Capo
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Post by Capo on Jan 18, 2007 17:00:24 GMT
Number 17 Alfred Hitchcock 1932 UK Several jewel thieves and a detective chase after a diamond necklace. Unfolding more or less in real time, this takes too long to exposit its characters, is far too muddled in distinguishing who is who (though perhaps all the better for it), and is, early on at least, crude and dated. But Hitchcock shoots in striking, expressionistic black-and-white, using for the first forty-five minutes a single setting to great effect: a ramshackle of an old house, with three floors and a spiral staircase, lit by characters carrying candles and echoing with howling outside winds and creepy internal footsteps. It has its well-timed moments of humour, has one of the most vicious fist-fights ever, and steps up a gear for the climax upon a train, for which Hitchcock moves into montage to imply not only different strands of the story coming together, but that, when they finally do, it is going to be a catastrophic clash - and, even if the train is a model, it is catastrophic indeed.
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jrod
Ghost writer
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Post by jrod on Jan 19, 2007 6:10:05 GMT
ive seen maybe 30 or 40 Hitchcocks, and Number 17 is among the 3 or 4 worst
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Jan 19, 2007 13:33:31 GMT
The writing's muddled, the editing shabby, but there are many wonderful moments and much worth to be found. Hitchcock was excellent at adapting real-time stageplays to the screen, don't you think?
What didn't you like about Number 17?
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jrod
Ghost writer
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Post by jrod on Jan 20, 2007 19:49:49 GMT
"this takes too long to exposit its characters, is far too muddled in distinguishing who is who (though perhaps all the better for it), and is, early on at least, crude and dated. "
This pretty much echoed my thoughts. I watched the first 3 discs of a Hitchcock collection of movies he made in his early career, and these themes reoccur there as well (Jamica Inn stands out). I didnt watch the last disc, because I wasnt too enchanted with the set as a whole, and the films on that one were like 3 of his 5 lowest rated on IMDb. The best in the set were The Lady Vanishes, Young and Innocent, and Blackmail. I dont think I put any of those in his top 10
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Jan 20, 2007 20:51:06 GMT
I'd be interested in seeing how you'd update your rankings in his thread.
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jrod
Ghost writer
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Post by jrod on Jan 21, 2007 2:02:46 GMT
yeah, ill do it sometime next week, Im not at my apartment where my film database is this weekend, and I might leave a few out
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