Rating: 
Summary: Completely Classic
Review: This film is amazing. The DVD brings Hitchcock back to life as it shows "Strangers On A Train" to a new audience. The film's plot is used as a basis for many plots on TV shows nowadays - CSI has even mentioned it.Wonderful. Pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: one of Hitchcock's best......
Review: I first saw this as a young, junior high film study student. This was presented to us as part of a Hitchcock unit. We saw this along with "Psycho" (one of his most well-known movies), "Rear Window," "Vertigo," and "The Birds." Even then, I knew this was an extraordinary film. The camera angles (juxtapositions, tricks and double-entendre) are fascinating and chilling. You ask yourself, "Did I really just see that?" STRANGERS has black humor, and psychologically manipulates the audience.
Guy (Farley Granger), is a handsome, charismatic tennis star who has a chance meeting with Bruno (Robert Walker), a creepy, manipulative man who meets on--what else?---a train. Bruno drags Guy into a "trading murders" scheme where he will murder the tennis star's unfaithful wife, while, in exchange, he will kill Guy's father.
As the story unfolds, you will be hooked to the end. And, no, I won't ruin it for you. You'll just have to see it for one of the most well-known climaxes ever brought to the screen by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock.
Rating:
Summary: Careening Carousel
Review: Some of Hitchcock's early works are hit or miss. But at least four including "Strangers on a Train" are excellent. Who hasn't played what if I murdered this person? Most friends have sat around discussing murder scenarios. Now imagine you think you are playing that game on a train with a stranger, but they aren't playing. They really mean it.
When they really kill the person you thought they were pretending to plot against, they expect you to do the same for them. Any fan of classic movies must see this, and for fans of Hitchcock it is a must have. Some great scenes with a strangulation and a carousel out of control put this one over the top of suspended believe, but then that is his style (see North by Northwest). If you plan to collect the best of Hitchcock, add this to your collection.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Masters great films
Review: To start off, I should first state that, for the most part, most of Alfred Hitchcocks films are uniformly excellent by any standards. What sets Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, North By Northwest and say, perhaps, Shadow Of A Doubt apart from the rest of his films is best described in one word, cleaverness. In fact the phrase, "He was a cleaver fellow" is mentioned in another very cleaver film, Strangers On A Train. An early 50's masterpiece that has stood the test of time and continues to enthrall viewers. The final carney sequence is probably studied by more film schoolers than any scene from any well constucted film. The real genius here is how the story builds starting with a chance meeting between two strangers. Bruno Anthony (with robust flair deceptive motivation) is played by Robert Walker. He meets up with top seated tennis player, Guy Haines (Farley Granger).Both of them have the same problems in common; there are people in their lives that must die. Now, in todays day in age of murder and mayhem in film, a simple clean strangulation like the one perpetrated by_____, may not come off as satisfying enough to the blood thirsy viewer. However, Hitchcock uses the camera lens and inventive ways of showing the process of murder. Unlike Sam Peckinpah who would make sure you felt every aspect of the killing, Hitch uses shadow and light, with the help of a pair of bifocals. The acting is great. Pat Hitchcock has her greatest screen role in this one and does a good job. Along with Psycho, this is one of only two films in which Alfred's daughter had a part. The part she plays here is a supporting role that is more prominent than the one in Psycho where she plays Marion Cranes co-worker at the bank. From the very interesting concept used in the opening of the film to the spectacular ending, this is a film not to be missed.
The re-release version includes the full length British release version included in the original SOAT dvd. The commentary is great and the transfer itself is excellent. I appreciated a bit of the film grain included in the original Warner Brothers version as old B&W movies that look too perfect, end up looking too different than we remembered them. I would rate Strangers On A Train as one of the top 8 Alfred Hitchcock films. Can you say "MCguffin".
Rating: 
Summary: A highlight among recent Hitchcock DVDs
Review: A razor-sharp image and ample extras make this DVD a terrific way to experience this top-tier Hitchcock title. A personal tip, though: if you never saw the film before, experience it first by watching the slightly shorter theatrical cut, rather than the alternate "preview" cut also included. The final theatrical cut is tighter and better paced, and contains a much more creative and satisfying ending, appropriately set on a train, that is entirely missing from the preview cut. It's funny, though... for a film that is often noted for its supposed homosexual subtext, such a theme isn't mentioned once in the ample documentary materials. I guess the current official line is that it's up to the viewer to decide what is and isn't there regarding Guy and Bruno's relationship. In any event, this is a first-class DVD treatment of a great film.
Rating:
Summary: Hitch's first in a stream of classic films
Review: Although there's no doubt that Hitchcock directed a number of classic films before "Strangers on a Train", it seemed as if this film somehow liberated him in some way. After "Strangers" he directed a string of classic films which have rarely been surpassed. The themes that always sprinkled his best work come to the fore in this terrific film. Although the narrative and the film has some minor flaws, they're easy to overlook given the power of this marvelous motion picture.
Guy Haines (Farley Granger)a tennis pro wants a divorce from his gold digging wife Miriam(Laura Elliot aka Kasey Rogers). Turns out she doesn't want a divorce anymore now that Guy has a socialite girlfriend (Ruth Roman)who is the daughter of a prominent senator. Miriam (curiously, also the name of Janet Leigh's character in "Psycho")is pregnant with another man's child and wants as much as possible from Guy. On the train back to Washington D.C. guy meets Bruno Antony (the marvelous Robert Walker)a psychopathic killer in the making. Bruno engages Guy in conversation and Guy tells him about his wife. Bruno suggests that he can come up with the perfect murder; they swap murders and, since they don't really know each other, the police will not be able to connect the murders to them. Guy humors Bruno thinking nothing of it. Until Bruno follows through on his part of the "bargain" in a brilliant, stunning sequence reflected in the glasses of the victim. Now Bruno is stalking Guy insisting that he complete his part of the bargain.
