68buickwildcat (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I love old movies. I love Youtube. I love people who post these movies on Youtube. Thank you very very much!

mikelheron20 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@zshoonander I agree with your last point about rewarding artistic integrity over what is box office. But the power of the studios is paramount (no pun intended). Hollywood has only ever cared about what brings in the crowds - well, they've got a living to earn. But that's why so many great directors remain obscure - to most people anyway.

mikelheron20 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@zshoonander You've got me all wrong.I like much (not all) film noir.One of my favourite films is the Third Man.I understand about camera angles,artificial shadows etc.And I'm aware that directors employ the same actors (e.g. John Ford).I know all about themes. I just don't happen to think Hitchcock does some of these things very well. At times he does and justifies the accolades. The trouble is people exaggerate and claim everything is great.It isn't.Try watching Topaz without laughing.

mikelheron20 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@mikelheron20 Casablanca is one of my favourite films and I don't give two hoots that it wasn't shot on location. There are so many excellent European directors who never get mentioned because of the unjustified domination of Hollywood. There are several that I would place above Hitchcock for many reasons.

mikelheron20 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@zshoonander You couldn't be more wrong.I have two versions of King Kong and much prefer the original.I dislike CGI,on the whole.I have no problem with dream sequences or surrealism -I enjoy Luis Bunuel. Hitchcock did it badly that's all.As subtle as a brick through a pane of glass.Vertigo - spirals turning to simulate nausea -too obvious -too unsubtle.Hitchcock's studio shots look like studio shots - check out Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren on the sand dunes with the painted background - dreadful!

zshoonander (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@mikelheron20 That sometimes placing style over common sense is the point of the film! That strange angles, artifical shadows better reflect the tone and characters (think of film noir) and define the genre. Do you notice that great directors tend to employ the same characters and themes (Woody Allen, Bergman, Kurosawa), we should reward Directors who care less for studio execs and more for their own vision.

zshoonander (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@mikelheron20 you strike me as the kind of person who watches the original King Kong and exclaims "but he's obviously not real!" Watches Casablanca and thinks "they should've shot it on location." Do you consider that every film has its own intention, that the special effects naivete of Spellbound is the point, that your not looking at a real dream, but the idea of a real dream... something that flawless CGI cannot create.

mikelheron20 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@mikelheron20 And don't get me started on Hitchcock's portrayal of women in his movies!

mikelheron20 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@mikelheron20 In few, if any, of Hitchcock's films are the characters developed or allowed to have any emotional depth. The films are all plot driven. Sometimes the visual effects are just embarrassingly obvious e.g. in Spellbound, the dreadful dream sequence with images from Dali's "Persistence of Memory": I want to yell "Yes I get the message - there's no need to lay it on with a trowel!" I agree, Hitchcock, at other times could be subtle - that's what I mean by inconsistent.

mikelheron20 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@zshoonander His preference for studio over location filming often made his filmslook extremely stylised & artificial.Look at some of the scenes in the Birds you'll see what I mean.Psycho,North by North West & Rear Window are Hitchcock at his best but there is a lot of pretty dreadful stuff too.I don't really care how many movies he has in the AFI top 100.As I said, I make my own judgments.I don't expect others to agree.Of course he was a good director but not the greatest by a long way.