Spy Classic Still Holds Up Today
Or maybe I should have titled this review, "Hitchcock Classic Still Holds Up Today." Netflix really comes through when it comes to providing me with quality classic movies and this was next on my queue. Whether you are more attracted to the word "spy" or "Hitchcock," this movie is interestingly humorous and is filled with enough drama and passion to keep a 21st century audience at the edge of their seats.
I love male leads of the 50s and 60s, and Cary Grant is no exception. The man talks with a suave calmness throughout the whole film and has a swagger to his step that would make Commander William T. Riker (a stretch of a joke, but those who get it will think it's hilarious). I'm not sure if this is some defect in my Attract-o-meter, but I have to say for myself that I found Eva Marie Saint to be quite attractive, and to see her dialogue with Grant was steamy, and we are talking about the 50s here! The support cast was typical of the era and made for an entertaining piece of cinematic history.
Alfred Hitchcock proves with this film that he will remain the quintessential director in movie history for quite some time. Considering everything he had to work with back then, the movie plays as a modern, relevant piece today. That is, it would be completely bananas for anyone to try and redo this movie. What would the point be? Is it a perfect movie? Of course not. I am always going to reserve my "yeah right" moments when it comes to spy movies, but I was able to suspend my disbelief thanks in part to Hitchcock's masterful direction. It is always hard to give ratings to movies from half a century ago. I don't feel it is fair to compare them to modern film pieces, but then again, I don't want to rate it in isolation from the present. I think an 8 is fair, but it could easily be higher if we were to not consider film today.
It's a classic, and if you haven't added it to your classics to-do list, now would be a great time to do so.
Written July 5, 2013
I love male leads of the 50s and 60s, and Cary Grant is no exception. The man talks with a suave calmness throughout the whole film and has a swagger to his step that would make Commander William T. Riker (a stretch of a joke, but those who get it will think it's hilarious). I'm not sure if this is some defect in my Attract-o-meter, but I have to say for myself that I found Eva Marie Saint to be quite attractive, and to see her dialogue with Grant was steamy, and we are talking about the 50s here! The support cast was typical of the era and made for an entertaining piece of cinematic history.
Alfred Hitchcock proves with this film that he will remain the quintessential director in movie history for quite some time. Considering everything he had to work with back then, the movie plays as a modern, relevant piece today. That is, it would be completely bananas for anyone to try and redo this movie. What would the point be? Is it a perfect movie? Of course not. I am always going to reserve my "yeah right" moments when it comes to spy movies, but I was able to suspend my disbelief thanks in part to Hitchcock's masterful direction. It is always hard to give ratings to movies from half a century ago. I don't feel it is fair to compare them to modern film pieces, but then again, I don't want to rate it in isolation from the present. I think an 8 is fair, but it could easily be higher if we were to not consider film today.
It's a classic, and if you haven't added it to your classics to-do list, now would be a great time to do so.
Written July 5, 2013