Strangers on a Train

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... Strangers on a Train!

Original image located here. Accessed 8th May 2026

Once again, we take a look at the oeuvre of one Alfred Hitchcock. 
It can't be denied that Hitchcock produced a body of work that is both large and impressive. Problem is, some of his lesser-known movies end up lost in the shadow of the more well-known ones. Which brings me to Strangers on a Train. It may not have the name recognition as Psycho or The Birds but it is one that I've been wanting to see for years. Why? Apparently there's a climax which is a chase scene on a Merry-Go-Round - one that The Master himself said was the most dangerous sequence he ever had to shoot. 

Like Hitchcock's other movies, this has the usual building of suspense - which is not surprising given this is from the Master of Suspense - so has this one has something of it's own to say? Yes indeed: There are some impressive sequences involving shadows and night time that look unique. There are some truly stunning examples of dread which stand out decades later. 
Also of note is just how this movie had the balls to have a clearly gay relationship with it's hero and villain - and in the early 1950s no less. Sure The Master did the same thing with the earlier Rope but this is more obvious. Which makes me wonder how they got away with it at the time. 
And as for the promised climax? I was not disappointed. Certainly gripping and staggering considering that this was done in the early 1950s. 

All in all, this may not be well-known when compared to Hitchcock's more well-known movies but this is still capable of standing on it's own two feet. 

A Star is Born (1954)

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... A Star is Born (1954)!

Original image located here. Accessed 13th March 2026

AKA: The one with Judy Garland in it.

Given that Hollywood has done four versions of this movie the big question is: Why do people keep coming back to it? One likely reasons is that the plot summary has an eternal appeal: The contrasting storyline of a young and upcoming actress making their mark whilst the veteran, experienced actor tries a comeback and fails. With the universal theme of chances - both first and second - it certainly helps to have some parallels in real life.
With this in mind, lets consider this iteration:
 - This was one of Garland's final films after years of personal struggles and some misfires. 
 - Director George Cukor was offered a shot at doing the 1937 original but he turned it down as he felt it too similar to another film he directed What Price Hollywood?. 

So compared to it's older brother, does this one have something of it's own to say? Well it's longer and, as was the trend of the time, it was a musical. Now I personally found the length to be problem as it certainly was a slog to get through - matters weren't helped in that this was a restored version with some missing scenes added with stills and dialogue that came across as pointless and justifiably cut. 
But whatever problems I may have had with this film, they are easily forgiven with the knowledge that this is, without question, Garland's show. She pretty much carries this movie and is a presence to behold. She is funny, dramatic and can pull off some effective musical numbers (see The Man That Got Away and Born in a Trunk).

Personally I found the first A Star is Born a tough act to follow but that doesn't mean this isn't a worthy contender. 

North by Northwest

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... North By Northwest!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th September 2025

It seems to me that the most famous movies of Alfred Hitchcock are Psycho and The Birds. So who has to take up the somewhat unfortunate role of being no.3? One would think it would be this: Widely regarded as one of The Master's masterworks but, somehow at the same time, not as widely recognised by the outsider.

But what does it matter? This is superb stuff.
Ever seen those thrillers where some hapless guy is mistaken for someone else and has his life disrupted as they are dragged further and further into extraordinary circumstances? Well you can blame this movie for that scenario: For this is pretty much the wellspring that inspired countless other movies. And yet this is still gripping stuff and shows a level of suspense that it's disciples still can't match.

Vertigo

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Vertigo!

Original image located here. Accessed 22nd August 2025

Here we go: One of Alfred Hitchcock's best known films - one in a filmography that is chock-full of them. Certainly I knew the name and I knew that the film was remade for a Faith No More video so let's take a look....

I find a lot to admire in this movie. There's some great visual tricks, there's some fantastic location footage that shows off San Francisco, the themes of obsession are handled well, Hitchcock's skill with suspense is in fine form and Bernard Hermann's score emerges as the MVP. 

However, as I watch this movie I can't help but think that of Hitchcock himself. For in recent years, Hitchcock has fallen out of favour as it has been made clear that he exhibited some questionable behaviour: Being nasty to actors and obsessing over the image of a particular blonde. As such, I can't help but think that Vertigo is The Master at his most confessional. After all, the title is Vertigo and it's funny how all sense of acrophobia disappears for a sizable chunk of the movie. 

So not bad but compared to to other Hitchcock movies I've seen this one did feel somewhat cold. 

Ikiru

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Ikiru!

