Vic Sage

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Hey look. Vic Sage. Does anyone know what became of him? i hear he's blowing goats in the outback.

https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/7852-2017/large_MV5BMTg2NjMzMDAxMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDkxOTY0MzI_._V1_SY1000_CR0_0_676_1000_AL_.jpg> [YOUTUBE]rNHwKKdirxo[/YOUTUBE] i just found it streaming on HULU! i'm checking it out this weekend.

Slapstick is a maligned form. This was an excellent example of it. Its like watching the game MOUSETRAP, as you watch the ball roll, the wheel turn, the boot kick the bucket, and the trap come down. It's about the movement of objects in space, cause and effect, and its cinema in its purest form. Story? Characters? not so much.

Frayed Knot wrote: More than a bit of CHINATOWN in it, eh? yeah, if CHINATOWN had a happy ending. which is part of the problem here.

i enjoyed it, but i fail to see what the big deal was.

just saw it. i haven't read the book, so i had nothing to be disappointed by. So i liked it ok as a noir-ish adaptation of THE POWER BROKER. I had no problem with the era it was placed in, or the ages of the characters. And this was the first decent Willis performance in maybe a decade. But I found the Tourette's thing a pointless affectation and unnecessary for the story. You could have made the character an outsider/loser in any number of less distracting ways.

I found HUNTERS disappointing. Its got a Tarentino-esque vibe, which I liked, and an almost satirical level of violence. But the performances are largely cartoonish, and the twist in the last episode is SOOOOO preposterous, it made me regret watching the series.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: My new screenplay (working title: DRESSED TO KILL) follows young Stanley Eisen from his days as an teenage outcast ashamed of his deformed ear and hounded by a fuckedup parents to a meeting with brash, horny, opinionated mama's-boy Chaim Bloom as young rockers in a big, dangerous city with big, dangerous dreams. Along the way they recruit a hearty-partying guitar whiz and a sour, would-be Brooklyn gangster drummer; hook up with a manager who teaches them the tricks of long-vanished vaudeville magic and together, with only a few songs and even fewer ideas, they leapfrog contemporaries with better chops and bigger followings, on their way to domination (of 13 year old boys). Flick ends with the release of ALIVE! leaving just enough breadcrumbs to promise sequel after sequel after sequel. My only concession to Hollywood is to cast good looking young actors if you really want to get it green-lighted, you have to add Howard The Duck. https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Howard_the_Duck_Vol_1_13https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Howard_the_Duck_Vol_1_13 https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ef/22/32/ef22326f41cbc2c69483b73d9c73f1c0.jpg>

I think my predictions were pretty good, overall. I went 17/24, with all "locks" coming through. Of the 7 I missed, all were designated as possibles, with "closing", "dark horse", or "even money". No long shots came in.

Before this year, there were 11 foreign language films nominated for best picture, with 6 of them also nominated for best foreign-language film (and 5 of those winning in the best foreign film category, which began in 1956). Best picture nominees: 1932 - Grand Illlusion 1969 - Z* 1972- The Emigrants+ 1973 - Cries & Whispers 1987 - The Last Emperor 1995 - Il Postino 1998 - Life is Beautiful* 2000 - Crouching Tiger* 2006 - Letters from Iwo Jima 2012 - Amour* 2018 - Roma* +nominated in Foreign language film category *won in foreign language film category

its not trying to be funny, so evaluating it on that basis seems odd. It's also not animated, nor a civil war drama. There's oh so many things its not. but one of the things that it IS is powerful, timely, gripping and really well made.

just saw it on VOD. It's really good, but in the comedy-turns-to-tragedy genre this year, i still prefer JOJO.

