tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post9111684636896395882..comments2023-11-05T07:45:02.082-05:00Comments on Mystery Man on Film: Script Review – Hitch’s “Short Night”Mystery Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-31628924220042678602009-07-14T10:08:03.435-04:002009-07-14T10:08:03.435-04:00Alex - As is it, it probably would've been no ...Alex - As is it, it probably would've been no better than some of his other weaker, later films, like "Frenzy." But it had such potential for greatness...<br /><br />-MMMystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-8593200775507996702009-07-06T18:40:09.076-04:002009-07-06T18:40:09.076-04:00reading this really makes me wish that hitchcock h...reading this really makes me wish that hitchcock had done this picture. its almost like topaz pt 2. or his chance at redoing a spy film the good way (even if i looved Topaz).Alexhttp://www.abridgedpause.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-36160769411160787552009-06-01T21:06:19.975-04:002009-06-01T21:06:19.975-04:00Thanks so much for that!
-MMThanks so much for that!<br /><br />-MMMystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-68883589056671695852009-06-01T09:54:08.508-04:002009-06-01T09:54:08.508-04:00Hello!
I've a short interview of Hitchcock at 2.A...Hello!<br /><br />I've a short interview of Hitchcock at 2.Aug.1968, at the Airport.<br /><br />http://www.hitchcock.hu/Filmes/Hitchcock/Letoltes/Interview_Finland_1968aug2_l.zip<br /><br />Bests,<br />MrGerMrGerhttp://www.hitchcock.hunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-38682269183482915762009-01-17T14:00:00.000-05:002009-01-17T14:00:00.000-05:00Christian – You should save up and get Truffaut’s ...Christian – You should save up and get Truffaut’s “Hitchcock” book. It’ll change your life.<BR/><BR/>David – Fan-damn-tastic thoughts. I liked the ending. I was also thinking in terms of Carla’s redemption for the ending, and I was toying with the idea that you kill Joe off on the island in a big suspenseful sequence. Carla spins this tale to Brand that Joe was a stalker and how grateful she is that Brand saved her, etc. Then, she seeks revenge on the train. But, even that doesn’t feel suspenseful enough. I know we’ll disagree on this, but in a case like this, the last film of Hitchcock, I say give the audience what they want, the biggest suspenseful send-off to the master in cinema history.<BR/><BR/>-MMMystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-39778474599730865612009-01-09T00:26:00.000-05:002009-01-09T00:26:00.000-05:00To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I would appro...To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I would approach the project as if I were delivering a story for cinema’s beloved Hitch. That, to me, is a major mistake. Story comes first. <BR/><BR/>Now, in terms of story...I just don't think my take would’ve been to their liking. Really, I believe they got it wrong. So, for me, it would’ve been about Carla’s redemption. That would’ve been at the center of the soap opera. Because, ultimately...I just don’t believe her hands are clean. So now you have a story where you could work them against each other. And now they just aren’t developing a romance as Bailey waits for Brand to show up, which is rather boring.<BR/><BR/>Okay, that’s all well and good. <BR/><BR/>What about Joe’s meeting with Paul? Well, I just would’ve had Paul give Joe two cyanide capsules. That would show you do not want to under any circumstances get caught by Brand. It would also set-up my dream ending. Yeah, I have always wanted to see somebody eat a cyanide capsule in a spy movie. There’s no bullshit here, man. I have sat through many goddamn spy thrillers where they even introduce the cyanide -- but, of course, nobody eats it. Fuck that.<BR/><BR/>So now we’ve come to the ending. This is where Joe and Carla ask each other to walk-away. They agree, but this comes under protest by Olga and Hilda. They go to a bar to make contact with Brand, who is already in Savonlinna, asking for instructions. Joe tries to stop them and fails.<BR/><BR/>Carla enters, ending the phone line connection with a fire extinguisher. They, after dealing with Olga and Hilda, decide to take the yacht and leave immediately.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, Brand is looking at Joe hastily escaping with his wife from his boat.<BR/><BR/>Joe expertly slips the yacht through the ensuing boat-chase, covered by the confusion, until they get tagged by another boat that takes out the yacht’s electrical systems. As the sky goes completely dark, Joe manages to steer them out of sight -- concealed in the atmospheric fog.<BR/><BR/>Carla and Joe decide to destroy Brand’s boat. Joe arms the bomb in the dingy and places it underneath Brand’s boat, but a major snag has occurred -- Carla is "rescued" off the yacht by two police officers working for Brand.<BR/><BR/>Oh, I forgot she's wearing his coat that has his cyanide pills. Somewhere in all this she was going to take them. There’s no way she was going to go back.<BR/><BR/>Joe, having subdued the corrupt officer left on the yacht, arrives at and infiltrates Brand’s boat. Sneaking around the boat, Joe is shocked to find Carla, alive and not bound and gagged -- after which Brand shoots Joe -- only grazes -- then fights him.