Up next for the Top 5 Movie Fest (gotta come up with a better name) is actually my own pick. This was a bit of a shot in the dark, so I'll admit I was a bit nervous going into the movie. But it turned out OK in the end.
Format: Theater in the Garage
Screening Date: 10/10/2010
Run Time: 1 hr 45 min
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Release Date: 1954
Attendance: Weird Dave, Griffie, Spoonbridge, Killer Wyrm, Dirty Hippie, Eric, Alaina, Matthew
Review At A Glance
Enjoyment 8/10
Presentation 9/10
I learned a few things and watched a WHOLE lot of movies in the past year in our foray into the AFI Top 100 Movies List. One of the things that really stuck with me was that I really enjoyed all of Alfred Hitchcock's movies that were presented. The first was North by Northwest, the second was Rear Window, the third was Psycho, and the fourth was Vertigo. Vertigo actually cracked the top 10, but to be honest it was my least favorite of the four. Pyscho I had seen, but the other two came out of nowhere for me.
Especially Rear Window. It was well-acted, well-written, well-directed, and well-presented. Everything about the movie oozed suspense, witty charm, and danger. I wanted to put an Alfred Hitchcock movie on my top 5 list but I was kind of in the dark as to which one. The Birds? Nah, too campy I thought. The Man Who Knew Too Much (his remake of his own movie)? I watched that separate from everyone else, enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away. But Dial M for Murder - the title was great and evocative and only a relatively small group of people I knew had actually seen it.
The first thing you have to know about Dial M for Murder is that it is very British. And by very British, I mean ridiculously British. It's based on a stage play and the entire movie takes place almost entirely within the entirety of one apartment (Hell, one room in one apartment) - or flat, or house, or something. I dig some poking around beforehand and apparently filming of the movie took only 4 weeks, and 1 week of that was dedicated to the murder scene itself. A pair of scissors to the back. Well done, but I'm not sure why it took a week to film.
I really enjoyed the movie, and I don't want to just run down the plot here - you should see the movie, and if not there are better synopsis sites out in the web wilderness to peruse. The movie really kept me guessing - I didn't know how it was going to end, and it really felt like the perfect crime on paper. Even as things started to unravel the man who plots the murder of his wife seems to have thought of everything and planned for a very long time.
It's sharply editing, but there is a LOT of talking. Pretty much all dialog from start to finish, but even still I found myself riveted and engaged the entire time. If you haven't seen it Dial M for Murder is a great suspense film from the master of suspense himself. Check it out.
It's curious, but after watching this movie I find myself knowing where every pair of scissors in my house is located and if they've been moved. Wonder if that means something.
Oh well.
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