Notorious (1946)

I didn't know what I was getting into when I watched this film but i'm glad I didn't because it was a shockingly great film. The leads are great in their respective roles and Claudia Raines is damn near perfect as a villain. Go watch this film. You will not regret it, it is suspenseful and dramatic.

For a movie that takes place after WWII, with Nazi's and spies, this movie is mostly psychological. There isn't action, nor is there fast paced suspense like any James Bond or Taken film. However there is a surplus of dialogue between Sebastian, Huberman, and Devlin. This take on the genre allows plenty of character development to blossom between the characters, focusing on their intentions, moods, and the overall tone of the movie. Maybe not one of Hitchcock's finest works, but it gets the job done in a well written plot, fairly likable characters and justifiable ending.

Hitchcock has something about his filmmaking that sets him apart from all other directors. He includes so many shots, such as the long shot, medium, close up, and over the shoulder shots. However, he revolutionized some shots such as the tracking shot. For instance, the tracking shot in the lobby at the top of the stairs all they way down to show the key in her hand was a remarkable display of ingenuity. He exaggerates things, such as a zoom out at the table, as it slowly zooms in what seems like forever, slowly revealing more people at the table. The use of sound was terrific, as the film started out with a lot of non-diegetic music, but as the film progresses it becomes less and less and silence starts to fill the emptiness of scenes. The film was very high-key in lighting, and dissolve shots were common throughout. My favorite shot was with Alicia, as she gets dizzy and passes out, the camera switches to a POV shot and we see what she is currently seeing and that is a wavy, disturbed image as she loses her vision. Tremendous film, and a must see for all.

Post-war blockbuster Notorious is about love triangle against the background of investigation of former Nazis plotting in Rio de Janeiro.Notorious has ostensibly slower start in comparison to other Noirs but this is characteristic of Hitchcock's early work. What was quite new within his early work was plot focused on love triangle. Alicia, daughter of former Nazi spy sentenced to death penalty, is "hired" by US Secret Service (or something like that) and sent to Brazil to spy on Nazis secret ring. During briefing and awaiting further orders Alicia and American agent Devlin fall in love but US government has a different opinion on what to do with Alicia - and so they force her to seduce Nazi ringleader Alexander Sebastian and move into his palatial residence. Devlin cannot reveal his true feelings at this time and so Alicia agrees with the plan and love triangle is created. I won't describe the plot in detail anymore, I'll just mention that Alicia's role is discovered and fight for her life occurs between Devlin and Alexander (assissted by his mother). The movie is 100 minutes long and last 30 minutes are really thrilling until the very end of the film.I have to admit that Cary Grant did not gain much sympathy in his role. On the other hand, Ingrid puts a lot of effort to evolve her initially unsympathetic character into victim of political schemes and you can't wish anything else than her rescue. I must also highlight main villains (played by Claude Reins and Leopoldine Konstantin) who were really convincing opposition. FUN FACTS:1) Scene in hotel room (where Cary and Ingrid kiss passionately) had to be remade due to censorship by following rules --> Kissing in films could not last longer than 3 seconds so we had to watch 2 minute scene dramatized with various smooches, talking and simply cuddling instead of passionate kissing we are used nowadays. How cute!2) The key to the vault (skillfully stolen by Alicia) became famous movie prop which Cary Grant himself kept after the casting was done. He later gave the key to Ingrid, claiming that key brings luck. She kept the key until 1979 when Hitchcock received award for life's work and Ingrid gave the key to him in big ceremony to bring him some luck as well. If her intention worked or not is dubious; nearly year after that Alfred Hitchcock died of kidney failure and two years later Ingrid Bergman died of breast cancer. Wasn't fun fact at all but still worth mentioning.