I just don't like this one as much as everyone else. The film class I took in college did a big thing on it and I completely understand why - the cameraman as murderer offers all sorts of interesting themes and it makes total sense to me why film critics and directors would find it so interesting, but that doesn't make it work for me on a moment to moment basis. Right from the start when we have to pretend Karlheinz Böhm sounds British.
So lump it with some early Cronenberg (looking at you, THE BROOD) as movies better for analysis than popping on
I saw this projected in the 90’s during its brief revival and was also left a little cold by it. I had been curious to see it as I was a Powell & Pressburger nut and was anxious to see as many Powell films as I could but this one didn’t really land with me. I do have a feeling I will end up picking up the new Criterion edition at some point though and am curious to revisit it.
I noted a reference to this in the recent film STOPMOTION (which just dropped on Shudder) since one of the characters in it is murdered with a camera tripod. Powell’s influence soldiers on.
Loved your review, especially the quotes from the early reviews. Eroll Morris's films come to mind as a curious mind, and also the shock of Tod Browning's 1932 Freaks.
I've always thought Powell used color better than any other filmmaker, and this could serve as Exhibit A--every single frame here is so queasily lurid, it could be used to define the word.
There's a new documentary about Powell and Pressburger out called "Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger" that talks about this film (and many others). Saw it at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto, and it was quite good.
Always wondered how their previous respective outputs affected the responses to the 1960 offerings of Powell and Hitchcock. Was Psycho a logical progression, to Peeping Tom's unforgivable heel turn?
Fun, I just happened to have watched this so I'm actually on top of things for maybe the first time since first subscribing to this publication a couple of years ago. Echoing a couple of other comments, it didn't make that big an impact on me, another of those movies where I can see why it was a huge deal at the time but we've moved on. Some wheel spinning, the bit on the movie set went on too long, Helen's blind mother chugging whiskey was fun but I don't think it advanced things very much.
You write "its death scenes were no gorier than what Hammer’s horror films offered", and yeah, correct me if I'm wrong but there wasn't a drop of blood in this movie. The first victim just got zoomed in on, we only saw the actress corpse from the roof of the studio, even the ending was bloodless.
Mark's psychology was interesting, I liked how he tried his best not to kill Helen because she was actually a person to him.
Also someone please arrest Thomas Harris for stealing the idea of lone weirdo watching movies of his murders alone in his studio while a blind lady stumbles around in the background.
It's probably been 15 years since I watched this but I recall being pretty positive on it - especially how uncomfortable it was willing to get by delving into Mark's backstory. Sounds like it's time for a rewatch!
I just don't like this one as much as everyone else. The film class I took in college did a big thing on it and I completely understand why - the cameraman as murderer offers all sorts of interesting themes and it makes total sense to me why film critics and directors would find it so interesting, but that doesn't make it work for me on a moment to moment basis. Right from the start when we have to pretend Karlheinz Böhm sounds British.
So lump it with some early Cronenberg (looking at you, THE BROOD) as movies better for analysis than popping on
I saw this projected in the 90’s during its brief revival and was also left a little cold by it. I had been curious to see it as I was a Powell & Pressburger nut and was anxious to see as many Powell films as I could but this one didn’t really land with me. I do have a feeling I will end up picking up the new Criterion edition at some point though and am curious to revisit it.
I noted a reference to this in the recent film STOPMOTION (which just dropped on Shudder) since one of the characters in it is murdered with a camera tripod. Powell’s influence soldiers on.
Loved your review, especially the quotes from the early reviews. Eroll Morris's films come to mind as a curious mind, and also the shock of Tod Browning's 1932 Freaks.
I've always thought Powell used color better than any other filmmaker, and this could serve as Exhibit A--every single frame here is so queasily lurid, it could be used to define the word.
There's a new documentary about Powell and Pressburger out called "Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger" that talks about this film (and many others). Saw it at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto, and it was quite good.
Just got a publicist email in my inbox about that one-- narrated by Martin Scorsese!-- and it's due out in limited release here on July 12th.
Always wondered how their previous respective outputs affected the responses to the 1960 offerings of Powell and Hitchcock. Was Psycho a logical progression, to Peeping Tom's unforgivable heel turn?
Fun, I just happened to have watched this so I'm actually on top of things for maybe the first time since first subscribing to this publication a couple of years ago. Echoing a couple of other comments, it didn't make that big an impact on me, another of those movies where I can see why it was a huge deal at the time but we've moved on. Some wheel spinning, the bit on the movie set went on too long, Helen's blind mother chugging whiskey was fun but I don't think it advanced things very much.
You write "its death scenes were no gorier than what Hammer’s horror films offered", and yeah, correct me if I'm wrong but there wasn't a drop of blood in this movie. The first victim just got zoomed in on, we only saw the actress corpse from the roof of the studio, even the ending was bloodless.
Mark's psychology was interesting, I liked how he tried his best not to kill Helen because she was actually a person to him.
Also someone please arrest Thomas Harris for stealing the idea of lone weirdo watching movies of his murders alone in his studio while a blind lady stumbles around in the background.
Oh right! I never made that connection. Cue "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."
One of the pin up girls in the photoshoot is even lying on a large taxidermy tiger head.
It's probably been 15 years since I watched this but I recall being pretty positive on it - especially how uncomfortable it was willing to get by delving into Mark's backstory. Sounds like it's time for a rewatch!