Q&A: Hitchcock Presents Reader Questions
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 1:28PM Oops. The 'Ask Nathaniel / Q&A' column is a Monday experience. And here it is on Tuesday. I blame... what really matters is the blame somebody to blame. well if that's the thing you enjoy placing the blame, if that's your aim, give me the blame.
HI EVERYBODY! Are you glad that the themed banner is back up top? I'm going with photography this week so here is a picture of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for laughs before we get to eight reader questions after the jump starring Alfred Hitchcock, Daniel Day-Lewis, Drew Barrymore and The Golden Girls.
Why? I don't know. So, it's your fault then!
/3RTFUL: Are you resentful of double digit ticket prices at the multiplex?
PAUL OUTLAW: What are your three favorite Hitchcock films?
Easy! That's... let's see... uh. Actually this is not easy at all. On a personal level, Rope (1949) was very important to my cinephilia and I used to always shout Rear Window (1954) to this question but I have to admit that I don't think about it all that often these days. I'd love to be outrageously contrarian and pick Marnie (1964), Frenzy (1972) or Family Plot (1976) but in truth I think the Master of Suspense was considerably less masterful after 1960. I know I'm supposed to emphatically love Rebeccca (1940), North by Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963) but I always feel a teensy bit like I'm fibbing when I say I do even though I adore them. I have no real personal relationship with Shadow of a Doubt (1943) or Strangers on a Train (1951) but I suspect I would if we saw each other more often.
So to make a long answer shorter I'll just say that over the years, and I mean this quite literally, Psycho (1960) has risen in my informal rankings / estimation each time I've seen it and is now my favorite of his films -- basically I think it's perfect -- even though to say so sounds so basic since it's so ridiculously famous. Spots #2 and #3 change sometimes but the most common #2 and #3 are Notorious (1946) and Vertigo (1958).
CAL ROTH: Rate and rank the last ten best actors
NATHANIEL: Okay. I don't want this Oscar question every week but for symmetry's sake since we did Best Actress last week, let's do it. While I care about this category much less its female equivalent, for whatever reason, The Academy traditionally makes much better choices both for the nominees and the winners in this category (while usually passing on similarly genius female work). To show how good they are at it, I've included how the actor fared in the Film Bitch Awards that year "since those are the correct answers," he said modestly.
Why are Best Actor winners so much better than Best Actress winners even though Actresses are better? ARGH
- Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood (gold medalist)
- Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln (gold medalist)
- Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart (silver - gold went to Colin Firth in A Single Man)
- Sean Penn, Milk (silver- gold went to Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler)
- Jean Dujardin, The Artist (silver - gold went to Brad Pitt in Moneyball)
- Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club (nominee - gold went to Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave)
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote (nominee - gold went to Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain)
- Forrest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland (silver- gold went to Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson)
- Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything (nominee - SPOILER ALERT - gold will be going to Ralph Fiennes in Grand Budapest Hotel, the only gold medalist from our awards in this category's past ten years who was not Oscar-nominated. *sniffle*)
- Colin Firth, The King's Speech (the only eventual Oscar winner I didn't nominate from this category in the past ten years in my own awards. He landed in the dread sixth spot - gold went to Christian Bale, also an Oscar winner but I put him in lead rather than Oscar's "supporting" for The Fighter)
Why do you suppose Oscar is better at choosing male winners?
BILL THE BEAR: Recommend a couple of movie star biographies or memoirs that you really like and would recommend to others.
I know I've said before that I'm crazy about "With Nails: The Film Diaries of Richard E Grant" which has an abundance of great stories from the set of films like Bram Stoker's Dracula, Hudson Hawk, Henry & June, Spice World and more. Another good one for juicy anecdotes is "Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them" by Frank Langella (though what he wrote about Paul Newman pissed me off.) I liked Maureen Stapleton's "A Hell of a Life". And I recently read "The Life of Vanessa Redgrave" by Dan Callahan who, full disclosure, I know personally (he was thrilled when we invented the word "actressexual" since he's always been one) though it kind of made me depressed about the overall quality of her filmography.