CURRENT Oscar favorites (with my preferences italicized, where applicable): Best Picture: “Ford v Ferrari” “The Irishman” “Jojo Rabbit” - my choice “Joker” “Little Women” “Marriage Story” “1917” - favorite “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” “Parasite” - closing Director: Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman” Todd Phillips, “Joker” - my choice Sam Mendes, “1917” - favorite Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” - closing Lead Actor: Antonio Banderas “Pain and Glory” Leonardo DiCaprio “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Adam Driver “Marriage Story” Joaquin Phoenix “Joker” - a lock Jonathan Pryce “The Two Popes” Lead Actress: Cynthia Erivo “Harriet” Scarlett Johansson “Marriage Story” Saoirse Ronan “Little Women” Charlize Theron “Bombshell” Renee Zellweger “Judy”- a lock Adapted Screenplay: “The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi - favorite “Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver “Just Mercy” Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig - closing “The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten Original Screenplay: “Knives Out,” Rian Johnson “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach “1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino - favorite “Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han - closing Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes” Al Pacino, “The Irishman” Joe Pesci, “The Irishman” Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” - a lock Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell” Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” - a lock Scarlett Johannson, “Jojo Rabbit” - my choice Florence Pugh, “Little Women” Margot Robbie, “Bombshell” Cinematography: “The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto “Joker,” Lawrence Sher “The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke “1917,” Roger Deakins - a lock “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson Film Editing: “Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland - favorite “The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker “Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles - my choice “Joker,” Jeff Groth “Parasite,” Jinmo Yang - closing Original Score: “Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir- a lock “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat “Marriage Story,”Randy Newman “1917,” Thomas Newman “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams*“The King,” Nicholas Britell Original Song: “I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4” - dark horse “I'm Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” - favorite “I'm Standing With You,” “Breakthrough” “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2” - my choice “Stand Up,” “Harriet” Animated Feature: “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” Dean DeBlois -my choice “I Lost My Body” Jeremy Clapin “Klaus” Sergio Pablos - even money “Missing Link” Chris Butler “Toy Story 4” Josh Cooley - even money Best Foreign Language Film: “Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho - absolute lock Best Documentary Feature: “American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar - favorite “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov Best Documentary Short Subject: “In the Absence” “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger - favorite “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson, John Haptas “St. Louis Superman” “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix Best Live Action Short Film: “Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur -favorite “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat “The Neighbors' Window,” Marshall Curry - dark horse “Saria,” Bryan Buckley “A Sister,” Delphine Girard Animated Short: “Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry - slight favorite “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan - closing “Memorable,” Bruno Collet “Sister,” Siqi Song Sound Editing: “Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester - slight fave “Joker,” Alan Robert Murray “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate - closing “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman “Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord Sound Mixing: “Ad Astra” “Ford v Ferrari” - slight fave “Joker” “1917”- closing “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Production Design: “The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova - my choice “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales - dark horse “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh - favorite “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee Costume Design: ”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo “Joker,” Mark Bridges “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran - favorite “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips Visual Effects: “Avengers Endgame” - even money “The Irishman” “1917” - even money “The Lion King” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Makeup and Hair: “Bombshell” - lock “Joker” “Judy” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” “1917” JOJO is my personal fave so far this year, but most prognosticators are predicting a "1917" v "PARASITE" awards show.

my OCD required me to use different metrics to rank the movies ('ve actually ranked over 110 superhero movie adaptations). I used rankings from IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, CinemaScore and MetaCritic to create a metric and this was the ranking. (i did tweak it a bit to incorporate my own ranking too), I agree with you about Cap: First Avenger, but the sabrmetrics say otherwise.

Double Switch wrote: As long as I'm here, I have found a reason to need Netflix (but doubt I'll cave). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86ajK0EOq6IWhat Did Jack Do? Toototaban! i watched that last week, out of curiousity. Its pure Lynch - weird, funny, perverse. Reminded me of ERASERHEAD.

the order in which they were released (with my suggestions about which ones to skip): Iron Man Incredible Hulk [skip] Iron Man 2 [skip] Thor [skip] Captain America I: First Avenger Marvel's The Avengers Iron Man 3 [skip] Thor 2: The Dark World [skip] Captain America II: The Winter Soldier Avengers II: Age of Ultron Guardians of the Galaxy Ant-Man [skip] Captain America III: Civil War Doctor Strange Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 [skip] Spider-Man: Homecoming Thor 3: Ragnorak Black Panther Avengers III: Infinity War Ant-Man & Wasp Captain Marvel Avengers IV: Endgame Spider-Man: Far From Home

MCU ranked best to worst: AVENGERS IV: End Game BLACK PANTHER IRON MAN GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY THOR 3: Ragnorak marvel's AVENGERS CAPTAIN AMERICA III: Civil War CAPTAIN AMERICA II: Winter Soldier AVENGERS III: Infinity War SPIDER-MAN: Far From Home SPIDER-MAN: Homecoming DR. STRANGE CAPTAIN AMERICA I: first Avenger GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 ANT-MAN & WASP AVENGERS II: Age of Ultron ANT-MAN CAPTAIN MARVEL IRON MAN 3 THOR IRON MAN 2 INCREDIBLE HULK, the (08) THOR 2: Dark World

I didn't care a bit about the historical inaccuracies of the film. My problem was with the cliche-riddled, paint-by-numbers storytelling. Biopics have tropes, and this film nailed all of them in groan-inducing ways. Someone mentioned ROCKETMAN; that's an example of an original and thrilling take on the genre.

i wanted to see that! It was on Netflix, then it was gone.

yes. there is an excellent youtube video from my guys at Fandom Entertainment/SJU about the release patterns of oscar nominees over the years, and it shows that, with the increased volume of films now eligible because of the streaming companies and the perception that a late release is for "prestige" pictures, that 75% of nominees now come from the last 1/4 of the year. charting with Dan: [YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB_wCWL8V-Mhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB_wCWL8V-M[/YOUTUBE]

i find it amusing that it got a nomination for editing, but whaddyagonndo?

