Strangers on a Train
by Alfred Hitchcock
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Farley Granger, Leo G. Carroll, Marion Lorne, Patricia Hitchcock, Ruth RomanDirector: Alfred Hitchcock
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: 2 Sides, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1997-06-11
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Strangers on a Train
Movie Review: Hitchcock and Highsmith, A Perfect Couple
Summary: 5 Stars
"Strangers on a Train" is a Hitchcock classic suspense thriller based upon Patricia Highsmith's first novel published in 1950. Viewing it today the acting seems stilted, mannered and lacking in naturalism. The filming is full of clever tricks including an initial shot of Hitch himself wrestling a bass fiddle onto a railroad car.
Robert Walker, though hammy, as deranged Bruno seems more convincing than Farley Granger's Guy, the famous tennis player. Marian Lorne as Bruno's befuddled mother is a delight. The opening of the screenplay by Raymond Chandler seems cleverer than the rather clunky opening of the novel.
Walker refers to the swapping of murders as crisscross. The way Walker stalks Miriam (Guy's wife) in the carnival grounds is done cleverly though not realistically.
There is an old-fashioned melodramatic feel to the movie. Hitchcock uses some of his typical cinematic devices. He has the camera zoom in on Bruno's tie-pin the way Ann (Guy's girlfriend, Ruth Roman) sees it. Frequently the camera zooms in on Guy's lighter. The lighter in the sewer scene is absorbing. Often Hitchcock telegraphs ideas in this manner. The reaction shots of the actors often seem simplistic and over the top.
The plot thickens when Ann's sister wearing glasses, looking like Miriam, triggers Bruno into almost strangling a woman at a party. Hitchcock tried to get to the psychology of his characters, and used camera techniques to enter their minds. When Ann suspects Bruno of a murder, she says to Guy, "How did you get him to do it?"
Though the Forest Hills tennis match seems way too drawn out, the merry-go-round scene at the end is exciting and done in a Hitchcock style, objects moving at very high speed, an out-of-control cinematic universe.
Movie fans should enjoy this black and white thriller, and it's well worth revisiting.
Summary of Strangers on a Train
Strange thing about this trip. So much occurs in pairs. Tennis star Guy (Farley Granger) hates his unfaithful wife. Mysterious Bruno (Robert Walker) hates his father. How perfect for a playful proposal: I'll kill yours, you kill mine. Now look at how Alfred Hitchcock reinforces the duality of human nature. The more you watch, the more you'll see. "Isn't it a fascinating design?" the Master of Suspense often asked. Actually, it's doubly fascinating. Hitchcock left behind two versions of Strangers on a Train. The original version (Side A) is an all-time thriller classic. A recently found longer prerelease British print (Side B) offers "a startling amplification of Bruno's flamboyance, his homoerotic attraction to Guy and his psychotic personality," according to Bill Desowitz of Film Comment. The laying bare of Bruno's hidden nature, along with the great set pieces (head-turning tennis match, disintegrating carousel) and suspense as only Hitchcock can deliver, makes for a first-class trip.DVD Features:
Interactive Menus
Newsreel:Hitchcock newsreel footage
Production Notes
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer:Five trailers of Hitchcock movies
From its cleverly choreographed opening sequence to its heart-stopping climax on a rampant carousel, this 1951 Hitchcock classic readily earns its reputation as one of the director's finest examples of timeless cinematic suspense. It's not just a ripping-good thriller but a film student's delight and a perversely enjoyable battle of wits between tennis pro Guy (Farley Granger) and his mysterious, sycophantic admirer, Bruno (Robert Walker), who proposes a "criss-cross" scheme of traded murders. Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. With an emphasis on narrative and visual strategy, Hitchcock controls the escalating tension with a master's flair for cinematic design, and the plot (coscripted by Raymond Chandler) is so tightly constructed that you'll be white-knuckled even after multiple viewings. Better still, the two-sided DVD edition of this enduring classic includes both the original version of the film and also the longer prerelease British print, which offers a more overt depiction of Bruno's flamboyant and dangerous personality, and his homoerotic attraction to Guy by way of his deviously indecent proposal. In accordance with the cautious censorship guidelines of the period, Hitchcock would later tame these elements of Walker's memorable performance by trimming and altering certain scenes, so the differences between the original and prerelease versions provide an illuminating illustration of censorship's effect on the story's thematic intensity. Beyond all the historical footnotes and film-buff fascination, Strangers on a Train remains one of Hitchcock's crowning achievements and a suspenseful classic that never loses its capacity to thrill and delight. --Jeff Shannon
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