<BR/><BR/>Joe is managing to beat Brand, but just as Joe prepares to kill him, Brand manages to make a comeback and begins to savagely beat Joe -- and Carla, realizing Brand is about to execute Joe, stands up and embraces him like he saved her, which is exactly what he thinks he’s doing.<BR/><BR/>This is where Carla becomes, you know, the Kiss of Death. Yes, she had eaten the cyanide capsules and deeply kisses Brand. Realizing that Carla has taken them, Joe staggers over and holds her in his arms. I imagine she would say something like "I'm all right" after this.<BR/><BR/>Joe, no longer caring whether he lives or dies, stays put and doesn’t dive into the ocean scant seconds before a massive wave of explosive destruction.<BR/><BR/>But Joe awakens in a hospital. Paul appears. He congratulates Joe for his heroic actions and provides him with a large envelope full of cash. That’s it. It’s over.<BR/><BR/>But this is just me. Great article.<BR/><BR/><BR/>-- David Alan<BR/><BR/><BR/>Side Thought: <BR/><BR/>THE TRANSITION TO SAVONLINNA -- was it a little long? It felt a little drawn out for me.<BR/><BR/>Oh, I wholeheartedly agree about the original ending. It needs to be more. When you construct the end of a movie, you gotta amp it up. And you know what else? Why would anybody want to end it on a train when you have that beautiful location at your disposal? You don’t.David Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00954618022277834648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-28920350108194817852009-01-08T17:42:00.000-05:002009-01-08T17:42:00.000-05:00Believe me just his opinions about sex in cinema h...Believe me just his opinions about sex in cinema have truly made me study him more. He actually agrees with me about the "cinematic nature" of it.<BR/><BR/>And I didn't mean to imply that pure cinema isn't a worthy goal, especially in action thrillers which is truly his stock in trade.<BR/><BR/>I have been reading every word I can find and every interview to study his techniques.<BR/><BR/>I am really going to try hard to have a sequence with no dialogue as if you can channel Hitch you're doing good. <BR/><BR/>I have a scene that should work perfect. Maybe I'll send it to you for critique.Christian H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16847810167041864292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-80925414536297846832009-01-08T17:09:00.000-05:002009-01-08T17:09:00.000-05:00Christian - Those are great thoughts, man. I don'...Christian - Those are great thoughts, man. I don't mean to dismiss the power of dialogue and characters, because characters come first, and our stock in trade is how well we write dialogue. But pure cinema is really effective, too. It's certainly not the end-all-be-all of cinema. You have to take the time to really study Hitchcock. It'll change you. And you might find as I did that the perfect mix of pure cinema with great characters and dialogue as we when he worked with John Michael Hayes, is the stuff of classics. Thanks for that.<BR/><BR/>-MMMystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-57709258535057023562009-01-07T20:56:00.000-05:002009-01-07T20:56:00.000-05:00Interesting question, great analysis. I'd love to ...Interesting question, great analysis. I'd love to say, yes I'm ready but as I thought about it I realized that I haven't written the type of movie YET that would actually allow that type of tension.<BR/><BR/>For that type of tension, you need a life-threatening situation which provides HUGE stakes. I am working on a crime thriller that I could use as a "litmus." So far I have some pretty tense escapes that barely happen but reading this I realize I could add more disparate elements in future scenes (that creates build-up).<BR/><BR/>I also would note that I'm aesthetically similar in how I use sex. As you can see he uses the eyes and surrounding happenings which give an added sense of realism rather than just having them graphically go at it.<BR/>I think it has to do with my theory of the "Time Image." Admittedly I abstract Deleuze's theories and create my own theorem on the "cinema of the seer."<BR/><BR/>The term "pure cinema" is great in those situations but for drama and in a lot of ways comedy, you really have to acknowledge, in my opinion, the spoken thoughts of the characters. <BR/><BR/>Perhaps that led to the campiness of James Bond - too much dialogue. For the drama I feel that you need to employ the "mise en scene" technique of having background images setting tone and establishing emotional state, like the red of "American Beauty" or the beat up van of "Little Miss Sunshine."<BR/><BR/>Though, admittedly, the surveillance scene would work in a drama about a custody battle or an attempt to prove infidelity. This is serious food for thought though.<BR/><BR/>I will definitely pay more attention to setting up scenes with no dialogue. I've practiced it but haven't yet implemented it in a script. But then I'm only on number six right now.Christian H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16847810167041864292noreply@blogger.com