CONFUSING

Bacall and Bogart are always a welcomed pairing when it comes to big screen, so „The big sleep” must've represented a huge box office hit in its time.

However, the very script tends to confuse the viewer with an overelaborated murder scheme inside a love triangle that draws the private investigator into its charms. The outcome will be just too schematic and without any surprises, following the era's standards.

„The big sleep” is an average achievement in every one of its major elements.

THE BIG SLEEP – 4/10

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SLIGHTLY OVERRATED

Bogart made his name as a private detective in this one, so the expectations were pretty much high prior to watching. Humprey's being classical Humphrey, cool, old school macho trying to wiggle his way out an elaborate scheme revolving around the ancient artifact, but that's pretty much it.

Rest of the cast, as the script itself will blend into a classical conspiracy/crime story of that era, with all the right moves and turns, but lacking any kind of innovation at all.

„Maltese Falcon” is just a solid piece of movie history and a classical Bogart's role that made him what he is.

THE MALTESE FALCON – 5/10

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GREAT CONCEPT

There are intellectual thrillers and then there are Alfred Hitchcock's intellectual thrillers! Being the guy that invented the entire genre, the famous director tries and produces one of his best works in a intertwined story about a perfect murder scheme created by the random meeting in a train. Basic plot so simple that it's genius will go on to produce some of the genre's best concepts and a dramatic finale that will justify the director's reputation for making immaculate crime stories for the big screen.

„Strangers on a train” is a great movie in any era, a perfect crime story that stood the test of time and a homework for the generations of movie creators that followed it.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN – 8/10

FOTO: thejar.hitchcock.zone

OUTDATED BY TODAY’S STANDARDS

Hitchcock not only redefined horror and gave birth to thriller, but also managed to revamp the action genre and he did that by one of his most famous flicks, „North by Northwest”. Back in the day, some of the sequences and special effects must have been a revelation to the cinema audience, but they are now almost completely non persuasive.

The basic triangular story (love-conspiracy-adventure) is something we already saw in that era, as well as the trademark confused charm acting by Cary Grant.

„North by Northwest” was a great movie in its time, but had been since then overran by its successors.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST – 3/10

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