tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post1248160458646458217..comments2024-03-16T10:03:59.180-07:00Comments on The Movie Projector: I Confess (1953)R. D. Finchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-28222001962703049882010-10-28T17:18:36.910-07:002010-10-28T17:18:36.910-07:00Very interesting remarks about what you describe q...Very interesting remarks about what you describe quite correctly as the priest's function in the confessional and how it must affect him. I am impressed by your description of the difference between this film and Hitchcock's other films regarding trying to prove innocence vs. having to protect the culprit! That reminds me of Hitchcock's own explanation about Vertigo, in that James Stewart has the woman do a reverse striptease, dressing her up completely as opposed to having her undress. What an incredible man Hitchcock was! Obviously, I am a rabid Hitchcock fan....ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-40070912972942814552010-10-28T10:59:24.182-07:002010-10-28T10:59:24.182-07:00Free movie, I noticed the documentary you mention ...Free movie, I noticed the documentary you mention as an extra on the DVD, but I recorded this off TCM and wasn't able to watch the documentary because I wanted to post before the LAMBs in the Director's Chair event on Hitchcock. I'm still curious about it, though.<br /><br />Becky, thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. You pinpointed some scenes that are definitely worth attention. I certainly agree that Father Logan was an unequivocally admirable character who clearly had strong commitment to his faith to follow his vows even though it was to his own detriment and he knew Keller was manipulating him by using those vows to set him up. Also that Clift conveys this very subtly. About that scene with the suit. I didn't mean to imply that he had regrets about his vocation, but only that universal feeling we all get at times--if only I'd made a different choice, everything would be different and I wouldn't be in this situation (and in his case, I wouldn't be responsible for bringing all this grief to Ruth). It's interesting that he chose to become a priest only after he learned Ruth was unavailable. On the other hand, there is the implication that his breaking off communication with Ruth during the war indicates his war experiences might already have directed his thoughts towards the priesthood. And I did think about his using the suit as a disguise to escape, a possibility he clearly rejects by not acting on it. It seemed that he had his feelings for Ruth under control and wanted to do everything he could to protect her reputation, so I don't think he was contemplating resuming their relationship or running away with her or anything like that. As for the guilt thing, I think guilt-ridden people often feel guilt about things they have no responsibility for, and it's possible he felt guilty about getting Ruth in this situation by trying to protect her from Villette. I'm not Catholic, but as I understand it, part of the psychology of the confessional is for the priest to act as a vessel for the sins of the person confessing, an emulation of the way Christ accepted the sins of mankind and suffered for them by proxy, so to speak. As in all Hitchcock films of this type, the guilt is an element by its absence and by others' belief that it exists. The twist is that in other films, the main character spends the movie trying to prove his innocence and find the culprit, whereas here he has to resist proving his innocence and must actually protect the culprit. An interesting inversion of the conventional Hitchcock formula. Thank you for your kind praise (always appreciated!). Also for for bringing up issues that allow me to pursue ideas that occur to me but would be off-topic with my preferred tight writing style. That's my favorite thing about reader comments. Thanks again.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-34474978851811115802010-10-28T00:44:14.485-07:002010-10-28T00:44:14.485-07:00I seem to be a bit in the minority, but I have alw...I seem to be a bit in the minority, but I have always thought I Confess is a compelling story from beginning to end. Your article is extremely interesting and in-depth, particularly in your description of the 360 degree technique of Baxter's flashback story. I didn't put that together, and is very much like the Vertigo flashback scene from James Stewart's point of view during the love scene after Novak is transformed.<br />I experienced a a different take on two things discussed by you and some comments. When Clift is walking the streets before he turns himself in, and then is drawn to the regular man's suit in the store, it struck me that he was thinking how easy it might be to buy that suit and escape from this horrible situation, not that he was thinking about Baxter at all. I didn't think that he was regretting his choice to be a priest, but fighting against his natural fears vs. his difficult duty as a priest.<br />The second thing has to do with Hitchcock's possible motivations about the movie. I don't sense any Catholic guilt, rather admiration for a good priest who lives his vows with courage. Two scenes stand out in depicting this. The first was when Keller torments the priest with his helplessness in the face of his vow to keep confession secret. Clift says nothing, but his eyes were mesmerizing and full of everything he was feeling as he looks at the awful man who holds his life in his hands. The second was at the end, when despite Keller's open confession in front of police and everyone involved that he did the crime, Clift still does not in any way divulge that he already knew from the confessional. He shows compassion for the man, and absolves Keller as he dies realizing his sin. The looks of incredulity from the police and the others as they realize what has happened to this good priest was a powerful statement of admiration, from Hitchcock as well.<br />Maybe it is because I am Catholic myself, and in recent times the spotlight is on the bad ones who betrayed their vows, whom the Church must acknowledge and weed out publicly. I am happy to see a portrayal of the vast majority of priests who live their faith and vows and deserve our admiration.