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| Alfred Hitchcock: “Revenge is sweet and not fattening” Posted: 22 Apr 2013 05:27 PM PDT  Photo Credit: twm1340 via Compfight cc What can we say about Alfred Hitchcock that hasn’t been already said and rehashed a million times on the mighty internet? Great Director. Check. Fat guy. Check. Perverted. Check. Makes cameos in his movies. Check. Died. Check. How about Alfred was born on August 13th – Friday. His directorial debut was to be the film "Number 13", but was shut down after a few scenes due to "financial difficulties". Rumors has it that he had no belly button. He was born with one, but doctors stitched it up after a stomach surgery. One more thing, chocolate syrup was used for Janet Leigh’s blood in the shower scene in "Psycho". So here is Alfred’s best and not so best of the best movies and quotes in "Good, Bad, and Ugly" form:  Photo Credit: whatculture.com/ The Good:"Rear Window" (1954) James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Raymond Burr all in one movie! This was one of the best movies ever made in film history. "Rear Window" was added to the National Film Registry in 1997 and received four academy award nominations. James (Jimmy) Stewart was in a total four Hitchcock movies, all great ones. Grace Kelly appeared in three, also, all great ones. Stewart, playing L.B. Jefferies, is confined to a wheelchair in his Greenwich Village apartment after breaking his leg while photographing a race. He begins the hobby of spying on his neighbors to pass the time using binoculars. His rear window looks out into other apartments. He follows his neighbors such as the dancer, a lonely woman, married couples, a musician, a sculptor, and a jewelry salesman (Burr) and his wife. When Hitchcock is good, he’s great. Quote: "Television has brought back murder into the home – where it belongs." – Alfred Hitchcock
The Bad: (Tie)"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (1941) Wow! Divorced people who keep running in to each other in different and inopportune times? Thank god Hitchcock didn’t make any more of these comedies. Ann Smith asks her husband David if he had to do it again, would he marry her. He said "Nope". She learns they weren’t legally married anyway…things don’t go as planned and she gets angry when he doesn’t ask her to marry him again. There is a cool scene when Ann and a friend, Jeff, are at the World’s Fair and get stuck in the rain on a ride. Bad movie.  Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com/ The Bad: (Tie)"Topaz" (1969) Released on December 19, 1969, I doubt people were running to the theaters for an early Christmas present to see this movie. Soviets and Cuba and France and Harlem. Wait…Harlem? Yep, Rico Parra stays at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem and watches "Soul Train". Not really, he’s there to show solidarity to the African American community, well, the black community in those days. The best part of the movie happens at thirty three minutes when Alfred Hitchcock himself is seen at the airport, in a wheelchair. He greets a man, stands, and walks away with him. Quote: "Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare." – Alfred Hitchcock The Ugly:"The Birds" (1963)  Photo Credit: fanpop.com/ I know. I know. Great movie, one of his best…blah…blah…Hey! Killer birds attacking people sounds like a crappy "B-Movie" showing late at night. It’s famous because of Alfred Hitchcock, that’s the truth. If it were anyone else, it would have been criticized. If schlock director Lloyd Kaufman did this movie it would bomb. The most memorable scene is when the birds land on the playground. Hitchcock Quote: "Blondes make the best victims. They’re like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints." – Alfred Hitchcock |
| 25 Movies with Obvious Anachronisms Posted: 17 Apr 2013 09:53 PM PDT One of the big problems with making movies is that you pour your heart and soul in making a compelling film which will be your legacy to the world and some internet geek comes along and points out that your characters are wearing watches while battling with dinosaurs or eating pizza in the ice age. Never mind, here are 25 movies with obvious anachronisms to look out for.  Photo Credit: forum.gibson.com/ Back to the FutureI always thought that writing the script for this film must have been a nightmare and it is certainly full of errors. One clear anachronism is that Marty McFly plays a Gibson guitar which didn't exist yet (no, he didn't take it back with him). The DoorsVal Kilmer might be pretending that he is Jim Morrison in 1971 but the billboard for Another 48 Hours (1991) gives the game away. TitanicThe further back in time you go the more difficult it is to avoid anachronisms, as Titanic proves with a few classics. Among those, Jack talk about fishing on man made Lake Wissota 5 years before it was created.  Photo Credit: comics.org Almost FamousThe film was set in 2973 but the Deep Purple song Burn playing in the background is from the following year. Super 8They had Rubik's Cubes in 1979? No, they did not. Captain America: The First AvengerAre those vintage 1943 closed circuit TV cameras we can see? Forrest GumpThere's a letter from Apple Company dated 1975 but Apple didn't send anyone letters until it was incorporated in 1977.  Photo Credit: nickverrreos.blogspot.com BraveheartThere are a few reasons for putting this on our list of 25 movies with anachronisms but perhaps the most striking one is that kilts weren't yet in use in Scotland at that time. Raiders of the Lost ArkWhen Indy flies we see how countries were named at the time the movie was shot, not the period he was meant to be in. Siam anyone? The GodfatherA group of long haired hippies famously slouch around in the background at one point.
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