Saboteur Hitchcock doing Hitchcock is better than most other imitators but still this is a minor work and too much of a US copy of The 39 Steps. Priscilla Lane is adorable while Robert Cummings is serviceable and unexciting. The episode with the circus freaks and the finale at the Statue of Liberty were highlights.
Aguirre, Wrath of God Our DVD offered this in 5.1 German so naturally we watched it in 5.1 German only to belatedly discover (i.e. when it was finished) it was filmed in English. I feel particularly daft because I had seen it before in English. Anyway, it is in any language a remarkable film with an extraordinary atmosphere and an intense central performance from Klaus Kinski. It is both realistic and surreal. Real mud, real monkeys.
The Innocents This is one of the two best ghost stories I have ever seen (the other being The Others) with three superb performances and the freakiest ending. If you have never seen then please seek it out and revel in Deborah Kerr’s best work (and role) and the gleaming black and white photography. And because it's scary.
Strings I recorded this on a whim and I’m so glad I did. It is simply amazing. The concept and execution is so remarkable that I forgive the rather dull plot. The puppetry was amazing and the fantasy world created made clever use of the actual limitations of really being a puppet on a string: gates and cages with high bars to keep you in, replacement limbs harvested from slaves and death from a severed head string. There were many notable scenes but the flaming strings falling from the sky was probably the most arresting moment.
A Kiss Before Dying The holes in the plot of this do spoil it. The acting was variable: the father was wooden and Joanne Woodward defied her performance in this to become an Oscar winner while Robert Wagner was suitably creepy as the cold killer.
