Alfred Hitchcock's Films

Laura

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Ark and I decided to watch another movie... yeah, I know, "stop the presses!" We don't usually have the time and it often takes us two or three sittings to see a whole movie since we can't stay awake...

I picked out Suspicion thinking that it wouldn't be too long but it wouldn't have mattered because pretty quickly I realized that Cary Grant, playing Johnnie Aylesgarth - a "charming but irresponsible" man - was actually giving a great performance as a true psychopath a la Hervey Cleckley.

Joan Fontaine was equally good as the psychopath's victim, constantly shoving things under the rug, thinking she could fix things no matter how awful they were, and so on.

The movie starts out very light and sunny, though clues about Johnnie are given right at the beginning. An early scene, at the top of a hill, is an early "chill," though the revelations proceed so gradually that you almost don't notice it until it is too late. It all seems like a story about a common ne'er-do-well.

Grant "plays at" being charismatic and ambiguous, but for a person familiar with the signs of psychopathy, it is not difficult to see through him. What is difficult is to realize how many people would view such behavior as harmless. But all the main characteristics of the socially adept psychopath come out little by little and I can't help but think that Hitchcock knew exactly what he was doing but had to be very subtle about it. After all, when "The Bad Seed" was produced, based directly on the work of Cleckley, in 1956, the subject was considered so shocking that all kinds of weird effects were utilized to let everyone know it was "just a play." In "Suspicion," Johnnie Aylesgarth is just Rhoda Penmark all grown up.

The ending of Suspicion was something of a surprise to me at first because it seems as though it is suggesting that Joan (as Lena McLaidlaw, heiress), has suddenly realised that the terror she has come to feel regarding her husband was just fabricated in her imagination. But, knowing the true nature of the psychopath, you know that isn't the case.

When Johnnie gives his explanation - undoubtedly another lie as has been everything he has said throughout the movie - she buys it just like she has bought every other lie. I then realized that the so-called happy ending wasn't. For anyone who had been really paying attention to all the clues that the movie presented, who had noticed that Johnnie couldn't do anything but lie, and lie repeatedly and creatively, the ending could only mean one thing: Lena had fallen for the lies again and when the car turned around, she was choosing lies over truth and death over life.

In a way, it was like the ending of the play version of "The Bad Seed." In the play, Mommy dies and Rhoda survives to kill another day. "What will you give me for a basket of kisses," Daddy asks. "I'll give you a basket of hugs!" Curtain.
 
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yesterday i watched 'Rope' (1948).

aside from being a great movie i noticed how one of the main characters is a textbook example for a psychopath.

his talking about being superior and deserving to kill the inferior just for the fun of it gives a great insight into how the mind of a psychopath works.

Good and evil, right and wrong were invented for the ordinary average man, the inferior man, because he needs them.


highly recommended for anyone who wants to illustrate to someone, how psychopaths think, or just anyone looking to watch a great flick!

here is the imdb link for anyone who wants more info before watching it
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040746/
 
was watching saboteur last night and a scene jumped out at me that sort of illustrated the attitude of the powers that be... it's a short conversation between the main character, barry kane, and the antagonist, mr. tobin.

if you'd like to see this scene in the film and have or can find a copy of it, it begins at 1hr 17min 45sec into the film. or just watch the whole thing, it's really good! ;) (_http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035279/)

Barry Kane: Where is she?

Mr. Tobin: You seem to have a soft spot for that young lady. You can’t afford to make yourself that vulnerable. Not when you’re out trying to… save your country.

Barry Kane: Why is it that you sneer every time you refer to this country? You’ve done pretty well here, I don’t get it.

Mr. Tobin: No, you wouldn’t. You’re one of the ardent believers – the good American. Oh there are millions like you, people that plod along without asking questions. I hate to use the word stupid, but it seems to be the only one that applies. The great masses. The moron millions. Well there are a few of us who are unwilling to just troop along. A few of us who are clever enough to see that there’s much more to be done than live small, complacent lives; a few of us in America who desire a more profitable type of government. [tobin smiles broadly] When you think about it Mr. Kane, the competence of totalitarian nations is much higher than ours. They get things done.

