Notorious
I watched a 1950s 35mm reissue print this weekend at a local theater. It was a fantastic experience. The movie, as always was wonderful. It's perhaps my 2nd favorite Hitchcock behind Vertigo, but it's definitely the most watchable Hitchcock for me. The plot is interestingly merely functional but the characters and their dynamics propel the story nicely. I didn't spot any incompetent actors in the movie at all. This is one movie that I can proudly say has no bad acting that dates it: no useless comic relief here.
The crowd was incredibly receptive, and the theater was surprisingly full. The ending got lots of wry laughter, as I recall. It was a very old theater, so that definitely made the viewing more "authentic" to the times. Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant were stunning on the big screen. The 35mm print was dusted and scratched in some areas, though, all in all, it was surprisingly good for its age. Film always has this wonderful warmth and texture to it. The grain never got intrusive, to me; gate weave prevented the picture from seeming sterile. Of course, the cue marks popped up every now and then. I doubt I'd have enjoyed a digital presentation as much.
On one note, I noticed that the exposure seemed to change in certain shots; while it initially seemed to be a flaw in the film print, I noticed that the film became darker (*a change in exposure*) on shots of Claude Rains where he's being menacing/forboding. I do wonder if it's intentional. In any case, intentional or not, it's absent from the DVDs or BDs. The dangers of restoration I suppose...
10 out of 10 stolen keys
The Killer
I watched an Anamorphic DVD-Rebuilder authoring of the Criterion edition at home. The video and audio were unimpressive, though the subtitles seemed to be an accurate translation. I have a feeling this was an LD transfer of a 35mm print, definitely unrestored but not DVNR'ed. They never seemed odd or machine-translated. This was my first time watching the movie, and this was my second time watching a Hong-Kong John Woo film, after Hard Boiled a few years ago.
It was good. I liked it. Chow Yun-Fat was at the top of his game, and, so were the supporting actors. The story was good. It was far more dramatic than I expected. In fact, I would probably classify it as a drama with action scenes, as opposed to an action movie that happens to be dramatic at times. The story is basic, yet well done and compelling here: a man seeks to help a woman he injured. Despite the drama, the tone never seemed to get too dark with one exception (which I will get to in a second). Check out the banter between characters. There's a certain humor to the titular Killer at times; he's not a bad man, and he isn't a solemn one either. The most obvious humor is, of course, the whole Butt-Head and Numb-Nuts schtick; it's present without overstating its blatancy. Needless to say, the action scenes were fantastic here. Good gun play, just a bit below Hard Boiled.
If I had one problem with this movie, it was the ending. Prior to the very ending, I liked the movie a lot. It was amiable and a very exciting ride; I felt the drama/emotion, but not to the point of despairing over it. In other words, it was a proper drama, without resorting to being overly sappy. Now, to preface this, I have no prior problems with bleak endings. None whatsoever. If a character, even the protagonist, deserves to die or needs to die to emphasize a point of the movie, it's fine by me, such as in Get Carter, Donnie Darko, Alien 3, Sin City, Shallow Grave, Evil Dead, Return of the Living Dead, and Night of the Living Dead. If anything, it's unjustified happy endings, especially studio-imposed ones, that get under my skin and bug me, such as Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dawn of the Dead, Army of Darkness, and Blade Runner.
But, having said that, this ending just killed me. It was an awful downer of an ending. Frankly, it ruined the movie for me; I'm not sure I even want to watch this film again, knowing it ends like this. I had foreseen/expected a sad ending, but not to this extent. I'd expected the titular Killer to die, but then donate his corneas to her. That would be sad, but it'd be somewhat just. He was a killer; he deserves to die. He "broke" her eyes in life, now he can "fix" them in death. That would be an ending I could live with. I can just picture the scene of the police officer taking her to the operation and fulfilling his promise.
Instead, though no one emerges happily. The Killer dies, but he's brutally blinded by bullets first; he no longer has anything to give to the girl in death since his eyes are damaged. He can't even reach out and comfort her before he dies. The police officer illegally shoots the surrendering Triad leader multiple times in front of cops. No doubt, he'll be arrested and sent to prison, especially with so many witnesses and his bad status with his boss as it is. Since he'll be locked up, he can't fulfill his promise to John of having them transplant his eyes to the girl; he also can't give the money to the girl and escort her overseas. Speaking of the money, that'll probably get confiscated by the police! Yeah, the money that Sidney died to get is just going to the police. The blind girl isn't going to see any of it. No pun intended. She'll just fade to permanent blindness. Sadly enough.
I know it's just a movie, but the ending really let me down, and was too dark in lieu of the lighter tone of the rest of the movie. Because of the ending, I'd rate this movie:
7 out of 10 guns.
It would have made a 9 with a more satisfying close.