Usually I find star bios interesting but I guess I haven't read enough of them to know when they're "good" versus "interesting." I have books on my shelf on Steve McQueen, Jane Fonda, Joan Blondell, Lillian Gish, Natalie Wood, and Gloria Swanson that I keep meaning to read / finish. The first memoir I ever read was Shelley Winter's bestseller "Shelley: Also Known As Shirley" as a teenager. It was so successful it even got a sequel. It was due to my obsession with A Place in the Sun and I remember being scandalized by it (the book not the film) but I was a very sheltered Mormon boy at the time.
BVR: I believe for some Film Experience readers (like myself), it's much easier to assess performances than it is to judge the merits what happens behind the camera, like directing, writing, and editing? I always blur the line between those three, particularly if I notice a problematic scene, it's hard to attribute fault to either the director or the writer or the editor? What do you use to draw the line between those three crafts?
This is a tough one. Editing, "the invisible art" is the toughest to judge since you don't know how much footage and coverage and performance variations they have to work with. I tend to think of it as which films have the best sustained rhythms and tempos with scenes and across the long arc. And if there's a lot of cutting (indicating a lot of coverage) why are the cuts where they are and which shots are connected? Is it telling us something or is it just A.D.D.? As for how screenplays, I think it's fairly easy to judge its plot structure but when it comes to dialogue, try imagining the scene with better and worse actors. If it holds up regardless, it's pretty great writing.
TYLER: Are you a fan of "The Golden Girls," Nathaniel? I've never seen you mention it before. If you are, whom do you find the strongest of this impeccable quartet, and which is your favorite episode?
Shhhh. Are the gay police listening? I like it but I don't love it the way the gays are required to. Therefore I don't have a favorite episode though I freely admit that I a) sing along with the theme and b) love cheesecake. I'm of the opinion that if you've seen one episode you've seen them all since it's basically just variations on four jokes (Blanche is slutty, Rose is stupid, Sophia is crude, Dorothy is sarcastic). There are a remarkable number of variations on those jokes, I'll give them that. I think Betty White gives, quite consistently, the best and funniest performance in the show but it's sweet that they took turns winning Emmys. I wish the Emmys had been that clever with Friends, Sex and the City, and Mad Men.
BHURAY: Five favorite Drew Barrymore performances?
Okay okay. You did ask twice. Persistent!
- Scream (1996)
- Grey Gardens (2009)
- Never Been Kissed (1999)
- E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
- Mad Love (1995) ???? I don't remember this one very well but I think she was going for something way more dramatically intense than she usually attempted and we love to see an actor challenge themselves, whatever the results.
P.S. I think Whip It (2009) is so good and due to that I wish she'd direct another female driven comedy again. I also love her as producer because I think the Charlie's Angels films are super fun. Yep, you heard me. Deal with it.
GUESTGUESTGUEST: Which old musical would you like the Oscars to randomly celebrate during next year's telecast? Something must bridge the gap between The Sound of Music and the highly anticipated Dr. Dolittle tribute in 2017.
This question made me LOL so it's in. I seriously doubt we'll get a musical tribute next year since AMPAS is probably P.O.ed at the Smash boys for overdoing it on the musical end and forgetting the jokes. You're not giving me much leeway between 1965 and 1967 though so let's skip the 50th anniversaries and wish for a 35th anniversary medley of Can't Stop the Music and Xanadu at next year's ceremony with all of the Lead and Supporting Actress nominees as rollerskating muses and all of the Supporting Actor and Actor nominees recreating the "Y.M.C.A." scene -- showers, pool, and gymnasium and all (so let's hope they pick an attractive bunch) -- and choreographed by Debbie Allen who Oscar hasn't hired in a really long time.
That's it for this week's Q & A. Naturally you'll want to compose your own answers to these questions or comment on mine. You know what to do...
Reader Comments (36)
Cheyenne Jackson can host the next Oscars and bring that Xanadu tribute along with him. But who can we cast to play the hot young Steve Guttenberg role?
It's true. Best Actor winners are much more consistent than Best Actress winners lately, but the snubs are THE worst: Fasssy, Shannon, Trintignant, Hawkes, Hanks, Fiennes, Gyllenhaal and Oyelowo.
The Shelly Winters bio is a fun read. Lots of trash talk and back stage gossip.
Golden Girls is so much more interesting when you remember that they all hated Betty White (I mean deeply, deeply hated) and yet you never pick that up on screen.
As much fun as your description of the BActors and BSActors doing a scene in a pool, I fear it would look more like the before section of "Lets get Physical" and not the conclusion (keeping it to an ONJ theme.).
