Why isn't this film more highly regarded?

I just saw it tonight for the first time. I really enjoyed it. Good mix of comedy and suspense and some very clever twists. Plus I love Grant and Hepburn and any score by Mancini.

Even so I would not consider this a film classic like NORTH BY NORTHWEST for example.


I gave it 7 stars, definitely worth a look but just not a masterpiece. I think the pacing was off and Mattahu's performance was weak. Plus the whole love match between the two leads seemed forced and ill-developed.



the best that you can do is fall in love

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Charade is an audience delightful film. A comedy caper. And a modest classic.
I personally wouldn't put it in the top 500 films of all time but it deserves somewhere
in the top 1000. It it falls short on several accounts. Don't get me wrong, since I really liked
the film! I give it an 8 (rounded off from 7.5-7.8).

It really relies on a great storyline, script and sense of humor mostly with terrific twists. However, it is quite a goofy plot in many ways as Reggie doesn't know her husband and falls in love with a liar and probably killer (all the people around are dying and there's one man who just lies all the time?). In reality, anyone would be more suspicious and stay clear. However, it's predictable, girl meets boy, the chase, the mystery solved, etc. It follows the Hollywood formula and is a star vehicle. It runs as smooth as a brand new Mercedes and Cary/Audrey had great chemistry.

Everyone is enamored by Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn but it reality, it's one of their weaker performances. It doesn't showcase their talent but relies on their cliche or stereotype of who there are. So it's not much acting but more like, Cary, you are supposed to be know for this, so do that. Same for Audrey. It is largely a star vehicle like Houseboat was for Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. The acting was quite mediocre. George Kennedy and James Coburn were even worst. However, the supporting casts including Jacques Marin ("Three men were killed in their pajamas") and Ned Glass was funnier and better fits.

Scenes are limited. It lacked the spectacular scenes and camerawork of North by Northwest. So director's artistic skills in Charade was quite routine. So directing and cinematography are mediocre. Contribution to film in artistic merit certainly don't place it in Citizen Kane's category.

Still the lively pace, writing, suspense and twists keep moviegoers on their toes and places this high in the classic comedy-thrillers. I'd rate it 7.5-7.8.

Even in the early 60s, Hollywood wasn't considered the prime ground for movies as serious challenges were from Europe. Even this movie was filmed in mostly Paris. In 1963, Ingmar Bergman had The Silence and Winter Light, Louis Malle had The Fire Within, Godard made Contempt, Italy had Fellini's 8 1/2 and Visconti's The Leopard, Kurosawa made High and Low, and then there was Hitchcock's The Birds and also out were Hud and the Great Escape.

For sheer audience entertainment, it ranks as one of the 4-5 best films of 1963, however. More fun than Hud or The Birds. For artistic value, maybe at #10-12 for that year.

Because it sucks ass really hard. Highly unrealistic dialogue and situations, very unfunny. 1/10.

Probably one of the most underrated films of all time.

It has an IMDb rating of 7.9 with 63,569 votes. That's a very good score.

I think people lower the movie's value because they consider it a "poor man's" Hitchcock. And that's never made sense to me. This is literally the best Hitchcock movie he never made. Why not give credit where credit is due and admit that it's just as good as his movies?

Same thing with a movie called Seven Waves Away. I actually think that movie is 10X better than what it was ripping off (Lifeboat), but it's fallen into obscurity precisely because I think it's just seen as a poor imitation of that film.

I actually think this movie is quite well-regarded. Most classic movie fans seem to love it. It often gets hailed as the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made. Among Stanley Donen's filmography, it is often presented as a highlight.

I wouldn't call it underrated at all. I rarely see people hate on it.