Seeing Vertigo on the Big Screen

Alfred Hitchcock is one of my all time favorite movie directors. I know I am stating something completely shocking there. Many classic movie fans hold Hitch's films in the same high regard I do and just watching one of his films shows perfectly why. However if you truly want to experience the power of Hitchcock movies there is no better way to do this than by seeing one of his films on the big screen. Thanks to TCM and Fathom events people from all over the country were allowed to do this tonight, as Vertigo once again graced cinema screens.

Seeing this on the big screen, heightens the power of a film that already seemed incredible enough on our small screens at home. Seeing this movie the way it was meant to be seen, one notices what a visually stunning movie this is. No movie has ever photographed the city of San Francisco better than Hitch and cinematographer Robert Burks did here. However even the inside scenes are just as well shot and planned. Who (especially who that has seen this movie in a cinema) can forget the image of Kim Novak walking up to Jimmy Stewart basked in the eerie glow of that green light. However none of these visuals are here to show off. They instead only pull you further into the hypnotic spell of what you are watching. No better word describes the feeling of this film better than hypnotic. This is definitely one of Alfred Hitchcock's slowest paced films. However this works perfectly to its advantage (especially again in a cinema). The film slowly lures you into its hypnotic spell and after a while you are simply unable to look away from the screen. After seeing this movie I always have to adjust again to just living life, because I get so sucked into the movie that it briefly becomes reality to me. This is not a movie you can be on a computer or your phone while watching. You have to let the movie pull you into its power while watching. If you do you will not regret it as this is one of the most powerful movies ever made, and if you get the chance to see this on the big screen, don't miss it.

-Michael J. Ruhland
   

Movie Review: A Wrinkle in Time

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland











Michael's Movie Grade: C

Review: This is an enjoyable movie, but I still left feeling it could have been much better.

The best thing about this movie is the character of Meg. She is very likable and relatable. I could fully sympathize and understand what she was going through. She was the glue that held this fantasy to reality. This is helped heavily by an excellent performance by Storm Reid, who fully pulls you into the emotions of the character. Her little brother and friend are also likable character, if not as fully developed as Meg. This movie is also a very good looking film. The visuals look great and help tell the story fine.

This movie is however pulled down by two huge faults. The first of these is a lack of involvement with the fantasy environment. These environments feel like so many others seen in various fantasy movies. Beyond this we never spend enough time in one place for that place to feel real to us. Most great fantasy movies spend a decent amount of time in each environment, so that we get to feel we know the places. Here we are never given time to delve ourselves into the environment as we are soon rushed to the next one. The other major problem with this movie is the characters of the Mrs. W's. Mrs. Whatsit is a very annoying character. Her humor is never funny and I spent much of the film wanting her to shut up. Mrs. Which and Mrs. Who are both extremely boring. When the movie reached its end I still could not tell you what their personalities were. They simply felt like nothing more than plot convince.

To me it is easy to see why those who liked this movie did, and why those who hated it felt that way. The emotional anchor with the main character is strong and effective, but the fantasy elements can be a bit of a mess at time.

-Michael J. Ruhland
     

Popeye Club

The following is an article about a Popeye movie club from the Motion Picture Herald.


Man would I have loved to have been a part of this.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: Thoroghbreds

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland













Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Fantastic blending of dark humor and suspense.

The characters in this film are far from sympathetic and it is obvious that they are never intended to be such. They are instead something much harder for filmmakers to pull off well. They are fascinating. We are never fully sure what they are going to do next and at the same time we can't wait to see what happens next either. This fascination comes both from Cory Finley's brilliant script and the fantastic performances of Oliva Cooke and Ana Taylor Joy. Oliva Cooke's performance is seeming effortless. The lack of emotion on her face at all times is one of the most gripping and suspenseful parts of this movie. You never know what is in her head, yet you always know she is plotting something. She gives a perfect performance in an unbelievable subtle way. Over the course of this movie director and writer Cory Finley perfectly uses her great performance to the best advantage. At times this character is funny in her deadpan expression, while at other times, she is unbelievably disturbing. Yet regardless of this she always feels real. Ana Taylor Joy brings a similar brilliance to her performance. She is an emotional young woman, yet she is trying to adopt her friend's actions. At times you can see her also be very deadpan, but there is still a bit of emotion you can detect in her that is unseen in her friend.

Beyond all this the movie is highly entertaining. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and disturbs you, but at the same time you spend much of the movie laughing. The film can turn from funny to disturbing almost instantly, yet this never feels forced. Instead the change of mood naturally comes out of the story. Finley also shows a true talent for never letting the audience know what is going to happen next and still believe each twist. The ending itself is funny disturbing and thought provoking all at the same time.

This movie is simply a must see for all movie buffs. It is a wild ride that is completely irresistible.

-Michael J. Ruhland
 

Alfred Hitchcock on "B" Pictures, Alfred Hitchcock's Titanic and More.

Good Evening students of the macabre. Tonight I share with you an article about Alfred Hitchcock.

The following is an article from the Motion Picture Herald dated July 16, 1938.

"Alfred Hitchcock, noted English director, sailed for London Wednesday after a visit to New York and Hollywood  while on the coast Mr. Hitchcock was signed by David O. Selznick to direct 'Titanic' which will be placed in production in the fall

"On Tuesday evening Mr. Hitchcock was interviewed by Otis Ferguson over Station WNYC. The subject on the broadcast was 'Melodrama on the screen' and was sponsored by the National Board of Review. Mr. Ferguson is film editor of the New Republic.

"Mr. Hitchcock returned to New York from Hollywood Monday. He said that 'B' pictures, made on limited budgets, and often representing material that is not considered sufficiently worthy to merit an 'A' picture expenditure, might achieve new importance if made from experimental stories.