I don't think Best Actor winners are better than Best Actress winners. Just different. Mainly the scripts/roles are simply better. Actresses have more to carry on their own, so I always give them the edge.
A lot of people don't like Dujardin's win for The Artist, but he did so much with (almost) no spoken words. He was charming. (and probably will never be nominated again).
I'm totally writing a report to the gay police for the felonious action of only 'liking' The Golden Girls. I'm going to need the serial number of your gay card and the address of your local gay sheriff.
Nah, i'm just joking. I was pretty much raised on the show. My grandfather liked it and my mum liked it who ended up introducing it to me and my sister. I had no clue that it was even such a gay staple until years and years later. (Thanks, internet!). Looking deeply amused me with how they reference it in the show and the cast and creators admitted how much they bonded over their shared appreciation. I still watch rerun every weeknight on the Hallmark Channel. It never gets old (ha.) for me.
Henry: They HATED Betty White? Are we sure about that? lol. I do remember hearing about some resentment about her Emmy but all of them wound up with Emmys in the end.
Great survey Hitchcock answer, thanks! My top three (today): Vertigo, Notorious, Rebecca. (It's always changing, but Vertigo is eternally #1.)
Patricia Bosworth's Montgomery Clift is a great (re-)read.
Golden Girls, meh. With the exception of Soap, I've never been crazy about the Witt/Thomas/Harris sitcoms (GG, Benson, Empty Nest, Blossom). I especially hate the lighting.
Drew in Ever After.
(Top Ten Best Actors later.)
You finally told us who won you best actor gold medal last year, Ejiofor. That's the actual spoiler. But who won silver and bronze?
I have to agree with you on Psycho - every time I see it, I am more and more convinced of its perfection. My #2 and 3 would have to be Vertigo (because, DUH) and... either of the Grace Kelly pictures (Rear Window/To Catch a Thief). Or North By Northwest.
Also LOVE that you include Never Been Kissed in your list of Drew Barrymore performances. Totally underrated. And Scream is definitely the best thing she's ever done. I would include The Wedding Singer instead of Mad Love (which I haven't seen). I also LOVE the Charlie's Angels movies and totally agree on Whip It, too. I wonder why she hasn't directed since then - did it perform poorly?
What? They hated Betty White? I've never heard that before.
Your love for "Whip It" is shared by me, and I wish Drew Barrymore would give us another gem like that. So many good performances in that little movie, someone send her a script.
I have never understood the intense love for "Vertigo" - give me "Psycho" any day. After that my favourite is "Notorious". Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant gave indelible performances, and the script moves along at a great pace. I agree that with you that when rating Hitchcock, preferences really can depend on your mood and your age.
I have never seen "Xanadu" and that's obviously my loss. In 2018 the musical "Oliver" will be 50 years old, and I wouldn't mind a few songs from that score.
I am still suffering from Oscar fatigue so I will pass on the "Best Actor" question.
My favorite Hitchcock movie is easily The Birds. It still haunts me and I sometimes catch myself looking a bit scared at the sky....
Google Golden Girls hate for Betty White. Most of it seems to be between Bea and Betty (Bea publicly called her a c__t), but apparently Bea also didn't care much for Rue.
Denny, LadyEdith, and I (and you and Bhuray?) are all united in our love for Drew Barrymore and Whip It. She's so busy with her cosmetics line (and tons of other projects) and two small kids, she probably doesn't have time to direct, but boy, we would love another Drew movie. Of her actress filmography, I also really like Fever Pitch, even though Jimmy Fallon had the showier role, and some folks say it's not as good as the Colin Firth version (though I disagree).
It's like you're telling me that my parents were separated during my childhood.
I found a video were Betty admits that Bea wasn't fond of her (!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-wTJ2hQCK8 and Rue admits that there was friction too. (!!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaDIbjIXnlM&t=82 (27:21)
Well at least I would NEVER guess it from watching the show.
I'm floored at this Betty White news! Who wouldn't like Betty White? That's crazy.
Notorious has been my favorite Hitchcock for years. The chemistry between my two favorite Old Hollywood stars makes the movie (Indiscreet is good, too). North by Northwest would be 2nd. In 3rd, I'd go with Strangers on a Train or Shadow of a Doubt, probably.
