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A Few Words About A few words about...™ "I Confess" -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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Alfred Hitchcock's 1953 "I Confess" is generally considered B+ level Hitchcock.  It is seldom seen these days, overshadowed by the A+ titles, but it has incredible gifts to offer, and Warner Archives' new Blu-ray will solve its previous unavailability in prime form.

The final Hitchcock production meant to be projected at 1.37:1, its black & white imagery by longtime associate Robert Burks heightens the textures of this compact drama set in Quebec.

Wonderful performances by Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden and Brian Aherne, round out the production, along with a score by Dimitri Tiomkin.

What are the responsibilities of a priest to society, if a killer confesses a murder?

This new Blu-ray is a must for every serious collection of cinema classics.

Image - 5

 

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

 

Highly Recommended

 

RAH

 
 

JohnMor

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Aside from the cast, the location filming is the only thing of real interest to me in this Hitchcock. But a definite purchase for me as a Hitchcock completist. Would that the film was as compelling to me as The Wrong Man. But at least it's ahead of Stage Fright in my book.
 

benbess

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JohnMor said:
Aside from the cast, the location filming is the only thing of real interest to me in this Hitchcock. But a definite purchase for me as a Hitchcock completist. Would that the film was as compelling to me as The Wrong Man. But at least it's ahead of Stage Fright in my book.

I love Stage Fright. Does the false flashback bother you, or is it something else?
 

davidmatychuk

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I love "Stage Fright" too. Take away the flashback issue (which Hitchcock regretted) and it has all kinds of Hitchcockian goodness going for it. Plus, Jane Wyman makes a terrific Hitchcock lead, Marlene Dietrich is quite wonderful, Alastair Sim as the Commodore - come on, it may not be top-drawer Hitchcock but it is great fun.
 

JohnMor

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benbess said:
I love Stage Fright. Does the false flashback bother you, or is it something else?

That's part of it. I just find it flaccid, much like I Confess, but without the distinction of the location filming. I don't hate it by any means; fine cast.
 

John Maher_289910

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I love I CONFESS and STAGE FRIGHT. I don't consider them lesser films, at all, especially I CONFESS, which I'll take over the silly VERTIGO, any day. Although, even with my tremendous dislike of that film, I still love it up to the moment he takes her home after rescuing her.
 

ScottRichard

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I like Stage Fright more and more every time I see it. It has so many great and unusual Hitchcock touches. As for I Confess, I'm a huge Hitchcock fan and a huge Montgomery Clift fan so that combination alone really has my interest! I think it's a very underrated film Hitchcock or otherwise. The moody black and white on-location cinematography, the music, the performances. The caretaker, Otto, is both sympathetic and frightening, right in line with many of the great Hitchcock villains. I also love the melodramatic flourish in the middle of the movie with the scenes between Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter. Overall, I don't consider it a Hitchcock masterpiece but definitely a really good movie that I love!
 

davidmatychuk

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How great is Hitchcock? You can start with his most popular films, enjoy watching them over and over, and all the while you're teaching yourself how to appreciate the brilliance of his so-called "lesser" films. I believe that Hitchcock's films have probably started more people down the path to becoming film enthusiasts than the films of any other director, being so entertaining and so solidly cinematic. And what are "Psycho", "Strangers On A Train", "Shadow Of A Doubt", "Notorious", and "Rebecca" but black-and-white movies potent enough to get pretty much anyone to ignore the fact that they aren't in colour, if that's an issue for them. Examining these new Blu-Rays one at a time as they are released gives us all the opportunity to appreciate them thoroughly, so even though I already have them all on DVD, I hope Warner will continue filling in the Blu-Ray gaps in the Hitchcock filmography. And sooner, rather than later, please!
 

Mikey1969

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Despite my love for Hitchcock's films, this one and Stage Fright are two that have always left me cold, especially compared to masterworks like Strangers on A Train and Rear Window which surround them.
 

JJHLH

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This news made my day! I'm a Hitchcock completist and am always thrilled to upgrade one of my DVD's for a blu Ray, especially when it's of such high quality as this one. I Confess is definitely an underrated favorite of mine. The sequence where Anne Baxter is descending the spiral staircase outside her home during the flashback scene is perhaps the most romantic moment in all of Hitchcock, accompanied by the lovely Tiomkin score. Yea!!
 

PMF

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Finally !!!
My copies of "I, Confess", "The Wrong Man" and Chaplin's "The Kid" have just arrived in the mail.
Now, if only we could get "Suspicion".
 
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