Thriller & Mystery > H Thriller & Mystery > Hitchcock, Alfred

Torn Curtain - Was It Really Torn?

Advantages: It's Hitchcock
Disadvantages: But not at his best

Torn Curtain is an Alfred Hitchcock produced and directed film released in 1966 which starred Paul Newman and Julie Andrews as Professor Michael Armstrong and his assistant/fiancé Sarah Sherman with support from Wolfgang Kieling, Lila Kedrova, Hansjorg Felmy, Ludwig Donath, Carolyn Conwell, Gisela Fischer and Gunter Strack. Professor Armstrong is engaged to his assistant Sarah Sherman and the films starts off with them on board a ship to Copenhagen ...
...his usual acting prowess in Torn Curtain. I did feel that the plot had some glaring holes in it from start to finish. I didn't understand the significance of Professor Manfred going with Sarah to the bookshop to collect the Professor's book as he doesn't even look at the book or try to. Whilst watching a Hitchcock film, one tries to find hidden meaning in so many scenes and strangely enough there just weren't many hidden meanings in Torn Curtain. ...

anonymili 28.04.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Torn Curtain (DVD)

Early Hitchcock doesn't quite cut it

Advantages: Very entertaining in those days I'm sure...
Disadvantages: but we're in the 21st century now

...films deemed too irrelevant for the common movie-goer. Alas I just can't seem to give this DVD the thumbs up. You see, the thing is -if a black and white film, handicapped with the inevitable restrictions of movie-making in yesteryears, is to be an enjoyable experience for an audience today, it must have certain qualities of timelessness to it. Casablanca, The Seventh Seal and The Lady Vanishes are adored, remastered and distributed widely today ...
...to people still. I watched The Lady Vanishes (Hitchcock's last British film before he moved to America to make such international blockbusters like Vertigo and Psycho) prior to this DVD and found that to be suspenseful enough despite it being made around the same time with this film. However I must say that The Man Who Knew Too Much proved just too boring and sketchy for me despite having such a promising plot and such a decent cast. Vintage Hitchcock ...

habitualdamnation 13.07.2005 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Man Who Knew Too Much (DVD)

One of the best films of 2008

Advantages: Exciting, Thrilling
Disadvantages: I honestly can't think of any.

Liam Neeson plays a secret service type of guy, well a former secret service. . It reminded of The Bourne Indentity with a similar type of fighting role. The fight scenes are very well choreographed and the storyline doesn't lose its pace. Ok the storyline, Brian Mills's ( Liam Neeson) daughter is kidnapped by Albanians. She was on holiday with her friend in France touring U2's Europe tour. These Albanians traffic young women addict them to drugs ...

liamchapman 06.11.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Taken (DVD)

I have been Taken by surprise.

Advantages: Good acting, great storyline!
Disadvantages: None,

We watched this film with my mum, dad and husband when they had it recorded on Sky Plus and nothing was on tv (once again it was a Wednesday night and it was just football which was on!!!!). As I have said before when writing reviews on these types of films, I've never been a big fan of films with guns and gangsters, they bore me most of the time, but this Thriller is actually quite good! Details *Directed By- Pierre Morel *Release Date- ...
...minutes *Starring- Liam Neeson Maggie Grace Plot When ex CIA agent Bryan's 17 year old daughter Kim wants to go to Paris with her best friend from school, her dad is apprehensive, whilst her laid back mum (and Bryans ex wife), is fine with it, pressuring him into signing the papers to allow her out of the country. As an ex CIA agent, he knows the dangers of the world, and knows the trouble 17 year old girls can get caught up in. But he ...

stephbond89 06.11.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Taken (DVD)

It's a riddle all right

Advantages: Derek Jacobi
Disadvantages: Daft story, badly told

...dead, apparently killed. When Mike, the journalist, hears her message, he is intrigued, and eventually finds the manuscript. He teams up with Kate, a police press officer and a tramp to find out what happened to Sadie and along the way, he also becomes intrigued by a murder described in Dicken's manuscript. It soon becomes clear that if he solves Dicken's murder, then he will be a lot further forward in solving Sadie's. However, there are people ...
...he ever find the answers he is searching for? Directed by Brendan Foley, this film is rather individual because it became the first feature film to be distributed on DVD by a national newspaper - The Daily Mail. The Daily Mail bought the rights to the film and gave it away as a freebie to people who bought the newspaper. Many will think this automatically makes the film a dud - free DVDs with newspapers are usually either very old or very bad. And ...

sunmeilan 06.11.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Riddle (DVD)