REVISED: 3/10/20 My top 10 of 2019 JOJO RABBIT JOKER 1917 ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD PARASITE ROCKETMAN AVENGERS: END GAME THE FAREWELL FORD V FERRARI IRISHMAN honorable mentions: BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD DOLEMITE IS MY NAME I LOST MY BODY KNIVES OUT other 2019 films i've seen so far this year good: FROZEN II HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON III HUSTLERS JOHN WICK III KLAUS fair: ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL CAPTAIN MARVEL ECHO IN THE CANYON MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU SHAZAM! SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME STAR WARS: RISE OF SKYWALKER TOY STORY 4 VELVET BUZZSAW YESTERDAY poor: COLD PURSUIT DARK PHOENIX GLASS GODZILLA JUMANJI II LATE NIGHT MARRIAGE STORY MEN IN BLACK: INT'L TERMINATOR: DARK FATE DARK PHOENIX was the worst movie i've seen that was released this past year. But at least i watched the whole thing. MARRIAGE STORY i turned off with about 30 minutes to go. 2019 films I still want to see AD ASTRA BOOKSMART DEAD DON'T DIE FAST COLOR HIGHWAYMEN THE KING THE LIGHTHOUSE LITTLE WOMEN MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE MIDSOMMAR MISSING LINK 6 UNDERGROUND UNCUT GEMS US WEATHERING WITH YOU ZOMBIELAND DOUBLE TAP

Of the 9 best picture nominees, their nominations in the top 5 categories are: JOKER (4) MARRIAGE STORY (4) ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (4) 1917 (3) IRISHMAN (3) LITTLE WOMEN (3) PARASITE (3) JOJO RABBIT (2) FORD V FERRARI (1)

Best Picture: “Ford v Ferrari” “The Irishman” “Jojo Rabbit” “Joker” “Little Women” “Marriage Story” “1917” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” “Parasite” Director: Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman” Todd Phillips, “Joker” Sam Mendes, “1917” Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” Lead Actor: Antonio Banderas “Pain and Glory” Leonardo DiCaprio “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Adam Driver “Marriage Story” Joaquin Phoenix “Joker” Jonathan Pryce “The Two Popes” Lead Actress: Cynthia Erivo “Harriet” Scarlett Johansson “Marriage Story” Saoirse Ronan “Little Women” Charlize Theron “Bombshell” Renee Zellweger “Judy” Adapted Screenplay: “The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi “Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver “Just Mercy” Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig “The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten Original Screenplay: “Knives Out,” Rian Johnson “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach “1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino “Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes” Al Pacino, “The Irishman” Joe Pesci, “The Irishman” Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell” Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” Scarlett Johannson, “Jojo Rabbit” Florence Pugh, “Little Women” Margot Robbie, “Bombshell” Cinematography: “The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto “Joker,” Lawrence Sher “The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke “1917,” Roger Deakins “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson Film Editing: “Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland “The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker “Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles “Joker,” Jeff Groth “Parasite,” Jinmo Yang Original Score: “Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat “Marriage Story,”Randy Newman “1917,” Thomas Newman “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams*“The King,” Nicholas Britell Original Song: “I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4” “I'm Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” “I'm Standing With You,” “Breakthrough” “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2” “Stand Up,” “Harriet” Animated Feature: “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” Dean DeBlois “I Lost My Body” Jeremy Clapin “Klaus” Sergio Pablos “Missing Link” Chris Butler “Toy Story 4” Josh Cooley Best Foreign Language Film: “Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho Best Documentary Feature: “American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov Best Documentary Short Subject: “In the Absence” “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson, John Haptas “St. Louis Superman” “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix Best Live Action Short Film: “Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat “The Neighbors' Window,” Marshall Curry “Saria,” Bryan Buckley “A Sister,” Delphine Girard Animated Short: “Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan “Memorable,” Bruno Collet “Sister,” Siqi Song Sound Editing: “Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester “Joker,” Alan Robert Murray “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman “Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord Sound Mixing: “Ad Astra” “Ford v Ferrari” “Joker” “1917” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Production Design: “The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee Costume Design: ”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo “Joker,” Mark Bridges “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips Visual Effects: “Avengers Endgame” “The Irishman” “1917” “The Lion King” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Makeup and Hair: “Bombshell” “Joker” “Judy” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” “1917”

