MovieChat Forums > Torn Curtain (1966) Discussion > How well do Hitchcock films age?

How well do Hitchcock films age?

posted 9 years ago by lvrepoman
1 reply | jump to latest

A while back on the board for "The Birds," I made a point that it was the only Hitchcock film that I like very much. Most Hitchcock films, it seems to me, just don't age very well.

I won't try to convince the legion of Hitchcock fans out there that they are wrong about their director. This is just my opinion.

I just watched "Torn Curtain," and boy, this is another film that seems about a million years old. Generally, I like old movies and I can make allowances for changes over time when watching them, but some of these Hitchcock films just seem moldy.

This seems particularly true when he turns in a spy thriller, which seems to be his favorite genre. "North by Northwest" is another film that leaves me cold.

Is it just that I am so jaundiced by other, newer films in the genre? I don't know--it seems that there is more to it than that.

Is it possible that anyone else feels this way? I'd love to understand why he has so many fans.

"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak

[–] Hedley_Lamar 9 years ago

When I watch older movies, I take the way it's made into consideration. But when I watched Torn Curtain, there were some shots that really took me out of it.

for example:
The close up on the telegram where it suddenly looks like a model's hands carefully holding it with a perfect angle on it.

Or the ballerina dancing and recognizing the professor. The sudden pause in the film.

Why is it whenever I'm having fun, it's wrong?