. . . and then when they are exposed to this "extra" written\directed\produced by Laurent Bouzereau they can get overwhelmed by all these talking heads spouting off about "gay subtext" this and "secret gay footsie codes" that. It's enough to make one start looking for U.S. Senators with "wide stances" in public men's room stalls. As in, (voiceover guy's Basso Profundis voice:), "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the bathroom . . ." Frankly, maybe you have to be male to appreciate all the nuances of director Alfred Hitchcock's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. Sure, it's a FEMALE that gets strangled, and a FEMALE that has raised a cuckoo son, and a FEMALE that is engaged to the tennis player, and that FEMALE's sister who looks like the murder victim, and ANOTHER FEMALE who nearly gets choked to death at a crowded dinner party, but apparently all the REAL ACTION involves foot nudges on public vehicles of transportation and the two main guys' choices in gentlemen's evening wear. Of course, if I had WANTED to learn all about the closet in the 1950s, I would have rented something such as THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER. However, I went with STRANGERS looking for light entertainment. I was expecting to enjoy a traditional Hitchcock "shocker," and I thought that I had, until viewing this extra on the 2004 DVD release. Thanks, I guess, Laurent, for being so educational--I rated your piece an "8" of 10, to boot.
3 Reviews
People could watch STRANGERS ON A TRAIN all innocently . . .
pixrox128 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
An excellent documentary addition...
planktonrules20 September 2010
This documentary is one of the special features included on the bonus disk for "Strangers on a Train". It is made up of film clips, interviews and photos. Among the people interviewed were Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Walker, Jr., Farley Granger, Pat Hitchcock (Alfred's daughter--who also was a major character in the story), Robert Osborne and Richard Schickel.
As far as the quality of this short goes, it's excellent. Like any good "making of" documentary, it managed to give some nice background information as well as engendered a lot of new respect for the feature film. And, considering how long ago the original movie was made, it was nice to see some of the actors from this film--though oddly there weren't that many moments with Farley Granger--just a couple tiny snippets. Overall, if you watch the film by all means watch this short after in order to give you added insight into the movie.
By the way, I was surprised about one thing the film DID fail to mention. Many of the scenes that Hitchcock shot of Robert Walker in Washington, DC for the film were later pieced together to create an ending to "My Son, John"--a film Walker was working on just after "Strangers on a Train" and one he could not complete due to high untimely death. Showing how Hitchcock's footage was inserted into this later film would have been an interesting addition.
As far as the quality of this short goes, it's excellent. Like any good "making of" documentary, it managed to give some nice background information as well as engendered a lot of new respect for the feature film. And, considering how long ago the original movie was made, it was nice to see some of the actors from this film--though oddly there weren't that many moments with Farley Granger--just a couple tiny snippets. Overall, if you watch the film by all means watch this short after in order to give you added insight into the movie.
By the way, I was surprised about one thing the film DID fail to mention. Many of the scenes that Hitchcock shot of Robert Walker in Washington, DC for the film were later pieced together to create an ending to "My Son, John"--a film Walker was working on just after "Strangers on a Train" and one he could not complete due to high untimely death. Showing how Hitchcock's footage was inserted into this later film would have been an interesting addition.
Very Good Look at the Hitchcock Classic
Michael_Elliott28 March 2012
Strangers on a Train: A Hitchcock Classic (2004)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Peter Bogdanovich, Bill Krohn, Andrew Wilson, Richard Schickel, Robert Walker, Jr., Robert Osborne, Farley Granger, Joseph Stefano, Pat Hitchcock and her daughter Mary Stone are interviewed in this discussion of the classic STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. With various experts and people who were actually on set, one really gets a good idea of what went into the making of the film and why it turned out to be the classic that it is. We learn what originally drew Hitchcock to the film and Bogdanovich talks about how he really went on a high streak during this period because of what this film did and what films would follow. Walker, Jr. tells a few stories of his father coming home after shooting on the film and also talks about what he thought seeing his father playing such a bad guy. Several of the scenes in the film are discussed in detail including the opening shots of the shoes, Hitchcock's cameo and of course the ending. We also get some discussion on the "preview version" of the film as well as get an outtake and a deleted scene. Fans of the film should really enjoy this documentary that covers pretty much everything about the film with the weird exception of discussion of its release. Outside of this there's no question that this is a very fun documentary with several great stories that really put you there on the set. Fans of the film should certainly check this one out.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Peter Bogdanovich, Bill Krohn, Andrew Wilson, Richard Schickel, Robert Walker, Jr., Robert Osborne, Farley Granger, Joseph Stefano, Pat Hitchcock and her daughter Mary Stone are interviewed in this discussion of the classic STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. With various experts and people who were actually on set, one really gets a good idea of what went into the making of the film and why it turned out to be the classic that it is. We learn what originally drew Hitchcock to the film and Bogdanovich talks about how he really went on a high streak during this period because of what this film did and what films would follow. Walker, Jr. tells a few stories of his father coming home after shooting on the film and also talks about what he thought seeing his father playing such a bad guy. Several of the scenes in the film are discussed in detail including the opening shots of the shoes, Hitchcock's cameo and of course the ending. We also get some discussion on the "preview version" of the film as well as get an outtake and a deleted scene. Fans of the film should really enjoy this documentary that covers pretty much everything about the film with the weird exception of discussion of its release. Outside of this there's no question that this is a very fun documentary with several great stories that really put you there on the set. Fans of the film should certainly check this one out.
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