Vic Sage wrote: I can't find my Hitchcock essay in the archives. oh well. another moment lost, like tears in rain. i found it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Film your murders like love scenes, and film your love scenes like murders", Alfred Hitchcock. Sir Alfred Hitchcock, the proverbial master of suspense, is generally considered the greatest British director of all time. Hitch was a small, lonely, fat lad ("I was an uncommonly unattractive young man."), with an absent father and controlling mother, raised in strict catholic home. There is a story that, as a child, he was sent to the local constabulary, with a letter from his father. The policeman read the letter and immediately locked the boy up for ten minutes. After that, the sergeant let young Alfred go, explaining, "This is what happens to people who do bad things." He had a morbid fear of police from that day on. Obviously, such an upbringing would likely precipitate his later preoccupations, and so his neurotic obsessions with guilt, wrongful accusation, lost identity, voyeurism, and the linkage of sex and death formed the themes of his most iconic work. He started out as an engineering draftsman and designer, which is evident in the visual storytelling techniques he developed ("If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.") He then got work in the fledgling silent film industry in the UK, with some stops and starts. His first hit was the silent thriller THE LODGER, loosely based on Jack the ripper. His subsequent successes (MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, 39 STEPS and LADY VANISHES) would catch the attention of Hollywood, and the siren's song would soon call him across the pond. selection of UK films: * The Lodger (1927) - silent * Blackmail (1929) - silent & then released as UK's 1st talkie * The Man Who Knew too much (1934) - his 1st international hit (better than the subsequent remake) * 39 Steps (1935) - his first great film * The Lady Vanishes (1938) - another great early film, got the attention of Hollywood * Jamaica Inn (1939) - a flop, but didn't deter Selznick Selznick years Noted producer David O. Selznick brought Hitch to Hollywood to direct the gothic melodrama REBECCA, to much acclaim and success, but not without tension between the two titanic control freaks. Hitch went on to make a number of successful films during his "Selznick years", though some were for other studios to whom Selznick had loaned (i.e., sold) him out. SUSPICION, NOTORIOUS and SHADOW OF A DOUBT are the best thrillers of the period. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, SABOTEUR and LIFEBOAT are all solid WWII-themed works, but MR & MRS SMITH is a forgettable romantic comedy, SPELLBOUND is overwrought psychobabble and PARADINE CASE an overlong courtroom drama. Gregory Peck was not one of Hitch's better leading men, as his particular brand of square-jawed heroism lacked the moral ambiguity and sly humor of his more successful collaborations with Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. * Rebecca (1940) - Academy Award (Best Picture) for Selznick, not Hitch. ultimately, more a Selznick movie than a Hitchcock movie (one of the few Hitch was not involved with the script's development). It has not dated well. * Foreign Correspondent (1940) (AA nom/picture) - solid WWII anti-Nazi agitprop * Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) - minor screwball comedy with Carole Lombard * Suspicion (1941) - 1st work as a producer (AA nom/picture), and his first work with Cary Grant; solid, but a sellout ending * Saboteur (1942) - solid WWII era "wrong man" thriller, ending atop Statue of Liberty (action scenes on iconic monuments a continuing motif) * Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - Joseph Cotton great as psycho Uncle Charlie... terrific; Hitch's personal fave * Lifeboat (1944) (AA nom/director) - solid WWII drama; more theatrical than cinematic (the "single set" limitation is one he'd go back to) * Spellbound (1945) (AA nom/director, picture) - Gregory Peck, with 1st of hitch's great "cool blondes", Ingrid Bergman, and a Dali dream sequence. Doesn't hold up at all. Freudian subtext becomes text. silly, talky * Notorious (1946) - Grant and Bergman are a much better pairing, Rains makes a great Cuckolded villain * The Paradine Case (1947) - overlong courtroom flop, with Bergman & Peck Warners: After his contract with Selznick expired, Hitchcock produced his next 2, both flops. He experimented with extended cuts and technicolor in ROPE, loosely based on the Leopold & Loeb thrill killer case, with a miscast Jimmy Stewart as an academic. UNDER CAPRICORN was likely undone not only by its mediocrity but the worldwide scandal that Ingrid Bergman was in the middle of (as she was having an affair, and later a child, with director Roberto Rosellini). The films were released by Warner Bros, and they then produced many of his subsequent films of the period (most of which were not