Category: Classic Reactions
-
Exploring the Television Career of Alfred Hitchcock: Episode Two – Breakdown
We’re back with another episode of television directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Last time we took a look at the very first episode of the series, a gripping tale called “Revenge.” You can check out that piece to get an understanding of the Hitchcock formula’s first opportunity on the small screen as well as some of…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reaction – To Catch a Thief
To Catch a Thief is Alfred Hitchcock on vacation. If you are watching the works of the Master of Suspense, whether it’s Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, Rebecca and so forth, you have expectations to be on the edge of your seat. Although it has moments of suspense, We pretty much spend our time in the…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reaction – WATERSHIP DOWN
WATERSHIP DOWN does absolutely no holding of hands. It’s naturalist, it’s visceral and it showcases the absolute fleeting idea of nature. Death is quick and sudden most of the time and when it isn’t, like a scene where a rabbit is caught in a snare it’s brutal because it’s a slow process of dying. In…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reactions – Carol Reed’s The Third Man
The Third Man is a movie that is in between identities and views. It’s a film that even if you’ve never seen it before, you think you’ve seen it one way and it ends up being another. It’s meant to disorient you. It achieves this at the earliest possible moment with the shot of the…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reactions – The War of the Worlds (1953)
Although science fiction films of the 1950 tend to have a reputation for being cheesy and cheap, there are a few that presented some form of perspective. The Thing From Another World for instance can be read as a warning of communism already being here. Forbidden Planet is a look at man’s unwillingness to be…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reaction – The Lady Vanishes
The Lady Vanishes is Alfred Hitchcock’s best film of his British era. It is an awesome cocktail of comedy, thrills and romance while simultaneously taking a peak at at British insularity. This film could be seen as a predecessor to Hitchcock’s single setting films of the 40s and 50s. Although The Lady Vanishes does not…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reaction: Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur, as it unfolds, feels very much like the movie this genre/sub genre was building towards. Everything about it excels over many of its contemporaries. It may be the best directed (in competition with DeMille’s Ten Commandments from 3 years prior). It has an outstanding production design, one of the best musical scores in movie…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reaction – Suspicion (1941)
Suspicion, while middle tier Hitchcock as best, still is another example of how well Alfred Hitchcock was at the things he was good at. Suspicion, despite its title is not as heavy on the thrills as other Hitchcock films. This could be related to the title which was chosen against Hitchcock’s wishes (he though it…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reaction – The Manchurian Candidate
One of the great political thrillers. The Manchurian Candidate isn’t a horror film, but it find it just as unnerving and gut wrenching as something like Psycho or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The Manchurian Candidate is so serious I actually think it’s more satirical than I expected it to be. For example when you…
-
DeaconsDen Classic Reaction – Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds
“I want to go through life jumping into fountains naked.” This is a line that represents the spirit of the character of Melanie Daniels and the what she represents to the spirit of Lydia Brennan. The Birds is Alfred Hitchcock’s The Shining. Much like Kubrick’s film, it’s a horror film that simply presents. You’re shown…
DeaconsDen 