Friday, March 27, 2009

ROPE - ALFRED HITCHCOCK

ROPE
SYNOPSIS: Brandon and Philip are two young men who share a New York apartment. They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley and as a consequence decide to murder him. Together they strangle David with a rope and placing the body in an old chest, they proceed to hold a small party. The guests include David's father, his fiancĂ©e Janet and their old schoolteacher Rupert from whom they mistakenly took their ideas. As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect. This is a brilliant movie by the master of suspense - Alfred Hitchcock. The film is one of Hitchcock’s most experimental and "one of the most interesting experiments ever attempted by a major director working with big box-office names, abandoning many standard film techniques to allow for the long unbroken scenes. Each shot ran continuously for up to ten minutes without interruption. It was shot on a single set, aside from the opening establishing shot street scene. Camera moves were planned in advance and there was almost no editing. The walls of the set were on rollers and could silently be moved out of the way to make way for the camera, and then replaced when they were to come back into shot. Prop men also had to constantly move the furniture and other props out of the way of the large Technicolor camera, and then ensure they were replaced in the correct location. A team of soundmen and camera operators kept the camera and microphones in constant motion, as the actors kept to a carefully choreographed set of cues. The extraordinary cyclorama in the background was the largest backing ever used on a sound stage .It included models of the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings. Numerous chimneys smoke, lights come on in buildings, neon signs light up, and the sunset slowly unfolds as the movie progressed. At about one hour into the film, a red neon sign in the far background showing Hitchcock's profile with "Reduco"—the fictitious weight loss product he used for his appearance in Lifeboat (1944)—is visible for just a moment. Within the course of the film, the clouds—made of spun glass—change position and shape a total of eight times. This has to be my all time favourite Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

PIZZA
I don't eat Pizza very often but when I do I expect the best. So far in Adelaide I have never found any better pizzas than those from Marcellina's. Whether they be eat in or have home delivered, their style of Gourmet Pizza meets my expectations of flavour, freshness and just great good food. My favourite being the Gourmet Chicken Royale ... and take my word it is well worth the wait if you have ordered home delivery. Just imagine this: Chicken Royale: Bacon, onion, roasted capsicum, kalamata olives, chicken fillets, barbecue sauce and mozzarella cheese - just a delight to the taste buds.
Take this link and learn about Marcellina - the premiere Pizza House in Adelaide.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

KNOWING


Knowing - the latest movie with Nicholas Cage promised to be an exciting drama, sci-fi, fantasy and supernatural movie. The theatrical trailers certianly provoked interest but the final reality becomes bogged down in its own seriousness and loses sight of the overall storyline which provided a fodder of a good concept which fails to materialise. It does have some great special effects especially the subway train crashing with a supportive and emotionally invoking score from Marco Beltrami. Shot in Melbourne, Australia, Knowing does not contain any of the scenic beauty of Australia but pertains to be USA not that far from New York - showing well site selection for the shooting. Overall, I was disappointed with the final outcome given a good concept and brilliant start to the movie.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock is one of my favourite Directors of all time. A lot of the enjoyment is to spot the cameo performance of the Director in many of his movies. I came across a website featuring a wealth of information about this master including listings of his cameos. Hope you enjoy following the links and viewing just to check out the cameos. Alfred Hitchcock Cameos

Rear Window