /><br />Runners-Up:<br /><br />Rear Window (Hitchcock)<br />Tenty-Four Eyes (Kinoshita; Japan)<br />Ordet (Dreyer; Denmark)<br />Late Chrysanthemums (Naruse; Japan)<br />Les Diabolique (Clouzot; France)<br />Chikamatsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi; Japan)<br />A Star is Born (Cukor)<br />On the Waterfront (Kazan)<br />Bad Day at Black Rock (J. Sturges)<br />La Strada (Fellini; Italy)<br />Senso (Visconti; Italy)<br />Johnny Guitar (Ray)<br />Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Donen)<br />Them! (Douglas)<br />Touchex Pas Au Gribisi (becker; France)<br />Magnificent Obsession (Sirk)<br />Karin Mansdotter (Sjoberg; Sweden)<br /><br />SANSHO THE BAILIFF (SANSHO DAYU) is for me the greatest film of the 1950's and may well be the greatest film ever made. It's a shattering and transcendent work, and as beautifully crafted as any of the cinematic masterpieces, and once seen it will will be remembered for the rest of your life. Both Allan and I wrote reviews of the film on the same day for WitD during the 50's countdown, which as you know was won by your #! film, REAR WINDOW. I don't blame you in the least for choosing it, as it is my own runner-up here for your 1954 compilation, and it's one of Hitchcock's most beloved films.<br /><br />Despite the fact that you subsequently admit that the voyeurism in this film is kind of ambiguous, you pen here an exemplary explanation of its essence in the film:<br /><br />"The obvious, and most interesting level in my opinion, is the issue of voyeurism. Exactly what judgment Hitchcock is passing on the innate human desire to watch something one is not meant to see is open to interpretation, but there are some key things that I think can help to craft an explanation. For the entirety of the film, the audience is viewing the action from Jeff’s apartment, with much of our view being the exact same as the leading character. When Jeff picks up his camera and looks through the high-powered lens, Hitchcock gives the audience the exact same vantage point. Is he implicating the audience in whatever trouble is stirred up by Jeff’s actions? Or is he making the point that the viewers would act similarly to Jeff if they were in the same situation? It’s hard to give a definitive answer to those questions, but they are interesting to ponder. The fact that in many cases Hitchcock frames shots that literally give the impression that you are viewing things through Jeff’s eyes are meant to make everyone watching feel that it could be them in this scenario...."<br /><br />You managed in this review to cover all bases, and after MADAME DE, you have now written two reviews that you should really take a bow for. Your painstaking work here is quite evident, and the comilation of list shere by me and everyone else here should not cloud that.<br /><br />My own runner-up list contains a number of films that are absolutely first-rank whether they fell in this or any other year.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-37405580832479809232009-07-22T22:49:12.276-04:002009-07-22T22:49:12.276-04:00Thanks for the compliments, C.K.! I have been try...Thanks for the compliments, C.K.! I have been trying not to drag reviews out too long, but this one just kept flowing. It's a favorite, so I suppose I had a lot to say.<br /><br />Samuel - I'm almost certain that you'll like Sanso in some way -- visually, thematically, or both. It's a great film.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-89883796329926517202009-07-22T19:19:08.290-04:002009-07-22T19:19:08.290-04:00Dave, you are doing such tremendously interesting ...Dave, you are doing such tremendously interesting work and it's another reminder of why I steer clear of movie reviews and analysis! Let the experts handle it! I feel like a real heel for not commenting on this wonderful series of yours, but I have been reading--avidly.Abe Lucashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13991534345391655980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-62561706775744466962009-07-22T19:01:18.423-04:002009-07-22T19:01:18.423-04:00As things now stand with me I would agree with you...As things now stand with me I would agree with you as far as deeming Rear Window the best American film of the year, though I'd put Seven Samurai ahead of it worldwide. However, I have a copy of Sansho Dayu practically in hand and I intend to look at it tonight or tomorrow. Your blog has been an effective goad to get me to watch certain essentials that have been sitting on shelves for a while.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.com