Every year I get annoyed at the Best Actor line-up... it's always so heavy on biopics and big baity performances. I prefer the Best Actress winners.
Is it weird when I saw the title of that last one I was going "Drew Barrymore was Harley Quinn?" I realized probably not and looked it up to make sure (she wasn't), but that phrase is, increasingly and irrevocably, most tied to that character and Chris O'Donnell also being in the cast of that movie is super bizarre.
I have never understood the intense love for "Vertigo"...
There's something about obsession, LadyEdith. (Speaking of which, have you seen De Palma's Vertigo "homage" with Cliff Robertson and Geneviève Bujold?) And doppelgängers. And San Francisco. And Barbara Bel Geddes. And a spiral French Twist...
1. Daniel Day-Lewis (TWBB)
2. Sean Penn
3. Matthew McConaughey
4. Philip Seymour Hoffman
5. Colin Firth
6. Jean Dujardin
7. Eddie Redmayne
8. Jeff Bridges
9. Daniel Day-Lewis (L)
10. Forrest Whitaker
And I'm so sad that Heath Ledger isn't able to be on this list.
Paul Outlaw: How interesting, I have seen "Obsession" by De Palma, and enjoyed that film more than "Vertigo". (well it's just my opinion - don't go crazy)
Before I get burnt at the stake, let me just say that "Obsession" is it's own film. It isn't a remake of "Vertigo" and it contains a really dream like quality, and a different more compassionate ending.
Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography was beautiful , and the 360 degree camera work was really novel at the time. The Stedicam was a new toy and De Palma really used it well.
I also think Genvieve Bujold gave a better performance than Kim Novak. Sorry internet, I don't hate Novak, I just think Bujold was a more fluid actress. She's like an early version of Juliet Binoche, and she was very good in a number of films.
It's a pity "Obsession" & Bujold aren't better known.
Thank you for answering my question! :) My five favourite performances of hers would be:
1. Riding in Cars with Boys
2. Scream
3. Grey Gardens
4. Never Been Kissed
5. Ever After
I totally agree on that I wish she would direct another movie because Whip It is so good! The Charlie's Angels movies are also very funny and entertaining. I own both of them in a 2 for 1 DVD set ;)
That GIF of her in Never Been Kissed is to die for. She has a film coming out this year (?) with Toni Collette called Miss You Already. Catherine Hardwicke is directing it, so I'm not sure how it will be. Hopefully her and Collette can elevate it to another level. I wish Hardwicke would direct something as blistering brilliant as Thirteen again.
Yes, Pam! I am definitely on the Drew Barrymore love boat. I think she's very underrated as an actress and can brighten up pretty much anything. I wish she made more films and was a little more diverse in her choices, but she's pretty awesome anyways.
Who won Silver and Bronze last year? You never posted!
Notorious is in my top three Hitchcock's as well. My favorite is Saboteur, then Notorious followed by Lifeboat.
I liked Frank Langella's book too. They overhyped anything salacious when it came out there wasn't much at all but most of his stories about various people who had crossed his path were fascinating. There's many good movie star bios that are entertaining and informative but some of the best I've read are:
Autobiographies:
Ava Gardner-Ava: My Story- alot of fun, you get a sense of the who she was from her writing. A blunt, down to earth woman prone to bad choices and a low tolerance for bullshit.
Edward G. Robinson-All My Yesterdays-He experienced so much more than just movies, a refugee from Russia as a child, working his way up to success in film then the blacklist and fighting his way back to acclaim as a revered supporting actor. He was an art aficionado, it helps if you have some knowledge of it if you read this one.
Veronica Lake-Veronica-It was a hell of a life and she's pretty honest about the mess she's made of it.
Lorna Luft-Me and My Shadows-About growing up in the chaotic world of being Judy Garland's daughter and Liza Minnelli's sister
Tab Hunter Confidential-Great stuff about being a teen idol in the 50's and gay and what that entailed.
Doris Day: Her Own Story-Someone else whose life seemed charmed on the outside but had a great deal of hardship, also much detail about behind the scenes of most of her films.
Mia Farrow-What Falls Away-So much more than the Woody stuff. Growing up with a movie star mother and director father, marriage to Sinatra and on and on.
Patty Duke:Call Me Anna-While looking at her struggles with manic depression she also includes stories about The Miracle Worker, her eponymous show and of course Valley of the Dolls and much more.
