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 Notorious (1946) 

What grade would you give this film?
A 50%  50%  [ 2 ]
B 50%  50%  [ 2 ]
C 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 4

 Notorious (1946) 
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College Boy T

Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:52 pm
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Post Notorious (1946)
Notorious

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Notorious is a 1946 American thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains as three people whose lives become intimately entangled during an espionage operation. It was shot in late 1945 and early 1946 and was released by RKO in August 1946.

Notorious marks a watershed for Hitchcock artistically and represents a heightened thematic maturity; his biographer, Donald Spoto, writes that "Notorious is in fact Alfred Hitchcock's first attempt—at the age of forty-six—to bring his talents to the creation of a serious love story, and its story of two men in love with Ingrid Bergman could only have been made at this stage of his life."

The film is known for two scenes in particular. In one of his most famous shots, Hitchcock starts wide and high, on a second floor balcony overlooking the great hall of a grand mansion; slowly he tracks down and in on Ingrid Bergman, finally ending with a tight close-up of a key tucked in her hand. So arresting is the shot that an outline of the key became a graphic element in the film's promotional material. Hitchcock also devised "a celebrated scene" that circumvented the Production Code's ban on kisses longer than three seconds—by having his actors disengage every three seconds, murmur and nuzzle each other, then start right back up again. The two-and-a-half minute osculation is "perhaps his most intimate and erotic kiss."


Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:58 pm
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loyalfromlondon
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Post Re: Notorious
It's as tense and dramatic as any other old Hitchcock, but the thing that separates it is the unusual character dynamic that's developed and the strange romance that results. Cary Grant, the 'good guy', is pretty much an asshole throughout the film, and Claude Raines, the 'bad guy', is sensitive and kind. Yet we very much want Ingrid Bergman to end up with Grant. It's interesting the way this plays out, and it's sold by Bergman's terrific performance, at once both showy and reserved. I would've liked a bit more meat on it than that, though, and it's only occasionally thrilling and exciting, but the actors and their characters make up for that. The ending is absolutely perfect also.

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Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:26 am
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You must have big rats
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B/B+


Yet again, it's a Hitchcock film that I liked, a lot actually, but just didn't love. I certainly think it's better than the likes of Marnie or Suspicion, but still doesn't quite reach Birds, Dial M for Murder or Spellbound. Probably on the same level as Frenzy, I'd say. I like the set-up of the film and what it really lives off is its magnificent cast. Unlike in Suspicion, the leads have such a wonderful, sparkling chemistry here. Grant and Bergman do a good job on their own here, but in their scenes together they are unbeatable.

The only one who somewhat steals the show from them is Claude Rains in yet another memorable performance of his. The screenplay is well-written, especially the dialogue between Bergman and Grant and the movie is nicely filmed. However, I still have the same feeling that I had in many Hitch films so far, even the ones I liked more - the ending was waayy too rushed and in this particular film, I also felt that the ending was just an easy cop-out. Other than it, it's quite fairly entertaining.

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