Barry Kane: Yea, they get things done. They bomb cities, sink ships, torture and murder so that you and your friends can eat off of gold plates. It’s a great philosophy…

Mr. Tobin: I neither intend to be bombed nor sunk, Mr. Kane. That’s why I’m leaving now, and if things don’t deride for you. If we should win, then I’ll come back. Perhaps I can get what I want then – POWER. Yes, I want that as much as you want your comfort or your job or that girl. We all have different tastes as you can see. Only I’m willing to back my tastes with… the necessary force.

Barry Kane: You certainly make it sound smooth and easy. Well that’s a trick. I know the results of that power you believe in. It killed my friend and it’s killing thousands like him. That’s what you’re aiming at. But it doesn’t bother you, I can see that, because you really hate all people. Let me tell you something. The last four or five days I’ve learned a lot. I’ve met guys like you and I’ve met others. People who are helpful and eager to do the right thing. People that get a kick out of helping each other fight the bad guys. Love and hate – the world’s choosing up sides. I know who I’m with. And there are a lot of people on my side – millions of us in every country. We’re not soft, we’re plenty strong, and we’ll fight, standing up on our two feet and we’ll win, remember that Mr. Tobin. We’ll win no matter what you guys do. We’ll win if it takes from now until the cows come home.

Mr. Tobin: Mr. Kane, I think we’ve discussed the rights of man sufficiently. [tobin yawns] I’m feeling a little tired. You must be too. Robert, you think you can arrange for Mr. Kane to sleep somewhere tonight?

[Kane is knocked unconscious – end scene]
 
Saboteur was the very first adult movie I ever watched in a theatre!
Saw it again last year along with a string of other Hitchcock movies. While this one is usually unfairly considered to be a lesser Hitchcock film
it`s not only a very suspenseful (surprise!) movie with likeable protagonists and a terrific climax on the Statue Of Liberty, it also reflects and
resonates quite surprisingly with temporary developments. Basically it`s about an alleged terrorist/american spy who runs from the government
in times of war (i think/believe that America was at war by 1942). There`s a little speech by Priscilla Lane`s blind uncle about patriotism and
"doing the right thing" which they probably wouldn`t allow in a contemporary film!
PS: Considering the fact that Hitch was very apolitical he had a surprising instinct regarding NOT trusting the G and psychopaths: Especially in Psycho,
but also in Rope (1948), where you can listen to a pychopath explaining his "philosophy" to his professor. The latter is famous for his experimental
style and the homosexual subtext but, believe me, when you watch it you see "psychopath" spelled out in big letters!
 
:D It was stunning! There are two elitist characters, who share the same cruel attitude towards the crowd of average people, megalomaniac fantasies about how to deal with inferior beings, both being driven by the intellect only. SPOILER: But when it comes to putting fantasy into action, when one of them makes it real by making a murderous example of somebody, who is considered to be inferior, the other one suddenly realizes the scope of that cruel attitude. When he begins to feel the horror of that deed, he instantaneously backpedals and disassociates himself from his former fellow, rethinking his own attitude. The murderer on the other hand is without conscience. He is simply not capable of compassion or empathy. He is driven, charming and without scruples!
 
I love Alfred and I don't remember this movie. I will look it for sure.

Another movie by the same director that treat psychopathy is Frenzy, the history of a serial killer. I always ask myself seeing the movie how the victims, in that case women, can not see what is coming for them. They fell in love with the guy. I always look for an clue to see if Alfred gives us a clue or if it is really impossible, for the victims, to be aware of the psychopathy of the guy. Very interesting.