Biographies:
Vivien Leigh by Anne Edwards-The best of the Leigh bios.
Played Out by David Richards-Jean Seberg-Follows this Iowa farm girl through Hollywood, the French New Wave, and a trumped up scandal that crushed her spirit.
Clara Bow:Runnin' Wild by David Stenn-A wild woman with major issues, the book is full of details about what it was like to grow up grindingly poor in NYC early in the century and much about the early film industry plus Clara's many exploits.
One to absolutely avoid-Harlow by Irving Shulman-A discredited pack of half truths and outright lies that is an insult to Jean Harlow's memory.
LadyEdith: I saw and loved Obsession before I saw Vertigo. (I was already a fan of both Robertson and Bujold and their performances in this only confirmed my feelings.) And I won't disagree with you about Bujold vs. Novak, because the former really is hands down the better actress in general.
But then I saw Vertigo...and wow. Novak may be more a vision than an artist, but what a vision. That double composite 360 shot when Scottie kisses Judy-as-Madeleine in the hotel room must have inspired Zgismond's work on Obsession.
(It doesn't help matters that I prefer Herrmann's iconic Vertigo score to the gorgeous one he did for Obsession.)
"Most of it seems to be between Bea and Betty (Bea publicly called her a c__t), but apparently Bea also didn't care much for Rue."
It seems like Bea was the one who tended to clash with people. Rue seemed to like Betty.
@Paul Outlaw: It is always a pleasure to share one's love for lesser known films.. I'm delighted that we have so much in common about "Obsession", and Bujold.
I really like how articulate you are about being swept away by "Vertigo". That rush of intense pleasure is why we all love certain films.
I don't dislike "Vertigo" - not a bit. It's just that I don't get that rush when I view it. I admire it, but I view it with a kind of detachment, it just doesn't really get to me.
I do agree with you about the score and yes, blonde hair in spiral french twist is a very becoming look.
@Sonja: "The Birds" has probably affected us all. There are a lot of crows in my neighbourhood that give me the shivers when they swoop around. I walk fast -very fast.
favorite Hitchcock:
1. Psycho
2. Rebecca
3. Rear Window
Thanks for the answer! I always have a hard time judging editing in movies, but your answer kind of served as a guidance as to where in a movie I need to look to see what the editor is doing.
betty white got the last laugh (literally!)
glad to know i'm not the only golden girl agnostic around here (and don't get me started on 'the nanny'...)
Best actor: (again I am ashamed I have only watched 6 of them)
1. Colin Firth, The King's Speech
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
3. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
4. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
5. Jean Dujardin, The Artist
6. Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln (so boring, I much prefer Joaquin Phoenix's superb performance in The Master)
A decade of Best Actors:
1. Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln
2. Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
3. Sean Penn
4. Jean Dujardin
5. Forrest Whitaker
6. Philip Seymour Hoffman
7. Eddie Redmayne
8. Colin Firth
9. Matthew McConaughey
10. Jeff Bridges
I agree with Paul Outlaw's list of actors except I would put Hoffman in #10 and push everyone else up by one.
Its hard to choose my favorite Hitchcock films but my top three are: Rear Window, Psycho and Strangers on a Train.
Cal Roth and George: I asked Nathaniel the same question in a couple of previous posts - maybe he can't decide because it was a good year for best actor performances. As an aside, I recommend Hedy Lamarr's Ecstasy and Me: My Life as a Woman. I snuck read it when I was a kid, and it made for a fascinating read, even at 10 years old.
Hitchcock films
1. Vertigo (My favourite film ever)
2. Psycho
3. The Birds
4. Lifeboat
5. Saboteur
Thanks, Nat, for answering my question. I'll throw out a couple of suggestions for reading. In Biography, I highly recommend "Marlene Dietrich: Life and Legend" by Steven Bach. It's detailed, it gets the facts right, and it's written in a wonderfully campy style.
In Memoir, I discovered "In Spite of Myself" by Christopher Plummer just after he won the Oscar, and really couldn't put it down once I started reading it. It may not be a "tell-all" memoir, but he does tell pretty much everything, and his style of writing is so personal that you can almost hear him reading it aloud as you work your way through it. If you're also interested in theatre, in addition to movies, so much the better.
Favorite Hitchcock "The Birds", "Psycho" and "Rear Window"