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Summary: "I love you Adam, Alex, Peter, Brian, whatever your name is"
Review: Peter Joshua: How about making me vice president in charge of cheering you up? Need a film to cheer you up? Then Stanley Donen's Charade is the medicine for you. This film has everything a Hitchcock film has: thrills, misdirection, suspense, action, and sexual tension, but it also has an added element of whimsical fun that makes it more appealing to the general public than any of the master's works. Donen, who is best known as the guiding hand behind On the Town and Singin' in the Rain manages to maximize the effusive charm of Cary Grant and the infinte grace of Audrey Hepburn to great effect. The story begins with Hepburn learning that her husband has recently died. Slowly more and more information comes her way and she discovers that she is a widow of a man who possessed a great sum of money that did not belong to him. His former partners soon come out of the woodworks to snoop around for the money and Hepburn finds herself unable to shake off her new pursuers. Enter into the picture Grant who manages to complicate the situation even more. That's all I want to say about the film's story because Charade is a film much like The Usual Suspects in that the less you know about it going in, the more you will enjoy it. Just pop Charade into your DVD player and enjoy Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn trying to outdo each other in the art of verbal sparring while you marvel at the sheer number of "charades" being played by the various characters in the film. There are a number of different DVD releases of Charade on the market due to its classification as a public domain film (Universal Studios lost the copyright on it). Try and get the Criterion version if you can since it provides the best print and audio soundtrack. All of you out there who have not seen this film yet will definitely be in for a treat. There's no such thing as a perfect film but if anyone is composing a list of films that come as close as possible to being perfect, then Charade would definitely be on it.
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Summary: I don't usually review movies but...
Review: ...as soon as Charade was over I had to get online and share my thoughts. I enjoy Hitchcock quite a bit and was expecting a suspense film like some of his movies, but honestly, I enjoyed Charade more than anything Hitchcock gave us. Charade equals Hitchcock in terms of character development, suspense, and romance, but easily outdoes him in the comedy department. This movie is really funny! You should be aware that the Madacy label DVD has about 4 hours of material on it, so don't expect a very clear picture; it's all very compressed. It includes the 1953 version of "Charade" with James Mason (a movie I'd never heard of and still haven't watched yet). I appreciate a bonus feature, but I wonder if all this compression has led to the occasional fluctuation in volume. That's right, sometimes the volume dropped right in mid-sentence! "DVD's aren't supposed to do that," you say, but that's what happens when you jam extra stuff onto a disc. I notice there's a "Criterion Collection" version of Charade, and if you can pick that up I'm sure the technical quality is much improved. But even if you can't find a better quality DVD, this is still a high quality movie. If you're looking for a fantastic story with a fun balance of humor and romance, you can't go wrong with Charade, and probably any DVD label will do.
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Summary: Don't get me Wrong, GREAT Movie.... but Bad DVD Quality
Review: As I love this movie , I was really disappointed with this DVD: The SOUND is TERRIBLY BAD. I goes up and down, sometimes you can't even ear Cary Grant talking... the sound is even worse than on a VHS. I think the people who released this DVD are just plain idiots and do not care about quality.
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Summary: Stylish Cat-&-Mouse Romantic Comedy Thriller!
Review: This is a film that can be easily viewed again and again. Intrigue, deception, romance and fun are packed into this wonderful Stanley Donan film! The cast is comprised of many gifted actors, especially the supporting cast including James Coburn and Walter Matthau, which grace the screen with wit & charm. Terrific flow keeps the story racing along until the very end. Technically, the folks at Criterion Collection provides outstanding picture quality (very crisp blacks, rich color, bright whites), and some extras. There is another DVD version I own as well as this one, and the Criterion is well worth the extra dollars! The commentary is a bit weak, as the screenwriter and director mostly reminisce (which is enough for some very loyal fans) but sometimes bicker about rather arbitrary details (e.g. the Louis Vuitton luggage that Reggie carries back from her ski trip). Treat yourself TODAY!
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Summary: Witty and fast paced
Review: The dialogue is witty and charming. The plot is fast paced, with twists and turns from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Please IGNORE complaints about the quality!
Review: The posters who have been complaining of the poor print quality of this DVD are NOT reviewing the Criterion Collection DVD, which is nearly flawless. I own three copies of "Charade" on DVD and for the most part, all but the Criterion Collection are poor quality transfers from used prints. But the Criterion Collection DVD was created from the positive used to create the theatre releases and although the soundtrack is, unfortunately, from the monaural recording, this print is as good as if you had seen the film on its first theatrical release. Don't bother with the others but DEFINITELY get this version if you want to see this film as it has not been seen since it was released. Definitely a classic. Kudos to Criterion.
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Summary: Skip the commentary and enjoy the film.