"He mentioned O. Henry and Edgar Allan Poe stories as in that category. 'The O. Henry stories with the plot and ending are not the conventional formula stuff and the Poe thrillers, the horrific stories would fit admirably into such a program and I for one should like to see the results.' He said.

"Mr. Hitchcock was impressed by the quality and quantity of exploitation and publicity of American films. He said the results were immediately discernable here and could be copied to advantage in England.

"Mr. Hitchcock whose latest film for GB will be released in this country soon, is best remembered for his melodramatic pictures, 'The 39 Steps' 'Secret Agent' and 'The Man Who Knew Too Much.'"

The Titanic movie mentioned early in this article never came to be and Rebecca would end up being Hitch's first American movie. Rebecca was produced for David O. Selznick like the unmade Titanic movie would have been.

-Michael J. Ruhland


 

Movie Review: Everyday

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: Thought provoking premise is handled quite well, though the movie never lives up to its full potential.

What really makes this movie work is how well set up the fantasy is. The fantasy element is a very well thought out one. It is never fully explained how it works but that just makes it more believable as the characters don't know how it works either. "A" is a completely believable character and you are constantly thinking about if some of what he is doing is ethically right or wrong. This idea and how this main character handles it is simply very interesting and enjoyable.

Unfortunately this movie has a major fault. The love interest isn't very interesting. Their is little to her personality more than an average female lead in a romantic comedy. We have seen this character before various times and there is nothing new here. She is likable, but never feels real. This movie could have been much more emotionally effective if this character was more developed, but as it is the movie stands as a nice movie with some thought provoking moments, but misses with this character, the believability it could have had.  

-Michael J. Ruhland

Silent Film of the Month: Woman in the Moon (1929)

Run Time: 156 minutes. Studio: UFA. Director: Fritz Lang. Writers: Thea Von Harbou, Fritz Lang. Main Cast: Klaus Pohl, Willy Fritsch, Gustav Von Wangenheim, Gerda Maurus. Producer: Fritz Lang.

The film that infamous German director Fritz Lang is best remembered for is the great sci-fi epic Metropolis. Less known however is another classic sci-fi film from Lang called Woman in the Moon, while Metropolis is still a better movie that doesn't change that this less talked about film is still a delight to watch. I am not saying its as great as Metropolis, but it is still a good movie. Woman in the Moon was Lang's last silent and I feel a worthy one.

Fritz Lang co-wrote this movie with Thea von Harbou. She worked with Lang on many of the films Lang made in Germany before moving to the U.S. Part of the reason for this may have been that she was his wife at this time. However both their personal and professional relationship ended due to politics. This however was no ordinary political dispute. In 1932 von Harbou would join the Nazi party. With Lang being of Jewish descent, and this being 1930's Germany, the marriage simply had to end, and Lang couldn't stay in Germany. Despite all this though the cinematic work these two did together is extremely impressive. As well as this film they also worked together on Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, Destiny, Die Nibelungen, Metropolis, Spies, M, and The Last Testament of Dr. Mabuse. Von Harbou would also work with another of Germany's best filmmakers, F.W. Murnau, as she would write Phantom and Finances of the Grand Duke.

One invention of Woman in the Moon was not even cinematic. In this film a countdown appears before the rocket launches. This was not only the first time this was done in a movie but the first time this was ever done. As the idea of going to the moon was in fact science fiction when this movie was made, standard procedure for such a launching was not yet created. The idea of using a countdown was created specifically for this movie to help increase the drama.

Professor Mannfeldt (Klaus Pohl) is a famous scientist who becomes ridiculed when he states there might be gold on the moon. A young man named Helius (Willy Fritsch) becomes interested in Mannfeldt's theories for all the right reasons, while evil business men lead by a man named Walter Turner (Fritz Rasp) are interested for all the wrong reasons. A plan for an exhibition to the moon soon gets under way.

This movie starts out a little slowly, while the characters are on the earth, but really picks up when they reach the moon. Here the movie does just what every fantasy movie should do. It makes you feel like you are transported to another world. The look of these scenes is absolutely incredible. On top of this the story gets very tense and exciting, leaving you constantly wondering what will happen next. This is not a perfect movie by any means, and it would have easily benefited from a shorter running time. However what is good is far too good to resist and this makes the movie a must see for fans of silent cinema.      

A song about this film came out simultaneously. This song was mentioned in the following short article in Variety (dated November 13, 1929)

"Ufa in conjunction with two well known Viennese music publishing houses, has formed a music publishing firm of its own. Purpose of course is to exploit songs composed from its pictures. First to be issued by the new company will be 'Woman in the Moon' composed by Schmidt-Gentner, words by Fritz Rotter, brought out with the new Fritz Lang film of that name. Other numbers in preparation are 'Soldier Songs' by Ralph Benatzky and Karl Zuckmayer, and Werner Richard Heymann's melodies from 'The Love Waltz.'"

This film lead to a parting of the ways between its studio and its director. This is outlined by an article in Variety (dated April 2, 1930).

"Ufa has issued a cautious statement which is worded as follows: Between Fritz Lang and the UFA, neogotions are underway to amicably dissolve the agreement between them.

"The flop of Lang's latest picture 'Woman in the Moon' seems cause of this. This silent which took almost a year to complete and is said to have cost over a million marks, is not likely to get back more than a small percentage of the sum expended on it.

"Lang's gigantic 'Metropolis' lost a pile and UFA was evidently only encouraged to sign him up again because the detective picture 'Spies', which followed turned in a nice profit.

"Lang is the vonStroheim of Germany and just as in the states a time comes when the business end kicks at the idea of re-engaging such a money-swallower."

-Michael J. Ruhland