Original image located here. Accessed 1st August 2025

This is my 500th post on this blog so here's something that I've been saving for a special occasion. 

Much has been said about this movie already: One of Akira Kurosawa's most famous movies. Kurosawa at his most human. Takashi Shimura giving the performance of his career. The Japanese Its a Wonderful Life. So what can I add to the pile?

What is there to say? This is the story of a boring man who, upon diagnosed with a terminal illness, decides to make his remaining time count. And yet such a description doesn't do the film justice: It isn't predictable and it never once makes our protagonist pathetic or a punchline. And that is some remarkable restraint. 

Certainly this movie touched me on a deep level. As I'm getting older, I do ponder on my mortality and wonder if I will get everything I want to do done. Certainly, it's not the first time I've made such ponderings - I recall doing as many outstanding things as possible back in 1999 - but it still makes for an effective motivator. So there's something to be said about someone using his time to go from a  boring, meaningless life into finding something substantial. 
And there is something universal in that message. And seeing it shown in a movie like this is something else: Certainly there may some who would write this off as insincere but hey, who hasn't been confronted with thoughts on their own mortality?

Truly a magnificent movie. 

And as I close out this five hundredth post, I realise: Maybe there is still more to do...

Some Like it Hot

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... Some Like it Hot!

Original image located here. Accessed 20th June 2025

Once again, we're going after a big fish: This movie has an impressive reputation as one of the greatest comedies ever made. And, from an outsider such as myself, this movie also appears to rank very highly amongst both women and the LBGT community - I suppose that's what happens when you make a movie based around two guys who are forced to dress in drag.

But who am I kidding? This was hilarious. Time hasn't aged it at all and the jokes still hit the mark. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon make for a superb duo and Marilyn Monroe is in her prime. 
It's a great example of a farce done right and some razor sharp satire. And a lot of movies that have followed since can only wish they were this good. 

Singin' in the Rain

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Singin' in the Rain!

Original image located here. Accessed 23rd May 2025

Last year I watched quite a few musicals - more than I would regularly watch in a year (i.e. more than zero). So I may as well go the whole hog and go for the big one. Sure we all know the titular song but what of the movie attached to it?

Have you ever seen the kind of person who can enter a room full of people and, through a combination of personality and charisma, win over everyone in said room with little to no effort? That's what this movie is. The songs are catchy, the dancing sequences are insane, the humour hasn't aged at all, and exuberance just leaps out of the screen. 

Not much else to say except that it seems that this is an eternal classic for a damn good reason. 

The Snow Queen

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Snow Queen!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th March 2025

I have thrown plenty of curveballs on this blog but this must be the biggest one yet: A Soviet animated feature from 1957. An odd choice certainly but this film is noteworthy as it famously inspired Japanese anime titan Hayao Miyazaki and remains one of his favourite films.

At first glance one would think this was Frozen's dour Russian cousin but it isn't. Instead it follows the source material very closely.
But really the main selling point of this movie would be the visuals. The art direction is pretty good by itself and the animation quality still holds up decades later. But it is the various animation tricks and techniques that really sell this movie. 
Granted this is more an art movie than a Disney flick but that's what makes it so unique.

Ben-Hur

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... Ben-Hur!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd May 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 32 (1959)

And now I face a genuine challenge: A movie that has a reputation as being on the grandest achievements of cinema. Everything about this movie is big: The budget, the scale, the length, the colossal sets, the hordes of extras, the sweeping of the board at the Academy Awards. If you have ever heard of the phrase "Bigger than Ben-Hur' this is why.

Personally, I can see this movie as being the epitome of the 'bigger and better' mentality that defined a lot of the movies of the 1950s. Yet at the same time, it seems that a lot of this movies rests on the shoulders of the chariot race. Indeed, this movie did lose me with it's length and it's self-important nature but I am to forgive such shortcomings purely for those magic nine minutes. 

Gigi

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Gigi!

Original image located here. Accessed 26th April 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 31 (1958)

It would appear that history has not been kind to this movie. I feel inclined to agree. 

Sure Leslie Caron has a magnetic presence, the costumes are great and the images of Paris are superb but I, like most people, feel that this movie has aged very poorly. The sexual politics are waaaaaaay out of date, the sentiment of the opening song is incredibly uncomfortable, Honoré Lachaille has a punchable presence, and the music is rather limp. But the biggest crime this movie commits is that it's boring. Granted I'm not the biggest fan of musicals but I know for a fact that it's movie genre that can't afford to be boring.

