Psycho (1960)
–You know what I think? I think that we’re all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch.
Ah, Hitchcock! All hail the master! [...]
Archive for October, 2008
Psycho
Posted in Reviews, tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, John Gavin, Vera Miles on October 30, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Dragonwyck
Posted in Reviews, tagged Vincent Price, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Gene Tierney on October 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Dragonwyck (1946)
–But I will not live by ordinary standards. I will not run with the pack. I will not be chained into a routine of living which is the same for others. I will not look to the ground and move on the ground with the rest: so long as there are those mountaintops, and [...]
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Posted in Reviews, tagged Bette Davis, Joan Crawford on October 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
–You mean all this time we could have been friends?
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is infamous because it is the first and only teaming of screen legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The women were legendary rivals, exacerbated by incidents like Davis turning down the script for Mildred [...]
The Changeling
Posted in Reviews, tagged George C. Scott, Melvyn Douglas on October 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Changeling (1980)
–That house is not fit to live in. No one’s been able to live in it. It doesn’t want people.
According to William Butler Yeats, in his book Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland, “Sometimes the fairies fancy mortals, and carry them away into their own country, leaving instead some sickly fairy child, or [...]
The Thing
Posted in Reviews, tagged John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Wilfred Brimley on October 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Thing (1982)
–So, how do we know who’s human? If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know it was really me?
Which is scarier: the idea of looking in a friend’s eyes and seeing a stranger or a friend looking into your eyes but unable to tell if you are really you? [...]
Sweeney Todd
Posted in Reviews, tagged Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Stephen Sondheim, Tim Burton on October 26, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Sweeney Todd (2007)
–These are desperate times, Mrs. Lovett and desperate measures are called for…
I’ve never seen the theatrical version of this musical, so I’m not qualified to comment on the merits of the transfer from stage to screen. I know the Sondheim fans (you know who you are) know much more about the history of [...]
The Innocents
Posted in Reviews, tagged Deborah Kerr, Henry James, Pamela Franklin, Stephen Miles, Truman Capote on October 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Innocents (1961)
–But above anything else, I love the children.
I often think it easier to adapt a novella for the screen than a novel. A novel has to be condensed so much, particularly if it is an exceptionally lengthy one. A novella is usually of a length that most of it can be retained for [...]
Carrie
Posted in Reviews, tagged Amy Irving, Brian de Palma, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, P J Soles, Piper Laurie, Sissy Spacek, Stephen King on October 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Carrie (1976)
–They’re all going to laugh at you!
Ironically, for a story about a girl shunned by her peers, Carrie made a lot of people popular. The original novel started its author, Stephen King, on his meteoric rise to fame. The movie adaptation gave a tremendous boost to its director, Brian de Palma, as well as [...]
The Haunting
Posted in Reviews, tagged Claire Bloom, Julie Harris, Russ Tamblyn on October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Haunting (1963)
–It was an evil house from the beginning – a house that was born bad.
If you have ever spent the night alone in your house and frozen when you heard a strange noise, then you understand the fear underlying The Haunting. It’s all about the ambiguity…the unknown. Was that creaking sound the result [...]
