1963: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by jim on Mon, 11/01/2004 - 12:11
Tags:
Loved
The Birds
... I was amazed at how well this stood up after almost 40 years. The tension is doled out in tiny little portions, perfectly spaced to maintain the viewers anticipation, building to an apocalyptic (perhaps) crescendo. The visual effects are terrific, and underscored for me how much badly done CGI can detract from today's movies. As a side note, the DVD has an excellent featurette, "All About The Birds." It includes a hysterical story that involves a bunch of crows with little magnets on their feet, and a metal gutter on which they were supposed to perch.The Great Escape
Really Liked
Charade
... I believe this was my first Audrey Hepburn movie, and of course I'm hooked. I'll definitely have to see more. As for this one, good script, good story, good performances, but most of all good entrances! Hepburn arrives and is immediately shot (I won't say more than that), Grant arrives and they have a brilliantly written and delivered conversation. Coburn and Kennedy have even better entrances, with Kennedy's entrance being one of the best I've seen. Fun from beginning to end.High and Low
... With the occasional exception, I'm not a big fan of classic noirs, but leave it to Kurosawa to come up with a good one. The kidnapping is rendered interesting by Mifune's grappling with the question of whether or not he should pay the ransom on another man's son, and the police procedure scenes are interesting in their meticulous and thorough conveyance of what's involved in the manhunt. The train sequence is wonderful, as is the delightful uncertainty as to the nature of the kidnapping: is it a conspiracy, a grudge, or a wacko? The question and the ultimate answer both satisfy. It was also a treat to see Mifune in a non-period piece, and if anything he's better here than as a samurai. It's likely that I'm overreacting to the revelation that he has good range, but he's excellent in any case.Hud
Glad I Saw
The Haunting
... Pretty to look at, has a couple good startles, and Julie Harris manages somehow to be high-strung--even annoying--and remain sympathetic (mostly). She is undoubtedly aided in this endeavor by Clair Bloom's on-again-off-again cattiness, which was both perplexing and distracting. This was the better movie, but I have to say if I had to rewatch either I'd probably pick the 1999er.Guilty Pleasures
- None Yet
Could Have Missed
- None Yet
Unranked
From Russia with Love
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Jason and the Argonauts
The Pink Panther
Should Have Missed
The Sword in the Stone
El Sucko Grande
- None Yet
Cloned From:
The Long Goodbye is a great movie, but it was released in 1973, not 1963. :-)
Yeah, just fixing that. Got it mixed up with my review of The Haunting, which I'll sub in shortly. Thanks!
Jim, I'm happy you had a good experience with The Birds. I think it's one of Hitch's most amazing works, so many amazing and fascinating scenes that the inconclusive ending hardly matters. The effects Hitchcock achieved simply with tracking shots and editing show what a master film-maker he was. This is a movie in which the director's art overshadows the actor's art, even though the actors' perfomances are all pretty good.
Also happy you liked Charade, but avoid avoid avoid the recent remake by Jonathan Demme titled The Truth about Charlie.
What's this 'unranked' category? If you've seen 'em, rank 'em. Review 'em too :-D
Agreed on all counts, and happily The Truth About Charlie wasn't even on my long-range radar.
"Unranked" is for movies I've seen, but remember nothing about beyond a hazy impression of "liked it" or "didn't like it". Not enough to rank--or especially review--I'm afraid. Although in the case of the four here, I think they'd all fare pretty well upon a rewatch (with Jason probably benefitting a great deal from youthful nostalgia).
Okay, I see where you're not coming from. My mood is officially unrankled {PUN ALERT!}