Notorious

Rating:
Summary: Cary Grant's first SEXY movie!
Review: Cary Grant for the most part, has never had any appeal to me. I placed him in the same pretty boy, handsome but kind of wimpy batch of Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Gregory Peck type of characters. Myself liking the more rugged, manly-man types like Brando, Bogart, Mitchum and lets not forget the dynamic male presence of Kirk Douglas!

HOWEVER, in this movie, Cary Grant plays T.R. Devlin, an American agent simply named "Devlin" in this movie. He is aloof, broodingly handsome, somewhat arrogant and finds himself falling in love with someone he knows is no good for him. He has to be around her, fighting his attraction and secretly wanting her, but being too prideful to let it be publicly known among his colleagues that he could possibly have fallen for a tramp.

Alicia (Ingrid Bergman) is the neglected daughter of a now convicted spy. She is perfectly cast because the innocence of her face never seems to match with the scandalous lifestyle she leads. You soon realize that no one has actually believed in her or shown her to be of any true worth. Consequently, she becomes the playgirl using her body and seeking the attention through affairs and flirtations with men (even friends of her father) - only to try to escape her feelings of rejection and worthlessness in booze. (Yes, our beloved Ilsa of Casablanca plays a recovering lush!) But finally it happens, she is in love with someone who loves her in spite of her past! Only to find out its not that at all, its what she was in the past that is going to now prove to be useful in nabbing an old boyfriend who is part of a Nazi spy ring. Used again.

Claude Reins is absolutely convincing as Alex Sebastian, the once again love-stricken, doting older man (the friend of her father) who thinks his double life is still a secret to Alicia. Although he is a Nazi spy, the film does not beat you over the head with the clicking of heels and the "Hail, Hitlers!" Its so subtle and well done that you really aren't convinced that he is the bad guy because he truly seems to love Alicia...until you soon find out that he loves himself and his life even more.

Then you throw in the smile-in-your-face, while trying to slowly kill you mother-in-law Madame Sebastian (EXCELLENTLY acted by Leopoldine Constantin) and you have one of Alfred Hitchcock's best, romantic suspense movies of all time.

GREAT MOVIE!

Rating:
Summary: Great Hitchcock classic, fine DVD transfer
Review: Notorious was the second credited collaboration with Ben Hecht (Hecht also worked uncredited on Foreign Correspondent and is rumoured to have had a hand in rewrites for Lifeboat as well). For this film Hitch snagged the two actors he wanted the first time around; Grant and Berman were the first and only choices for their roles. Hitch also had the advantage of working with cinematographer Gregg Toland and Ted Tetzlaff (he shot the location footage with the second unit crew in Rio), composer Roy Webb. All his collaborators produced top notch work making this one of Hitch's undisputed classics (along with Shadow of a Doubt)from the 40's.

Grant plays a Devlin a US secret agent spying on a ring of Nazis in Rio. He recruits Alicia (Ingrid Bergman)the daughter of a man who was affiliated with the Nazis. Her world has crumbled due to the accusations against her father and she has descended into alcholism and despair. Devlin offers her a way out; she can work for him romancing (and marrying) the head of the Rio Nazi ring Alex (Claude Rains). Unfortunately, Alex and his mother find out what Alicia is up to and she is in great danger. Devlin realizes that he's in love with Alicia and he has to save her despite his earlier misgivings about her morality and worth.

The symposis doesn't begin to do justice to one of Hitch's best films of the 40's. Everything about Notorious from the long, slow zoom where he see that Alicia has the key to the wine cellar (where Alex is hiding his big secret)to stunning conclusion is perfect.

The DVD transfer is very good and unlike some of the soft looking previous editions of the film, the picture is very sharp. It was mastered from a restored 35 milimeter camera negative, a 35 milimeter nitrate fine grain master and a 35 mm nitrate copyright print. Some of the film analog artifacts were corrected using the MTI Digital Restoration system. There are still some minor compression and analog artifacts but, on the whole, this is a very good restoration effort.

The extras include the Lux Radio Theatre adaption which starred Joseph Cotton and Ingrid Bergman, promo posters and lobby cards, correspondence on the making of the film, trailers and teasers, excerpts from the short story "The Song of The Dragon" the source for Hecht's screenplay, isolated music and effects track and script excerpts of deleted scenes and alternate endings that Hitchcock and Hecht were considering.

Rating:
Summary: Going Out-of-Print Soon
Review: Criterion has announced on its website that this title will be going out-of-print on December 31, 2003 along with Rebecca and Spellbound. In addition, the "Wrong Men & Notorious Women" Hitchcock collection will also no longer be available. I suggest you snatch these up as soon as you can as out-of-print titles quickly become expensive.

Another Criterion DVD that will be going out-of-print on December 31, 2003 is "Straw Dogs" starring Dustin Hoffman.

