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5.0étoiles sur 5
Suspense, Suspicion,Conspiracy,Jealousy,Murder.....HITCH!, Mars 10 2003
This review refers to the LaserLight Special Edition DVD of "Sabotage" and "The Lodger"......Sylvia Sydney, who graced the screen for more than 70 years stars in "Sabotage". Younger viewers may remember Miss Sydney as "Juno" in Beetlejuice" or "Grandma" in "Mars Attacks". If you have never seen any of her earlier works(this one from 1936), you are in for a real treat. In this terrific thriller, she is Mrs. Verloc. A lovely woman who is slowly becoming suspicious of her husband's(Oscar Homolka) strange activites.And with good reason, he is involved in a deadly conspiracy. It is the eve of WWII, and people in Britain are becoming aware of Nazi activity. Various occurences of Sabotage seem to be popping up around the cities. Small at first, a black out is the first sign, but when a bomb explodes and kills everyone on a bus, the evidence points to Mr. Verloc.Scotland Yard detective Ted Spencer(John Loder)is on the case and must catch the culprit before he kills again. And of course, along the way falls for the beautiful Mrs. Verloc. Hitch does a great job(as always) at keeping us involved with the characters, the story, and keeping the suspense going. You'll recognize his signature traits all through the film."Sabotage" is based on a novel by Joseph Conrad who also wrote "Heart of Darkness". Where's Hitch....Sorry, the elusive Mr. Hitchcock does not seem to make an appearance in this one. Next up is the film which was probably the first to firmly implant Hitch's style in his films as we know them. It is a Silent, made in 1927, the very scary "The Lodger". A serial killer known only as "The Avenger" is loose on the streets. He is attacking beautiful young blonde women. Paranoia runs rampant through the city. When a mysterious stranger takes a room at the home of the Buntings, they begin to suspect his movements as being mighty similar to those of "The Avenger". The Lodger has taken quite a shine to Daisy, the beautiful blonde haired daughter of the Buntings. While Daisy's parents fear for her life, her boyfriend, who also happens to be a detective, is enraged with jealousy and is out to prove this mysterious stranger is in fact the killer. The city gets work up as well, and goes after the lodger with a vengance. These wonderful great silent actors, bring us the fear and paranoia of these characters in all their wonderful actions. It's truley amazing how without words they can portray these feelings. Hitch's use of shadows and lights, camera angles, and his supberb direction really make this a great thriller. The added musical score for some reason is on the whimsical side, but somehow works for this film. The cast includes Ivor Novello as The Lodger, June as Daisy and Marie Ault and Arthur Cesny as The Buntings. Looking for Hitch: A nose for news...in the first 5 minutes.(hard to spot but he's there.) He is also said to be in the mob scene near the end, it's possible but a little hard to tell in these dark scenes. The LaserLight DVD is a good transfer of these old films. "Sabotage" looks excellent. The images are clear with barely of sign of age. No problem with the sound or dialouge. "The Lodger" is not in as good as shape though. The film shows the signs of it's age throughout, but none the less, is perfectcly viewable. I haven't seen any other DVD's of this one, so I can't compare. Any Hitch fan would be delighted with these movies, and they make a great addition for collectors. Have a thrilling time with Hitch......Laurie
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