Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Strange and Wonderful Accomplishment, 28 Feb 2004
This film is absolute Hitchcock. The suspense, the tension, the whole atmosphere is mouth watering. The dialogue is utterly stunning and the cinematography is quite brilliant. I am running out of superlatives to describe this film but one more superb aspect must be mentioned; the performance by Robert Walker. As the slightly deranged, yet extremely intelligent, young man Walker is absolutely spectacular. His mannerism is so incredibly convincing it is shocking and without him my rating of this film would be completely different.The essential plot behind the film is that of two strangers meeting on a train (one being the slightly insane Walker) with one of the two unwittingly landing himself in a difficult situation, where he finds he is an accessory to murder with nowhere to hide. As with all Hitchcock films it is the suspense that makes the film an absolute masterpiece of cinema. However, with this film many other elements (mainly Walker) push the bar even higher giving an indescribably good product. The only minor let down in this film was Farley Granger's part which I found to be lacking slightly. This, however, cannot detract from its 5 star rating and this is still a must buy film, especially if you are a fan of the classics.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Robert Walker goes off the rails in Hitchcock thriller., 27 Feb 2001
By A Customer
A chance meeting in a train carriage brings Robert Walker's deceptively amiable Bruno into conversation with smart society tennis player (Farley Granger). Both men hypothesise on the nature of killing, and Bruno suggests that they exchange a verbal contract of murder, Granger's wife for Walker's father, much to the sportsman's amusement. But when his wife turns up strangled days later and a brief phone call reminds Granger of his obligation he understands, with chilling realisation, the contract was all too real. The premise of the film fits neatly as a parable of a pact with the devil. Walker is a psychopath with his eye on family money, his father the sole remaining obstacle to his inheritance, whilst Granger is in a stale marriage with his eye on another woman. Murder would suit both very well, but conscience pulls Granger back from the brink, his mind unable to cope with the enormity of murder. He is, however, in a battle of wits with a man in every sense his intellectual equal and unrestrained by the need to play to rules. Hitchcock's playground: the human conscience and the merry dance it can lead us, is given good airing here as the metaphorical noose slips tighter around Granger's neck. Both men give good value in their respective roles but you sense that it is Walker, with beguiling charm and understated menace, who is close in spirit to his psychotic character than Granger is to his perplexed nemisis.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Step up and introduce yourself to this stranger, 7 Oct 2005
One of the most brilliant things about this DVD is that you can actually get hold of it with some ease. It is a fantastic edition of a great film. The extras - ah Hitchcock with extras, like ice cream WITH the helping of butterscotch sauce - are fantastic. I think it is worth its money for the M. Night Shymalan snippet alone - so many call him hitchcockian, well here's some evidence for you all. The film itself is a treat in store - who can forget the tennis match, will you ever look at Wimbledon again, far too dull in comparison. Now if our railway carriages actually looked like those of Hitchcock's world then we might find ourselves talking to any old Tom, Dick or Alfred, but instead we take our life in our hands just heading for the buffet car. Still, this might teach us a thing or two - for example, don't ever crack jokes with strangers - pretty good advice for London anyway. Although watching this at the weekend might make the uneventful 8.45 to London Cannon Street actually seem appealing.Buy this for some wonderful Hitchcock fun as only he can offer.
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