One final thought: When I went looking for this movie I couldn't find it on any of the streaming services I use. A lot of the other Best Picture Oscar winners were easily found but this wasn't so I had to rely on finding a physical copy. A red flag if ever there was one...

The Bridge on the River Kwai

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Bridge on the River Kwai!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th April 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 30 (1957)

I've been wanting to see this movie for years but I never got around to it. I recall years ago I was discouraged through my father describing it as 'silly'. But not this time around....

So what makes this movie special? Well it is a unique entity in the war movie genre in that it seems less concerned with getting a commentary on warfare across and more interested in being a character driven piece. The characters are indeed complex, helped considerably by the cast playing them with standouts being Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa. The scale is staggering - as befitting a David Lean film - and it's impressive to know that the crew built the bridge for real. Furthermore, the final twenty minutes are astonishing. If this was attempt to show what the big screen could do, as opposed to the small screen of TV sets, then mission well an truly accomplished. 

Finally, was it as 'silly' as it was described to me? Well there were a few moments that did seem difficult to swallow but there rest of the movie is so strong that it makes such instances easier to forgive. 

A classic without a doubt

On the Waterfront

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... On the Waterfront!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th April 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 27 (1954)

Seeing as we currently going though the 1950s Best Picture winners, it is important to take a step back and see what was going on in Hollywood at the time.
It should be noted that this decade gave cinema some major competition in the form of television: A smaller screen but one that found it's way into many people's homes. So how did film producers rise to the challenge of getting people out of the house and into the cinema? By playing up the whole spectacle angle, offering the kind of visuals that couldn't be found on a smaller screen. So yeah, from here movies start getting bigger, pushing the envelope as to what they could accomplish. 
So where does this movie fit in? Well On the Waterfront seems to take the angle of presenting a realistic and grounded story. It may seem out of place compared to the other winners of the decade but on the other hand, On the Waterfront (as well as Marty) doesn't look like the kind of stuff a small scale TV screen of the day would tackle. 

It seems that this movie's success hinges on two men: Director Elia Kazan and actor Marlon Brando. The former made this movie to address his pariah status in Hollywood when he identified eight communists in the film industry, the latter effectively rewrote the rules of film acting. So how does this movie stand up against the march of time?

No doubt about it: this is Brando's show all the way through. The taxi scene may have been quoted many times but it would seem for a very good reason. Sure the Christ analogies may have been heavy handed but this is still engaging decades later. Particularly the final scene which still packs a punch

From Here to Eternity

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... From Here to Eternity!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th April 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 26 (1953)

If people know this movie it's because of that unforgettable image of it's two stars, Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, in a passionate embrace in a beach as the waves roll around them. That's all well and good but what of the movie attached to said image?

In recent years it has become something of a joke that if you want to win big at the Oscars, then just make a movie based on World War II. In which case I think we can blame this movie for that observation. Keep in mind this was made eight years since the end of the war and would no doubt be still fresh in people's minds.
So what we have here is a group of soldiers going through various trials and tribulations, both on and off the military grounds, that eventually leads to a climax where Pearl Harbour is under attack. 
So yeah, I do like that this movie is taking a humane approach to it's subjects - which in turn makes the climax hit hard. Certainly the movie may look archaic now but there is still a lot going for it.
Still I have to wonder if those was the film that Michael Bay had in mind when he made Pearl Harbour...

An American in Paris

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... An American in Paris!

Original image located here. Accessed 29th March 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 24 (1951)

One thing that has arisen from partaking in this year long quest to watch more Best Picture Oscar-winning movies is that I will be stepping out of my comfort zone and watching movies and genres I wouldn't otherwise have given the time of the day. I don't have the best connection with musicals - as I believe the greatest musical movie ever made is the South Park movie - but I am willing to give a chance to any movie to see if it surprises me, 

Well I did enjoy the music and I was astonished by the dance chorography - in particular that astonishing fifteen minute one at the end. But this movie has not aged well: Beyond the spectacle there's not a lot else to this movie and the plot of 'guy hitting on friend's girlfriend' will certainly rub more than few people the wrong way. 
And to think that this won Best Picture over A Streetcar Named Desire. Sheesh....

All About Eve

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... All About Eve!

Original image located here. Accessed 22nd March 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 23 (1950)

One of the undisputed classics of cinema. It tells the story of an aging theatre actress taking on a younger protégé only for the latter becoming more successful and famous than the former.