Review: This film is one of my favorites, especially after having suffered through the recent Jonathan Demme remake "The Truth about Charlie." However, the running commentary by Stone and Donen is terrible. They actually argue about insignificant things (some unrelated to Charade), amidst some only mildly interesting trivia. For this price couldn't they have made some notes, and had a coherent conversation. Skip it, and enjoy the film!
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Summary: A bit of a farce, but enjoyable
Review: This is a distinctly Stanley Donen film (some others: Singin' in the Rain 1952, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 1954, Funny Face 1957, Damn Yankees 1958, Indiscreet 1958) characterized by light comedy prepared expressly for the middle American palate a little past mid-century, professionally done with offense to no one. There is just the barest hint of satire with a few laugh-at-the-genre jokes but nothing so blatant as to detract from the woman's fantasy, wish-fulfillment that is the essential point. One of the jokes in the film is that Audrey Hepburn always kisses Cary Grant first. This is entirely appropriate, I suppose, considering that he was at the time 59-years-old and she was 34. Both were (and are) two of Hollywood's enduring stars, Miss Hepburn perhaps at or near the pinnacle of her career when this movie was made, and Cary Grant in his last significant role. The chemistry is nice, creative and there are some funny lines. She chases him and he catches her, is the way it is played, when of course it is usually the other way around: HE chases her and SHE catches him! The stars are given fine support from Walter Matthau, James Colburn, George Kennedy and Ned Glass in quasi-comedic roles as a quartet of sinister bad guys. The music (and the memorable "Charade" theme) are by Henry Mancini whose musical scores adorned nearly a hundred Hollywood movies beginning in the fifties. I particularly remember his music from the Pink Panther flicks in the sixties and seventies. Director Stanley Donen, despite being a paragon of commercial success, has a quality of making sardonic fun of the audience or of his stars in a way that is barely discernable. I think it's the cynicism of the Hollywood product that he became so adept at making, and his subconscious realization of what he was doing, that sometimes seeps through. Here he begins with "Boy Meets Girl, Cute" in the Alps with Hepburn in a costume reminiscent of something out of the middle ages, covering almost as much of her as a burka, her beautiful eyes masked by big dark glasses. It's a joke and perhaps a setup for contrast. When Audrey Hepburn smiles and her eyes light up in delight, she is most arresting. Imagine the whole film without seeing her eyes. (In Blame It on Rio 1984, Donen deliberately had Michael Caine in those hideous square plastic frames big enough for Mrs.Doubtfire.) And what I mean by Donen's attitude toward his audience, that he believes they only want familiar escapism, is the touristy feel of the Parisian scenes in which most of the action takes place. They are mostly spots frequented by American tourists seeing Europe for the first time, the Seine, the Metro, the Arc d'Triumph, Notre Dame cathedral, the Louis XVI apartment sans furnishing, the Paris opera house, etc. The fact that we can't be sure who-done-it until the very end when it becomes obvious by the process of elimination, didn't sit well with me. I also did not like the chase scenes in the Metro because it seemed abundantly silly to imagine that Hepburn in her long skirt and dress shoes could outrun Cary Grant, who had, in a previous scene, engaged in fisticuffs a bigger man (Kennedy with a steel claw for one of his hands). Nonetheless, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn together for the first (and only) time is a treat not to be missed. Cary Grant is particularly good as he maintains a wry stoicism against the power of Miss Hepburn's charms. Noteworthy is the excellent camera work exemplified in the two shots of Hepburn's face caught in light and shadow in the Paris opera house. For those of you thinking of seeing Jonathan Demme's remake of this film, The Truth About Charlie (2002), I would caution against it since the unreality of the story borders on the ridiculous and must be played as comedy. Without the star power and some of the clever dialogue of Donen's film I am afraid the plot contrivances would be embarrassingly exposed, although the idea of getting a quarter of a million dollars past customs in the form of very expensive (hint: small) art objects that appear to be ordinary objects, is a nice device that would probably work. See this for Cary Grant whose rugged good looks and smooth and effortless delivery made him a Hollywood legend and the epitome of a suave leading man.
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Summary: KES Evenstar
Review: A widow dicovers that she had a quart of a million dollars that the men who stole it will kill her to posess. One of the thieves is murdered. She must find the money quickly, especially since she begins to have reason to believe her love-interest is the killer. This movie have some funny scenes and very good fight scenes. The characters are convincing and entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: KES Evenstar
Review: A widow dicovers that she had a quart of a million dollars that the men who stole it will kill her to posess. One of the thiefs is murdered. She must find the money quickly, especially since she begins to have reason to believe her love-interest is the killer. This movie have some funny scenes and very good fight scenes. The characters are convincing and entertaining.
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