DVD Collectors Online

Notorious, a review by Dragonfire

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this movie.  I think the plot works well and is interesting overall even though the Nazi element to it is a bit dated.  There are some suggestive things going on without anything explicit being shown.  The pace is slower, but that works to help set up everything that is going on.  Bergman and Grant are wonderful in their parts and they have a decent amount of chemistry.  Alex works as the villain even though not a lot about him is shared.  The way his mother dominates him did make me think of Norman's relationship with his mother in Psycho..or at least what it was like earlier.  There is a decent amount of suspense and mystery in the movie even though the mystery could have been slightly stronger. 

Overall I really liked this movie and thing it is another very well done Hitchcock movie.

 

I did get a review posted on Epinions today...or yesterday.  Whatever. 

Notorious

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on September 10th, 2009)

Nada +, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are:  Cuba
wiki

What We Watched:



Nada +Overview:
Carla, a postal worker in Havana, fulfills her romantic longings by opening letters and rewriting them into passionate prose before sending them out again to their intended recipients. After her co-worker Cesar catches her, Carla turns her amorous talents on him.

Beautifully filmed in black and white with accents of brilliant color, Cuba's 2003 Oscar entry combines visual humor, poetry, satire of Cuban bureaucracy and a lighthearted love story.

My Thoughts:
A lovely and fun movie, Nada+ has been compared by others to the French film .  I can see the comparison - both feature imaginative young women who alleviate the loneliness of their lives by helping others anonymously - and though is by far the better film, Nada+ was also a good watch.  The two films came out the same year, so I don't think it can be said that one was influenced by the other. 

Nada+ makes the most of its low budget with clever camera shots and techniques.  Most of the film is black-and-white, but strategic bursts of color enhance the film - to me it seemed like the b&w emphasized the ordinariness of life, while the color enhanced the little things that brought the characters pleasure and a break from tedium.  The camera moves into unique shots, such as a first-person shot when Carla is called into the boss's office - giving that moment the feel of dread one gets in such a moment.  There are also tiny bits of animation and animation-style shots that give the film a unique look.

Carla is suitably neurotic, as one might expect from someone who steals letters and rewrites them, but she's also very likable and sympathetic.  If Cesar seemed flat at first, the entire film is from Carla's perspective and in the beginning she doesn't know him.  He's the handsome co-worker she's always noticed but never spoken to.  The boss and her underling were very over-the-top in performance and character, but it suits the style of filming and worked well here (and they reminded me of the principal in Casi Casi). 

It was good movie and I'd recommend it for anyone who enjoys independent films.

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on February 12th, 2012)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title:
Year: 1983
Director:
Rating: FSK-6
Length: 965 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 1
Subtitles:

Stars:
Gustl Bayrhammer

Plot:Extras:
Scene Access

#	Episode	Rating
01	Der Kurpfuscher / Der Seemann / Der Kraftprotz
02	Der Schlaumeier / Der Tandler / Das Gspusi
03	Der Freund / Der Vater / Der Heilige / Der Retter
04
05
06	Der Kohlhas / Der Gendarm / Der Schutzheilige
07
08
09
10
11	Der Rosenkavalier / Die Schraube / Die Tuba
12	Bua oder Madl / Der Briefwechsel / Der Gasableser / Der Dorfbrunnen
13
15	Ein Bus nach Alicante / Herta / Bergvagabunden / Penner-Party
16
19
20	Die Hauspost / Das Echo vom Karfunkelsee
21

(From Tom's Random Reviews on April 18th, 2010)