Rating:
Summary: NOTORIOUS LOOKING TRANSFER
Review: I'm not exactly sure what Criterion means when they advertise their discs as 'pristine' or 'fully restored'. "Notorious", Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece about Nazis, murder and deception is neither pristine, nor is it fully restored. What it is is almost the same transfer that had previously been made available on DVD at bargain basement prices.
TRANSFER: In 1997 Anchor Bay release a bare bones version of "Notorious". Then, the image was smooth, somewhat softly focused, but overall, nicely rendered, with an impressive looking gray scale and deep, rich blacks. The Criterion DVD maintains those pluses but adds a host of negatives to the mix, including a sharpening to the image that makes it more grainy and digitally harsh, rather than merely sharper. The blemishes inherent in the original camera negative stick out much more than on the Anchor Bay disc. Edge enhancement, aliasing and shimmering of fine details rear their ugly head from time to time. The audio is identical to the previously issued DVD from Anchor Bay and is nicely balanced.
EXTRA FEATURES: Once again, the packaging of Criterion discs leads one to believe they are getting more than they actually do. The packaging says deleted scenes and alternate endings, but these are actually reprinted script pages that one can read about the film that might have been. There's no footage to accompany. Also, the isolated music track is rather scratchy sounding and also includes the effects track - ergo - its really pointless to listen to for fidelity purposes. After all, why listen to a crowd cheering over a music cue while the principle figures in the scene are rendered mute. Doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. Also, there's a Lux Radio Broadcast (audio only, of course)track that's really not very good, considering how amazing the film was.
BOTTOM LINE: Do your wallet a favor and wait for the rights to these films to lapse on a studio that's more humble in their asking price for spuriously advertised 'extras' than CRITERION.

Rating:
Summary: Worst Hitchcock
Review: I'm a big hitchcock fan and i rented this movie the other night. I'd a heard a lot of good things about it. I don't know why it's considered a masterpiece! That movie was boring, there was no plot, nothing happens except fake 1940's kissing between grant and Bergman, there's not suspense, no surprises. It was nominated for best original screen play at the oscars and i really wonder who was the competition cause the screenplay sucks.

The star is for Cary Grant that's it. He played real well in it but really don't waste your time watching that movie, you'd be better off staring at a picture of cary grant for 90 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: Fine thriller from Hitchcock
Review: In the days following the end of WWII, an American agent (Cary Grant) recruits a socialite (Ingrid Bergman) with a reputation as a party girl and a father recently convicted as a Nazi spy. She is to use her connections to the Nazi underground to seduce one of the leaders (Claude Rains) and obtain some vital information. Matters are complicated when the girl and the agent fall for each other yet recognize the necessity of completing their mission.

This is a fine film with many suspenseful scenes, such as the party where it becomes vital that the champagne last all night. The heart of the film is the romance and this is also its weakness. There were so many scenes of simple misunderstandings and deliberately hurtful actions meant to disguise their true feelings that the characters began to seem rather childish. Although this may have been in character for Bergman's spoiled socialite, I would have expected more from Grant's seasoned professional spy. Nevertheless, Hitchcock's direction is innovative and the cast is excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Oddly window-boxed intro
Review: I've been a Criterion fan for many years (I still have my Cat People laserdisc). However there are a couple of odd things about this release.
1) Still frames show a reduced resolution. I've noticed this curious effect on several Criterion titles. Is this a DVD authoring problem?
2) The title sequence on this film is overzealously window-boxed. The image is reduced by at least 40%! WHY? Then the image zooms to fill the screen. If the title sequence needed to be window-boxed shouldn't the entire film require this? Strange.
It's about time that Criterion felt the pressure to use competitive pricing. Years ago they were the "only game in town" when it came to true special editions. Such editions have now become almost common place.
Still a great film. This disc almost rounds out my Hitchcock collection.

Rating:
Summary: A Hitchcock Classic
Review: Notorious is a classic romantic thriller that should not be missed by movie fans everywhere. Set after WWII, the story follows the efforts of a team of American agents trying to infiltrate a Nazi spy ring in Brazil. An American agent, T.R. Devlin, recruits the beautiful Alicia Huberman to try and rat out the spies since she was romantically linked with one of them in the past. Upon arriving, she discovers there is much more going on than what they thought. All the while, Devlin and Alicia begin to fall in love as the danger gets worse and worse. Hitchcock made a true classic with this one. A great story, excellent cast, and ground-breaking camera work all help make Notorious a can't miss film. Watching this you can also see how John Woo was influenced by this movie when he made Mission: Impossible 2. The stories are almost identical.

Notorious boasts an excellent cast full of Hollywood's big stars. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman star as T.R. Devlin and Alicia Huberman and are great together. There is an obvious chemistry between the two of them as they realize that they have fallen in love with each other. Claude Rains is equally good as Alex Sebastian, Nazi spy and romantic link with Alicia. Even though he is the bad guy, you can't help but feel bad for him since Rains is so likable. Louis Calhern also stars as the leader of the American agents in Brazil and is very good. I won't go through all the extras on the Criterion Collection DVD, but I will say that if you like this movie then you'll love all of the included extras. For movie fans everywhere, go check out Notorious!