This deluxe two disc edition improves on the previous single disc dual sided edition of a couple of years ago. This set includes both the theatrical release and the preview release (mistakenly referred to as the "British" release on the previous edition). We also get a number of terrific extras on this two disc set including 4 short documentaries and an extra carried over from the previous edition of Hitchcock promoting "Strangers on a Train" with some local performers dressed in colonial costumes. Although this section has no sound and has no titles explain the action (it is explained on the previous edition however), it's a fascinating glimpse into the past. We hear about the Hitchcocks from their daughter and granddaughters. We also hear about the making of the film from Robert Walker's son, Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell, film critic Richard Schickel and others. The only short I felt was a waste of time was comments from director M. Night Shyamalan who sounds a bit like a drolling film student here. That would be OK but he doesn't make any observations that amount to anything.
The first disc contains the original theatrical version with a commentary track by "Psycho" and "The Outer Limits" screenwriter Josephn Stefano, director Peter Bogdanovich, Patricia Highsmith biographer Andrew Wilson, various cast family members and Hitchcock himself from an interview. The film has never looked so great before on DVD. The previous edition looked good but had signficant grain problems, analog artifacts and had a picture that tended on the soft side. The picture here is sharper with better clarity and richer blacks, whites and grays than the single disc edition.
Disc two contains all the extras plus the preview version which has a couple of minutes that were cut from the final version. In this version there's a bit more interplay between Bruno and Guy "suggesting" that Bruno is gay. Again, the picture here is a marked improvement for similar reasons. Evidently when Jack Warner saw Hitchcock's preview version, he agreed with the original ending that Hitchcock had in mind.
A great movie just got greater and the fact that this is in a plastic amray case vs. the cardboard snapcases is a marked improvement. Highly recommended for both Hitchcock fans and those interested in learning about the master of suspense.
Rating:
Summary: HITCHCOCK NO STRANGER TO STELLAR SUSPENSE
Review: "Strangers on a Train" (1951) is often credited as beginning Hitchcock's second renaissance in Hollywood film making. After terminating his relationship with formidable producer, David O. Selznick, Hitch drifted into several undistinguished independent productions and a series of thrillers that, although solid box office, in hindsight seemed to lack in originality or staying power. "Strangers" was the exception to this tenure, launching the master of suspense on an uninterupted string of chilling cinema classics. It's a diabolical struggle of wills between the seemingly congenial tennis pro, Guy Haines (Farley Granger) and his sycophantic admirer, Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). When the two accidentally meet on a west bound train they exchange intriguing ideas on how to commit the perfect murder. Just one problem; Bruno takes the game seriously, murdering Guy's pregnant wife, Miriam (Kasey Rogers) in what is perhaps Hitchcock's most terrifying cinematic example of strangulation. After flirting with Miriam (a woman of easy virtue) Bruno lures her to a secluded island at an amusement park. The reflection of Miriam's silent demise is captured in a reflection inside her horn-rimmed glasses. As pay back, Bruno instructs Guy to kill his father. The suggestion does not go over well. However, trapped by the fact that Guy's new girlfriend, Anne Morton (Ruth Roman) and her family have met Bruno and believe him to be a close friend, the plot slowly spirals into a delicate web of deception, wherein both Anne and her sister, Barbara (Patricia Hitchcock) slowly begin to suspect that perhaps Guy is not nearly as innocent as he pretends to be. This is decidedly a high water mark in Hitchcock's tenure, capped off by a visceral climax aboard a careening carousel.
Previously this film was made available as a flipper disc containing both the U.S. and British versions of the film. Warner's new 2-disc edition contains both versions, both digitally remastered for improved picture quality, plus a host of extra features. The gray scale is impeccably balanced with deep, rich and solid blacks and very clean whites. While the previously issued disc contained moments where the image appeared to suffer from an overly soft characteristic, this newly minted DVD exhibits a very sharp image throughout. Fine detail is fully realized. There's a complete lack of age related artifacts or digital anomalies for a picture that will surely NOT disappoint! The audio is mono but equally impressive and very nicely restored. A very comprehensive documentary accompanies this disc as well as several news reel items and the theatrical trailer.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Robert Walker, but not his best film
Review: Strangers is 'Hitchcock lite.' It's a very well-constructed film, with good performances (Walker's is the best as the decadent, charming villain Bruno), but it has dated badly. Basically, it can't operate as a thriller today. Even on the first viewing (and especially with subsequent ones), there is never any sense of danger generated, which is a crucial flaw in a film from the master of suspense. There is never any doubt in the viewer's mind that the terminally dull hero will emerge from the film unscathed, even when he seems about to commit a murder. In the film's time, maybe audiences were more easily taken in, but today, Strangers can only be appreciated for its art; its visceral effect is a sad casualty of the jadedness of the modern audience. Films like Psycho and The Birds still have the power to frighten us, but there's nothing of that scale going on in Strangers. Still, it is fun to watch, but in its case _the viewer is the one in control_, picking up on and considering its symbolism, and nodding at the finer points of the performances - whereas in Psycho, Hitchcock is the one in control; he has you by the throat the whole time.
|
