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Witness for the Prosecution (1957) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

SS NORMANDIE

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Looking forward to this release. For those members who are interested in vintage movie costume designs, I have attached a photo of one of my original Marlene Dietrich costume designs by the legendary Edith Head for "Witness for the Prosecution"...
 

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Jacksmyname

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Thanks for the heads up, Ron. Pre-ordered.
Count me as another fan of this film. A different role for Mr. Power than what he usually did, and Mr. Laughton, Ms. Lanchester and Ms. Dietrich are also terrific.
Just a great film.
 

Thomas T

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Mark-P said:
It's a brilliant piece of cinema.
A brilliant piece of cinema, eh? You mean like Citizen Kane, L'Avventura, Vertigo, Jules And Jim, The Searchers, Seven Samurai, Sunrise, Wild Strawberries and Sunset Boulevard? I doubt even WFTP's most rabid fans would go that far.
 

TheSteig

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Yes it is a brilliant piece of Cinema and I like it better than Citizen Kane and Sunset Blvd. Not sure why you want to start an argument over it.. Its a great film, let him be :)
 

Thomas T

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I don't want to start an argument, David. I'm just trying to keep things in perspective (even Pauline Kael called WFTP "inane but moderately entertaining"). You may like it better than Citizen Kane and Sunset Boulevard which is cool by me. I like the 1973 Lost Horizon better than Lawrence Of Arabia (seriously) but I certainly wouldn't try to make an argument that LH is a better film than LOA because I prefer it. If we're talking top notch courtroom dramas, I'll take Anatomy Of A Murder or even the flawed Inherit The Wind over WFTP and I think Agatha Christie has been better served on film than the 1957 effort.

But I totally understand how some people don't like other people trashing their cinematic darlings (you'd think I'd just told them "btw did you know your baby is ugly?") and can get defensive about it so I've said what I've had to say and that's the last I'll say on the subject lest the lynch mob gather up their flaming torches and head over to my place.
 

ahollis

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Thomas T said:
A brilliant piece of cinema, eh? You mean like Citizen Kane, L'Avventura, Vertigo, Jules And Jim, The Searchers, Seven Samurai, Sunrise, Wild Strawberries and Sunset Boulevard? I doubt even WFTP's most rabid fans would go that far.
Yuh, yes I would. Those films and WFTP are all different films and you can think a film is brilliant depending on your definition and love of a film. To me WFTP is brilliant.
 

classicmovieguy

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What is brilliant for one person may not be for somebody else. This is what makes the world of cinema so fun. To each their own. I've only seen this film once but was entirely gripped throughout - its a very solid, well-made film.
 

Thomas T

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classicmovieguy said:
This is what makes the world of cinema so fun. To each their own
Thank you, classic movie guy, for acknowledging it's okay to have a dissenting opinion, however unpopular.
 

Rob_Ray

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Count mine as another for the brilliance of "Witness for the Prosecution." Billy Wilder brought his devlish wit to the classic Agatha Christie mystery with all those marvelous twists and turns. Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester were never better as a team and Marlene Dietrich is unforgettable. If you see one twist coming, there's another and another. It also contains another marvelous turn by Norma Varden as a silly society woman similar to "Strangers on a Train." And a young Ruta Lee too.

I love this film. For me, it's far and away the best of the Agathe Christie adaptations.
 

Robert Crawford

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Thomas T said:
Thank you, classic movie guy, for acknowledging it's okay to have a dissenting opinion, however unpopular.
It's also okay to have a positive opinion even if it's a popular one. There were a few degrading shots coming from both sides in this argument about this film. It's okay to disagree as I disagree with people all the time, but we need to respect everyone's opinion, no matter how much we might disagree with it.
 

Johnny Angell

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Ronald Epstein said:
Is this worth a blind buy?It would be my first Kino title
JoeDoakes said:
The film is great and worthy of innumerable repeat viewings. We'll see how Kino releases it. I hope that they don't turn it over to the people who screwed up White Zombie.
Jacksmyname said:
Thanks for the heads up, Ron. Pre-ordered.
Count me as another fan of this film. A different role for Mr. Power than what he usually did, and Mr. Laughton, Ms. Lanchester and Ms. Dietrich are also terrific.
Just a great film.
I think those that don't like Power in this film may be having a problem with the fact that is is a different role for him. Never been a fan of Marlena but she's fine here.

I love this film. If the only two good performances were Laughton and Lanchester, it would still be fun to watch. Laughton must have had fun doing this film and he takes me along for the ride. The supporting performances are all fine. Charles and Elsa were married when they made this film, weren't they?

Yes it is talky. There's no action in this film at all, unless you think the egg-beater scene is action. :) Used to be films could be made that way.

Highly recommended.

This film will not stress your sub woofer. :P
 

Johnny Angell

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SS NORMANDIE said:
Looking forward to this release. For those members who are interested in vintage movie costume designs, I have attached a photo of one of my original Marlene Dietrich costume designs by the legendary Edith Head for "Witness for the Prosecution"...
You must have a really cool collection.
 

Johnny Angell

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bujaki said:
And a willing one at that. He never had to shave it off.
I don't recall him having a beard in many roles. How did he not have to shave it off? Was so light as to be invisible?
 

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