Rating:
Summary: Hardly "nothing at all"
Review: This is among my favorites of Alfred Hitchcock's films, in large measure because of Cary Grant's performance as Devlin whose character and personality seem the antithesis of the public persona which Grant worked so effectively to create for himself after the film first appeared in 1946. Specifically, as a sophisticated gentleman (a gentle man) with impeccable manners, debonair and somewhat aloof, always meticulously groomed and self-assured. Throughout this film, I became progressively more irritated with Devlin who never misses an opportunity to verbally abuse Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) as he callously exploits her.

Many years ago, during someone's (Bob Dorian's?) introduction to one of Hitchcock's films on the American Movie Classics channel, I recall several references to a "McGuffin." Curious to know the etymology of the word, I was directed by Google to c2.com. Here is a summary of what I learned:

"McGuffin (aka: MacGuffin or maguffin) is a term for a Plot Enabling Device, i.e. a device or plot element in a movie that is deliberately placed to catch the viewer's attention and/or drive the logic of the plot, but which actually serves no further purpose - it won't pop up again later, it won't explain the ending, it won't actually do anything except possibly distract you while you try to figure out its significance. More specifically, it is usually a mysterious package or superweapon or something that everyone in the story is chasing. Possibly coined by Alfred Hitchcock (see below). The perfect example is the 'government secrets' that motivate the action in North By Northwest (1959). Another typical McGuffin is the Maltese Falcon. It gets the characters together, pits them against each other, but turns out to be worthless.

In his 1966 interview with director-film critic, Francois Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock said "It might be a Scottish name, taken from a story about two men in a train. One man says 'What's that package up there in the baggage rack?' And the other answers, 'O that's a McGuffin.' The first one asks 'What's a McGuffin?' 'Well' the other man says, "It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands.' The first man says, "But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands,' and the other one answers 'Well then that's no McGuffin!' So you see a McGuffin is nothing at all."

That is certainly not true of Notorious. If viewed as a plot enabling device in in this film, Hitchcock's McGuffin (or MacGuffin or maguffin) is a hidden cache of uranium ore which Devlin and his associates are determined to locate and seize so as to prevent Germany from acquiring a nuclear weapon capability near the end of World War Two in Europe. Because they are certain that a wealthy neo-Nazi, Alexander Sebastian (Claude Raines), knows where it is, their strategy is to have Alicia capture Sebastian's heart, marry him, and then spy on him. The devious and determined Devlin is primarily responsible for supervising Alicia and, of course, eventually falls in love with her.

This is among Hitchcock's darkest films, despite the radiance of the emotionally fragile Alicia's essential goodness. (She is probably Hitchcock's most sympathetic female character. When I first saw Notorious, I fell in love with her myself.) Both Devlin and Sebastian find themselves torn between conflicting loyalties which increase tension among the leading characters as well as our sense of anticipation while exacerbating various ambiguities. In none of his other films does Hitchcock invest uncertainty with as much menace as he does in Notorious. Screenwriter Ben Hecht's plot is seamless, all of the performances are outstanding, and by the film's conclusion, we even feel at least some sympathy for Devlin and Sebastian. This is truly a "classic."

The DVD version (Criterion Collection) offers a wealth of special features for which I am deeply grateful.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Hitchcock Film of all Time
Review: This is Alfred Hitchcock's best film ever. I have seen all his films except for a few of the more arcane silent ones and I must say that while Strangers on a Train, Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo and North by Northwest are right up there, Notorious has them beat.

Ingrid Bergman, as Alicia Huberman, has two things, a reputation as a drunken slut, and a father who is convicted of being a spy at the beginning of the movie. Cary Grant, working for the government, seeks her out to see if she will help them against some of the Nazis in Rio. Grant has a recorded conversation where Bergman confessed her love for America and her hatred for the Nazis. He also figures her "notorious" reputation may help them get the information they want.

Unfortunately for both of them, they fall in love right before the assignment comes down. She is to infiltrate the home of Nazi official Claude Rains to get information. Rains used to be in love with her and the government knows that can be useful.

The reason the film is so great is that all three characters find themselves in emotional bondage that they can't escape from. Rains loves Bergman truly, but she does not love him, she loves Grant. He won't tell her he loves her, rather he encourages her to get closer to Rains. She does it, only because she loves him.

By the way, out of all Hitchcock movies, I think there is only one which ended with a classic line. That movie is Notorious. When you see it, you will know. The end of this movie may be the best ever. You know exactly what will happen with each character, even if you don't see any of it.

I am a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan. He constantly put the audience in the mind of the characters and made us watch exactly what the characters saw (See Rear Window and Lifeboat). This movie makes us really feel for Ingrid Bergman's character. Even though to this point in her life, she had done nothing remarkable, she suffers the whole movie out of love for a man who will not reciprocate. Hitchcock shows us how much true love can really hurt. What a classic!