imdb.com/title/tt0068611/ratings
I rated Hitchcock's darkly comic thriller, Frenzy (1972), 8/10 for the database. What did you rate it? And what do you think of it?
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
I rated it a 9. Great film. Though not eerie but very scary at times.
shareThe rape-murder scene is almost unbearably cruel. I've seen this film many times, but once or twice I've just skipped over that scene.
What did you rate Psycho (1960), assuming you've seen it?
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
I don't i have rated psycho. But I would rate it a 9/10. One of my all time favourite horror movies after 'the exorcist' and 'the wicker man'
I gave it a 9/10. Near masterpiece. I understand your reaction to the killing of Brenda (which is not really a rape, BTW). It's very unpleasant, but then, perhaps it should be. Hitchcock tended to de-glamorize killing in his later years. Compare it with death in Torn Curtain.
"...the work of art is invariably the creation of a new world..." -- Nabokov
Yes, in Torn Curtain, Hitchcock wanted to demonstrate how difficult it is to kill a man. Normally in movies, it's so easy. The Torn Curtain killing reminded me of a similar scene in Fritz Lang's Cloak and Dagger (1946) with Gary Cooper.
I always figured Rusk was able to accomplish the rape once he started strangling Brenda. In fact, that seems to be the reason he strangles her in the first place - and presumably the reason he strangles all the other women. Or does he get off without actually raping her, as the chief inspector seems to suggest?
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
I think it's just as likely that he's impotent and strangling women is a substitute for intercourse. The scene is actually pretty vague, and there's no evidence he is able to "perform" at all. This would be consistent with many sexual psychopaths: they get a much greater satisfaction out of exerting the ultimate power over another person than they'd ever get from sex, and impotence is often a stressor to their rage.
The scene is very traumatic for a lot of viewers, though, and they imagine things that are not necessarily there.
"...the work of art is invariably the creation of a new world..." -- Nabokov
8/10 - a near-great film; more or less equal to Psycho imo. We´ll never know what kinda things Hitch woulda done without the restrictions of the Code... but Frenzy does give a tiny taste at least.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
By 1971, film making was pretty restriction-less, outside the porn industry. Nudity, language--it was wide open by the early 70s. Do you mean the G GA M R X ... "A Clockwork Orange" got an X rating, but Hichcock could've gone there if he wanted. He wasn't restricted.
I meant, he only got to make 2 films during the non-restricted era and Frenzy´s the only one where he made some use of the new freedoms.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
9/10.
As someone whose read a lot - probably too much - about serial killers, Frenzy is extremely accurate about the "pathology" of serial killers, especially for a movie made in 1971, years before the FBI begin to study the psyche of serial killers. Whether it was on purpose or not, Barry Rusk is a classic example of a serial killer. For people like Rusk, choking is, as the previous poster mentioned, a way of getting sexual gratification from strangulation rather then the act of intercourse itself (if you could call rape intercourse). Ad the fact that, like many psychopaths and serial killers, he is able to turn on the charms and friendliness whenever he wants, hiding his true self from the outside world.
There are several things about Rusk that strike me as very credible, and suggest that Anthony Shaffer knew what he was doing when he wrote the screenplay. I especially like how he tells his upcoming victim, "I have friends. People like me." I'm okay, he is saying by way of self-justification. There must be something wrong with you if you set me off this way.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
I gave Frenzy a 9/10. I've only seen about five Hitchcock films and this is one of them. And like a lot of posters here have said, the rape/murder was very disturbing.
I found Frenzy more disturbing than scary. There were some parts where I couldn't stop laughing especially the scenes with Chief Inspector Oxford.
My favorite performance in the film is Alec McCowen's as the chief inspector. McCowen is also very funny as Malvolio in a 1980 TV production of Twelfth Night.
What are the other Hitchcock movies you've seen? What did you rate them?
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
I'll list them in the order I seen first.
1. Psycho - 10/10. I knew I was in for a masterpiece after all the talk about it. The murder of Detective Arbogast is one of the most beautifully shot kills I have ever seen.
2. Frenzy - As stated above, 9/10.
3. Rope - 10/10. I really loved the performance of James Stewart as well as John Dall and Farley Granger.
4. Vertigo - A definite 10/10. Probably my favourite Hitchcock film so far. I'd also say it is his most disturbing film. I'm actually in the mood to watch it again tonight. lol
My apologies I have only seen four of his films, not five. I've ordered Spellbound so I will re-post this message as soon as I watch it. I've been told it is amazing.
Yes, let us know what you think of Spellbound after you watch it.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
Just watched Spellbound and... wow. I'm very impressed. It's up there with Vertigo and Psycho as my favourite Hitchcock film. I also just watched Marnie and it was pretty enjoyable.
shareI rank Spellbound lower than you do, but I still enjoy it quite a bit. The best thing about it is the famous Salvadore Dali dream sequence. Incidentally, I do not recommend the 1927 novel it was based on—The House of Dr. Edwardes by Francis Beeding. Ben Hecht's screenplay is completely different, and far better, than the tedious book.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
What did you rate Rope? One of my favourite Hitchcock films so far.
share8/10. I've seen it countless times, and I love it. I do have two problems with it. One: Hitchcock should have just made obvious cuts between reels, instead of trying to conceal the cuts by having the camera suddenly close in on a chair or someone's back. That's when we're too consciously aware of the camera, and it takes us out of the story. Two: Jimmy Stewart is miscast. I know, I know. He gives a terrific performance—and he is one of my two favorite actors. But he's too young for the role, and it really feels more like something that should have gone to a character actor. I would have liked to see Cedric Hardwicke (who plays David's father) in the role instead. That would have made the already bad box office worse, of course; but it might have made an excellent movie even better.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
You make a very good point my friend!
Can I ask... are you a fan of Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch? Or both? If you are what are your favourite films from those two artists?
Cheers.
Kubrick - I rank The Killing, Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, 2001, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket all high; Lolita and Eyes Wide Shut not so much.
Lynch - I liked Eraserhead and I really liked the pilot and first few episodes of Twin Peaks (I haven't seen the entire series). I didn't like Blue Velvet.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
You not a big fan of Lynch? I think the question I haven't asked you is: What is your favourite Hitchcock film?
"I just like going into strange worlds." David Lynch
I haven't seen enough of Lynch's work to make a judgment.
My favorite Hitchcock film is Vertigo.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
I rated Frenzy 9/10.
I thought it was easily the best of his last 6 films, quite horrific in parts and very,very funny.
Hi, Oakes! Hitchcock's last six are The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz and Family Plot. Among that bunch, I'd place Frenzy behind The Birds, but ahead of the others. I like Marnie, but it's badly flawed. The other three movies all have good stuff, but overall are pretty weak.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
Hi Justin.
Maybe I'm too Anglocentric in my preferences. Two of Hitchcock's British films are in my Top five of his movies, The 39 Steps & The Lady Vanishes. Dial M for Murder is also in my Top five and I love Stage Fright too!
I agree with you about Torn Curtain, Family Plot & especially Topaz. He did fizzle out towards the end but he burned brightly for a very long time.
The British movie historian, Leslie Halliwell, not only chose The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps as the best Hitchcock movies, they were both—if I remember correctly—among his top ten favorite movies of all time. I like Hitchcock's late-1950s period the best, but every time I watch those two early British classics—which is often—I wonder if I shouldn't rank them higher. They have a certain lightness of touch that even his great tongue-in-cheek thriller, North by Northwest, can't match.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!