It seems that this movie's reputation relies on the performances - in particular that of Bette Davis - as well as the witty dialogue, the satire and the general nastiness involved. Personally I'm not one to argue with such an assessment so yeah, this was a lot of fun to watch. 
Having done a number of stage shows, can I confirm that such an environment is anything like this? Yes and no. Yes I may have had my share of bitchiness in certain shows but other times I have found such an environment to be very supportive. Guess a lot depends on which cast you end up surrounding yourself with...

Throne of Blood

And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Throne of Blood!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th May 2023

Last year I watched Ran - Akira Kurosawa's take on the Shakespeare play King Lear. This year I watch Throne of Blood - Akira Kurosawa's take on the Shakespeare play Macbeth ("Aahhhhh! Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends!").

Part of the thrill of watching this play is seeing a play i am very familiar with being shown in a different context - after all that is the challenge of doing Shakespeare: presenting something that has been done countless times before in a different light. So whilst this play may not follow the text to the letter, there are still some recognisable scenes and the plot progresses the same.
But what this film really understands about the source material is that the play has a sense of mystery and dread about it. And the film certainly runs with it, what with having a lot of fog, paranoia, ominous moments and a tiny number of locations. Indeed the triumph of this movie is that does a lot with what little it has.
Throw in some compelling performances from the two leads (Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada) and a death scene that has to seen to be believed and we have a movie that has lasted very well against the march of time.
Damn Kurosawa sure knew how to make a movie, eh?

Shane

And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Shane!

Original image located here. Accessed 27th January 2023

Yep its one of the classic westerns (not least for it's unforgettable closing scene). And given my love for the genre it was inevitable that I would come to this.

In a way this movie surprised me: I went in expecting a standard good vs evil tale where the distinction between the good guys and the baddies couldn't be defined clearer. But what I got was something with some surprising depth.
The gunfights aren't shown in an attractive light (perhaps pointing the way to the ultra-violence of westerns in the 1960s). The mysterious past of Shane isn't elaborated on save for a few tantalising clues (did he and Wilson clash previously?). The scenery is shown in a staggering light. And I will certainly admit that this movie makes a hefty contribition to the romanticisation of Wild West, showing a Wild West outsiders like myself have seen many times before (compared to the likes of, say, The Wild Bunch).
So yeah, a decent movie all round.

Rashomon

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Rashomon!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th June 2021

I walk into my local library without any intention to borrow anything and yet i walk out with a DVD of this movie. How strange it is that I partake in an antiqued act that should have died with Blockbuster.
But how could i refuse? This is one of the all time classics - one that announced Japanese cinema to the world and gave us the trope of the same situation retold by multiple unreliable narrators.

And it would appear that seventy one years has not tarnished this film at all. It is gripping, well-directed and beautifully shot. And it is shining example of what one can do with a small cast and an even smaller number of locations (one can imagine many a independent/budding filmmaker watching this and taking notes). It may be bleak when compared to Akira Kurosawa's other masterwork - The Seven Samurai - but it still has his humanist approach and his eye for sword battles

A Streetcar Named Desire

And this week's Friday night movie has been... A Streetcar Named Desire!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st May 2021

It's one of the most famous movies ever made - and yet i only know of it because a) it was parodied in an episode of The Simpsons and b) it apparently made an impression on one Tommy Wiseau.

Once again, it is difficult to assess something like this: It has been referenced and parodied so many times that the orignal comes across as being somewhat devoid of the bite it originally had. Much has been written about how this was a career-defining film for Marlon Brando, with his acting skills ("Stell-AAAHHH!!!!") and the image of him in a t-shirt two sizes too small.
But saying that this movie catapulted Brando into superstardom overshadows the fact that this movie really is about one woman's descent into madness. As such, this movie really is Vivien Leigh's show all the way. Seventy years on and she is still a presence in this movie, giving it her all and still maintaining audience interest. And hey, lest we forget it was Leigh that won the Oscar for this film. not Brando.
So in the end, I always find it a gamble to visit a movie from the Pre-New Hollywood era as they tend to be tarnished by both age and being replicated by its students. But this one? Still has a spark. And that's saying something

Lady and the Tramp

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Lady and the Tramp (1955)!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th December 2020

Well i am a dog person so perhaps it is inevitable that I end up seeing this.
You know, this movie is sixty-five years old and yet it still comes across as being quite striking. One of the beauties of animation is that it can do things that Live action can never do and that certainly is the case here. It is impressive that we have animated dogs acting very much like real dogs and the sheer expressiveness of these characters are stunning to behold.
It may be short and it may be overlooked by Disney fans but honestly? I think this is one of their strongest works.