<br />My congratulations of one of the best critiques I have ever read. It's ability to engender serious discussion is the mark of a such a piece of writing. If this article had been done within the time period for CiMBA awards this year, it would be a formidable nominee!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-11451097566808575852010-10-27T04:32:24.032-07:002010-10-27T04:32:24.032-07:00It has a little documentary which is enjoyable, if...It has a little documentary which is enjoyable, if you can stand Peter Bogdanovich doing his Hitchcock impersonation. Hitchcock's daughter is also in the documentary. It's amazing how she seems to not really understand what her father was up to sub-textually, but she continues to enjoy his success.free moviehttp://www.moviesplanet.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-36884579543277712042010-10-26T22:41:22.552-07:002010-10-26T22:41:22.552-07:00Rick, I also thought the Quebecois locations added...Rick, I also thought the Quebecois locations added a lot of atmosphere to the movie. Hitch was such a master of seamlessly combining location shots with studio shots using back projection of the same locales, often mixed together in the same sequence. Process shots can look awfully obvious, but Hitch was so good at them that sometimes you don't notice them until you've watched a scene several times. My own pick for his most underrated film is "The Wrong Man." Most of us have an idea of the "typical" Hitchcock film (something like "North by Northwest," my own favorite), but he actually liked to experiment with new approaches more often than he is given credit for. Movies like "Lifeboat," "Rope," the almost docunoir "The Wrong Man," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," even "Psycho" are pretty far from what one normally considers typical Hitchcock.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-23283682732319074132010-10-26T18:17:33.016-07:002010-10-26T18:17:33.016-07:00Great review of an under-appreciated, but always i...Great review of an under-appreciated, but always interesting, Hitchcock film. Glad you highlighted the Canadian locale, because it's my favorite part of the movie. Hitch makes great use of the local architecture; he allegedly hated shooting outside because he couldn't control the elements. My picks, though, most underrated Hitch flicks would be MARNIE and STAGE FRIGHT.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-7313269023358453222010-10-26T17:01:38.481-07:002010-10-26T17:01:38.481-07:00John, while watching this film I couldn't help...John, while watching this film I couldn't help thinking of Hitchcock's Catholic boyhood and the anecdotes he told that suggested his recurrent interest in the themes of guilt and punishment might have something to do with being educated in Jesuit schools. After seeing that special on Kazan recently, I'm really eager to see both "Wild River" and "America, America," neither of which I've ever seen. Hope Netflix adds them or TCM shows them when the Kazan box set is released next month. As always, thanks for your comments.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-26944506116272052162010-10-26T15:31:42.084-07:002010-10-26T15:31:42.084-07:00Add me to the Clift band wagon. I recently recorde...Add me to the Clift band wagon. I recently recorded Kazan's WILD RIVER which I have not seen in years, a film that contains two of my favorite actors, Clift and Lee Remick. Like you his role of Prewitt in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY is one of my favorite roles of his and in fact one of my favorite roles of all time. <br /><br />I have not seen I CONFESS in a long, long time so it is difficult to comment though I am sure Hitchcock's Catholic guilt was an attractive theme for his making this picture. As usual thoroughly enjoyed your excellent thoughts and review.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-24063776497585771832010-10-26T11:16:23.238-07:002010-10-26T11:16:23.238-07:00Eve, thank you for your kind comments, which prett...Eve, thank you for your kind comments, which pretty much echo my sentiments. I too like Clift very much. He seems a more honest and less affected actor than Brando, with whom he is often compared. He's especially good in intense, sensitive roles like this one. (Check out notstarring.com for an interesting list of the roles he turned down.) His lack of overt mannerisms seems to interiorize his conflict well. It's really sad that car crash pretty much destroyed him. He apparently sank deeply into booze, pills, and depression. It's interesting that this film was released the same year as "From Here to Eternity," which has my own favorite performance by Clift. As for Baxter, I responded more favorably to her here than you apparently did. (She wasn't Hitch's first choice. The Swedish actress Anita Bjork was. You can read why she was replaced at IMDb.) I do have mixed feelings about her otherwise, though. With the right director and material she can be very good, but in other circumstances mediocre--she seems to be trying too hard and doesn't normally project a naturally sympathetic personality like most Hitckcock heroines do. I thought this was one of her better performances.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125194422306151768.post-58459764936770692882010-10-25T20:45:40.845-07:002010-10-25T20:45:40.845-07:00A very thoughtful and perceptive review of I Confe...A very thoughtful and perceptive review of I Confess. I agree there are elements (as perhaps there are in all Hitchcock films) that work beautifully and are memorable, but the totality just does not work. Or does not work in comparison with the director's many masterpieces. But worth watching. Montgomery Clift is an extremely interesting actor, and I do think he is one of the stronger elements in the film. Though I don't think he and Anne Baxter are particularly well teamed. I completely agree that I Confess starts out strongly...in my case, about midway through my attention tends to wander...The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.com