particularly successful). DIAL M was Hitch's first big widescreen effort, in which he used some 3D effects, though the film was not actually released in 3D version until the 1980s. It also featured the 1st work with his new "cool blonde", Grace Kelly. * Rope (1948) - interesting filmic experiment, but dramatically flawed * Under Capricorn (1949) - dull flop * Stage Fright (1950) - Dietrich, minor work * Strangers on a Train (1951) - the best of this WB period * I Confess (1953) - Monty Clift as priest; nothing special. Hitch was not a fan of "method actors". * Dial M for Murder (1954) -first widescreen film (3D in 1980s) and 1st with Grace Kelly; holds up pretty well. * The Wrong Man (1956) - true story, with Henry Fonda. Its documentary feel undermines dramatic impact. Paramount: - "Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints." Hitch did 5 films with Paramount, which were all given a theatrical re-release back in the 1980s, before being distributed in the newly burgeoning home video market. 2 of these were two of his very best films, REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO, both with Jimmy Stewart at his most sexually disturbing and obsessed, verging on sado-masochistic. * Rear Window (1954) (AA nom/director) - Stewart & Kelly; darkly funny, disturbing rumination on voyeurism * To Catch a Thief (1955) - Kelly and Grant in light romantic thriller; urbane sophisticated entertainment. Kelly went on to become Princess Grace after the film * The Trouble with Harry (1955) - black comedy about a dead body, with a cute young Shirley McLaine; silly, pointless * The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) - Doris Day sings "Que Sera, Sera" -- a ridiculous remake * Vertigo (1958) - my favorite cool blonde, Kim Novak, totally fetishized by Stewart (and Hitch). One of the greatest films ever made * North by Northwest (1959) - Grant and E.M.Saint, "wrong man", black comedy, Freudian sexual hysteria, thrilling climax on national monument, the crop duster... its Hitch at his absolute best * Psycho (1960) (AA nom/director) - Hitch crossed the line from suspense to pure horror (depending on your definition), reinventing the genre and making a fortune for his efforts... he waived his salary to take 60% of net profits when he produced it as an indie (nobody wanted to touch the project), but eventually distributed by Paramount Universal: As host of his own long-running TV anthology series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-65), Hitch became an international celebrity bigger than any of his movies ("I was very pleased that television was now showing murder stories, because it's bringing murder back into its rightful setting - in the home"). During the late 50s, his artistic accomplishments as a filmmaker were finally being recognized in Europe by Truffaut and other french journalists-turned-filmmakers, and he became the darling of the new auteur theorists. But Hitch's health started to deteriorate in the 1960s, and his films for Universal in the mid 60s-70s mark his slow fade. * The Birds (1963) - Tippi Hedren was his next and last "cool blonde"; still memorable depiction of an avian uprising mysteriously connected to sexual desire. Arguably his last great film * Marnie (1964) - Hedren with Sean Connery in a psycho-sexual thriller that harkened back to SPELLBOUND in its Freudian obsessions; unsuccessful but some critical views put it in the pantheon of Hitch's best work. I disagree * Torn Curtain (1964) - an unsuccessful cold war thriller, this time with Julie Andrews (who was foisted upon him) and Paul Newman, who, as another "method actor", was a problem for Hitch. ("When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, "It's in the script"/ If he says, "But what's my motivation?", I say, "Your salary") * Topaz (1969) - another cold war thriller, this one had no stars and flopped * Frenzy (1972) - hitch went back to the UK, and became more explicit in his depiction of sex and death; some said it was a return to form, others bemoaned its excesses. But he always pushed the boundaries * Family Plot (1976) - this goofy black comedy was Hitch's final film and an inauspicious final note Never having won an Oscar as a director, Hitch was finally given a lifetime award in 1967 (his acceptance speech: "thank you.") In 1979, he was knighted (When asked by a member of the press why, at his advanced age, it took so long for the British government to grant him the title of Knight, he said: "I think it's just a matter of carelessness.") He died shortly thereafter. but his work lives on, not only in film archives, but in the careers of many filmmakers who came after him and were so influenced by his remarkable output. A dozen to see: 39 Steps (1935) Rebecca (1940) Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Notorious (1946) Strangers on a Train (1951) Dial M for Murder (1954) Rear Window (1954) Vertigo (1958) North by Northwest (1959) Psycho (1960) The Birds (1963) Frenzy (1972)