The Lady Vanishes
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.37 You Save: $2.58 (65%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.36 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Lady Vanishes
Movie Review: I was amazed at how good this is
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this DVD because it was cheap, and I figured I could not go wrong with an old Hitchcock classic. The first two minutes of the film gave me some doubts, as the sound quality on the opening music was poor (I thought the sound was fine after that and the picture quality very good). Then the story got going, and I was amazed.
This film really needs to be appreciated on two levels. First, it is a wonderfully pleasant thriller. It has a script from the days when they cared about writing good dialogue. It is quite witty, and pleasantly sexy, the latter in a family-friendly way that is nonetheless more engaging than so much of the modern, explicit material.
But the second level is what makes this film so astonishing. It was made in 1938 in England. At the time, appeasement was the official policy of the British government and most of the British press. In fact, the film censorship board would not even allow the words "German" or "Nazi" to be used in connection with bad guys. The film nonetheless manages to suggest the utter evil of Nazism and show the utter bankruptcy of appeasement. What's most intriguing, the film cleverly shows a variety of people who just don't want to get involved in any nastiness, for one reason or another, but who have true British hearts of gold and come through wonderfully once a fight proves unavoidable.
My pleasure at this wonderful film is mixed on a few counts. The first, of course, is the sadness that the film proved to be so amazingly prophetic about the tragedy of the years that followed. The second is that this film is so little known, when it should by rights be part of the history curriculum every student learns by high school. The third is that this film is just as meaningful for us today as it was when it was made. Alas, it just may be that we are living in 1938 all over again.
Movie Review: I know she was here
Summary: 4 Stars
Alfred Hitchcock wasn't too good at straight-out comedy, which he only did once. But he was absolutely brilliant at clever, witty thrillers, one of the earliest of which is "The Lady Vanishes." While it has some major plot holes, Hitchcock makes up for those with witty dialogue and solid acting.
Iris (Margaret Lockwood) is having a last girl's-night-out with her best friends, at a small Alpine hotel. As she's leaving on the train, she befriends a kindly little old governess (Dame May Whitty) -- who vanishes while Iris is napping. Even worse, everyone denies that the old lady existed, making Iris wonder if she imagined the whole thing.
She enlists the help of eccentric musician Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) to help her find the old lady, once they are both convinced that the lady existed. Now the pair must go through the train in search of the old lady -- but they never expected to uncover an international conspiracy, which could leave them all dead.
"The Lady Vanishes" was a pretty early movie of Hitchcock's, and at the end we're left wondering about several oddities in the plot (how is an eighty-year-old lady so athletic? How inept can those foreign agents BE?). As a spy thriller it's flawed but passable... but it's very good as a comedic mystery.
Hitchcock takes his time introducing us to these characters, by having them all bunk at one overcrowded hotel. One particularly funny scene has Gilbert invading Iris's suite, after she has him ejected from his room, and strewing his things all over as she orders him to leave. But Hitchcock also captures the claustrophobic feeling of being menaced on a train.
As well as the feisty socialite and weird musician, the movie is sprinkled with cricket-obsessed Brits, ebullient hoteliers, and bickering adulterous lovers. They all do fairly solid jobs, with Redgrave as a charming, slightly odd standout. And they all get some entertaining dialogue, no matter how stodgy they are. ("My father always taught me, never desert a lady in trouble. He even carried that as far as marrying Mother.")
You'd expect Criterion to do the best job with this film. But in terms of quality for your money, I found that the Diamond Entertainment version is pretty good. The picture is fairly clear, neither too light nor too dark, and the soundtrack is clean except for a slight crackle in the opening credits. Not too bad for a mere four dollars.
"The Lady Vanishes" is a comedic mystery that doesn't quite work as a spy thriller. But it's still an entertaining, taut little movie. Definitely a keeper.
Movie Review: First Class Mystery
Summary: 4 Stars
Very entertaining, good acting and character portrayal. Had some predictable circumstances but for the 1930's outstanding.