9 comments

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  Phil

  11 months ago

  I've found that I've still been able to experience tension and/or chilling moments in some Hitchcock films, but not others - for example, the scene in Psycho where the private detective is caught at the top of the stairs by Norman/Mother and the scene where Lila Crane is exploring Mother's/Norman's respective bedrooms, plus in "Rear Window" the moment when Thorwald looks up from his apt. and notices James Stewart's character watching him from across the way have always given me that little 'jolt' if you will whenever I see them (usually).
  
  However, I've never felt any tension watching the infamous plane sequence in N x NW, and his movie "The Birds" has never done anything for me in terms of being frightened by the birds themselves.
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  Jett Loe

  10 months ago

  My Response via Seesmic:
  
  http://seesmic.com/video/Kym1zqXOjl
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  Tom

  10 months ago

  A greatest hits movie - so by comparison that makes Love Actually Richard Curtis' North By Northwest?!
  
  A great piece from Gareth, hasn't he been hired by any review column yet? I guess he's saving himself just for us. Have you all read his 'How movies helped..' book?
  
  NXNW is my favourite Hitchcock film and I enjoy it not for any feeling of suspense, but just for being a cracking romp of a story and a wonderful script. I love the dining car conversation, as unsubtle as it may be. Whilst typing I am reminded of another fantastic across the table seduction/foreplay scene, which is Lopez and Clooney in Out of Sight. For my money one of the most brilliant combinations of script, performance, chemistry, photography, editing, score etc I've seen.
  
  Gosh how the mind jumps from one thing to another! Any other similar scenes spring to mind?
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  Jett Loe

  10 months ago

  There's a nice 'foreplay' across a table, (on a train!), scene in the latest version of Casino Royale.
  
  Watching it I realized to my astonishment that this James Bond movie was in a fact a 'real film'!, (and not a James Bond movie = something that is outside of the normal category of film-going = you don't expect an actual good movie in which something novel and unexpected can happen and is populated by characters of more than 1-dimension).
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  Phil

  10 months ago

  Not sure if this qualifies, but I always liked this scene, with Travolta and Uma Thurman.
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  Tom

  10 months ago

  Oh boy I just love that scene Phil. How long does it go on for 10 - 12 mins? And I'm gripped every time I see it. Tarantino and his cast at the top of their game.
  
  Jett - Agree about Casino, wonder if they can pull it off with the next one?
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  Jett Loe

  10 months ago

  I hope so Tom - I really enjoyed Casino - though a bit too long (3 films in one - reminded me of Kubrick in its structural rigor).
  
  As for the 1967 Casino Royale - hoo boy! No structural rigor of any kind.
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  Dick

  10 months ago

  I have seen North by Northwest at least 50 times and can almost repeat every line.
  We made a trip last month to the Canadian Rockies and made it a point to visit Mt. Rushmore on the way back.
  This was my first visit there and it was very inspirational. A beautiful place. I had my picture taken at the sign in Keystone which read that "North by Northwest was filmed in the area".
  I was rather disappointed that none of the gift shops, even at the monument, had any references to the movie with the exception of having the movie for sale on DVD. I even asked a clerk.
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  Jett Loe

  10 months ago

  NxNW is Great!
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