So I will check for The Rope, thanks for the link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frenzy
 
Thanks for the tip, loreta : ) I'll check it out. I discovered that some of the old movies are somehow timeless. Sometimes I find the old approaches refreshing compared to new ones, that follow the high-end "zeitgeist". I guess, I got a little fed up with these. But of course there are some very good new movies as well :P
 
You are welcome forget-me-not! I asked my husband to look for "rope", I think it is the only one I did not see by master Hitchcock.

I love old movies. I think they were more profound. We are talking evidently about american movies. French old movies were very valiant, and that since always. I like Hitchcock even if he is not very very profound and even if he was a "little" misogynist. ;) What I don't like of the majority of new movies is their perfection using digital. Maybe I am an old lady with old ideas :P
 
See this article:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/why-hitchcocks-horrifying-film-on-the-holocaust-was-never-shown/

Apparently going to be shown on HBO on Jan 26th. If anybody has HBO and can record it on DVD for me, I'd appreciate it.
 
Laura said:
See this article:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/why-hitchcocks-horrifying-film-on-the-holocaust-was-never-shown/

Apparently going to be shown on HBO on Jan 26th. If anybody has HBO and can record it on DVD for me, I'd appreciate it.

I'll look into it. Might have to buy a DVD recorder to copy the file from the DVR, unless our provider will do that for us as long as I set it up to record the program when it airs. I'll make sure to do that!
 
It certainly may be a different one, but I feel like I've seen this before. Is it not this footage?

_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W88gA7O_tOM
 
It seems to be not the original Hitchcock film but one, which was derived from it.

_https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Will_Fall
Night Will Fall is a documentary by director Andre Singer that uses footage originally compiled by the British Government in April of 1945 as part of the German Concentration Camps Factual Survey. The 1945 film was part of an effort led by the British Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein to fully illustrate the crimes of the Nazis. Bernstein brought in Richard Crossman to write the film's narration and had Alfred Hitchcock flown over from Hollywood to advise on the structure. The British government shelved the film without showing it to the public, and questions remain whether they purposefully suppressed it for political reasons or whether they determined that other projects would be more effective in the de-Nazification process.[1]

70 years after being relegated to the archives, an updated version of the documentary produced by Sally Angel and Brett Ratner will air on the U.K.'s Channel 4 on 24 January 2015 and will then be broadcast by major networks around the world on 27 January, Holocaust Remembrance Day, the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.[2] Night Will Fall combines the original footage with new interviews of the survivors who are still alive, including Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Branko Lustig.[1]


This HBO documentary is available in about February at Amazon (Spain, UK, Germany, but not France).

_http://www.amazon.es/Night-Will-Fall-Reino-Unido/dp/B00P6OOEQG/ref=sr_1_3?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1421597677&sr=1-3&keywords=Night+Will+Fall

_http://www.amazon.de/Night-Will-Fall-DVD-UK/dp/B00P6OOEQG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421597172&sr=8-1&keywords=Night+Will+Fall

_http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Will-Fall-André-Singer/dp/B00P6OOEQG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421597215&sr=8-1&keywords=Night+Will+Fall
 
Jonathan said:
It certainly may be a different one, but I feel like I've seen this before. Is it not this footage?

_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W88gA7O_tOM

The quality on youtube wasn't superb but Lord! I don't know if one needs sharpness for a film like that. Utterly horrifying. Everyone should share this film. This is exactly where things are heading on the world stage.
 
Laura said:
Jonathan said:
It certainly may be a different one, but I feel like I've seen this before. Is it not this footage?

_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W88gA7O_tOM

The quality on youtube wasn't superb but Lord! I don't know if one needs sharpness for a film like that. Utterly horrifying. Everyone should share this film. This is exactly where things are heading on the world stage.
No longer available on youtube.
 
Redrock12 said:
Laura said:
Jonathan said:
It certainly may be a different one, but I feel like I've seen this before. Is it not this footage?

_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W88gA7O_tOM

The quality on youtube wasn't superb but Lord! I don't know if one needs sharpness for a film like that. Utterly horrifying. Everyone should share this film. This is exactly where things are heading on the world stage.
No longer available on youtube.


Works just fine for me.
 
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