The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935)
On DVD at home with Lucía, on 9 December, 2006, around 23:59.
I’m glad to finally see this one. Criterion #3! It’s been on my list of films to watch for ages, and I even gave it a go way back when, but fell asleep about 10 minutes into it. In any case, it’s as good as I’d hoped, and certainly the best British Hitchcock I’ve seen so far. It’s a comedy thriller that seems very much ahead of its time in terms of technique (how many times has this premise been used since? It seems there’s a new Jodie Foster film with a similar idea), while very dated in its dialogue, setting, humor, etc.
(*)
North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
on DVD at home with Lucía on 9 November, 2006, at around 23:59
This is about the most formulaic Hitchcock film I’ve seen. At every turn and every plot twist, you could future plot twists gathering ahead just around the corner. This is certainly one of those archetypical thrillers that is at the apex of its genre and does absolutely nothing to transcend it or otherwise deviate from it (compared to, say, Vertigo or Psycho).
Cary Grant was in top form and looking quite old at 55. Eva Marie Saint was also a pleasure to watch. Their behavior in the film seemed intended to push the limits of the Hays Code without ever violating it—I wonder if it came across that way to a contemporary audience.
(**)