“Forgotten Hollywood”- British Film Poll Picks Vertigo as Best!

Posted on August 2, 2012 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

   With the 2012 Summer Olympics chugging along in London, the British Film Institute has made their choices for the greatest films of all time. These selections are compiled and updated every decade, and printed in their official magazine, Sight and Sound. There were 846 critics, programmers, academics and distributors who participated in this international survey.

  

   Vertigo narrowly trumped Citizen Kane as cinema’s finest contribution. This marks a first time that Alfred Hitchcock has bested Orson Welles in this kind of classic film analysis. Other  provincial entries in the Top 10 include 1927’s Sunrise, 2001:  A Space Odyssey and The Searchers. Contributions abroad by Jean Renoir and Federico Fellini were also mentioned.

   Personally, I’m astounded by the selection of #1. After recently watching Citizen Kane, I was again mesmerized by its intelligent craftsmanship. The cinematography is stunning. Vertigo is a faux Euro experience. The camera work is over-the-top and in-your-face, getting in the way of a convoluted plot line. The British film maker was better suited in delivering nonstop action in North By Northwest; riveting drama in Rear Window; and sheer terror in Psycho, considered by many theatre-goers, Hitchcock’s masterpiece of movie-making.

   Leave it to the British to get me to ardently be conflicted with their findings!

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   And, speaking of The SearchersTCM began their month-long Summer Under the Stars with the legendary John Wayne. Each day, in the month of August, a different actor is featured in a 24-hour tribute. In honor of current Olympians, Johnny Weissmuller, who won five gold medals at the 1924 Summer Olympics, is featured on Friday in the fine Tarzan series.

   On Saturday, Turner Classic Movies will remember the passing of Marilyn Monroe, who died exactly 50 years ago. And, I’m looking forward to this Sunday’s homage to Claude Rains. I’d like to think my efforts in presenting the gifted actor in my Forgotten Hollywood Book Series had something to do with this day-long retrospective. Other actors from my work include Van Heflin, Lionel Barrymore, and Freddie Bartholomew.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 2nd, 2012 at 1:36 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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