Marnie (1964) is considered by many to be Alfred Hitchcock's last great movie. This movie is certainly different from most of Hitchcock's movies. Most of Hitchcock's movies have a certain signature Hitchcock "feel" to them, much like John Carpenter, Stephen Spielberg, and George Lucas movies have a certain signature "feel" to them that are vintage Carpenter, Spielberg, and Lucas. Marnie retains a lot of the Hitchcock feel, but this movie is a slight departure from his previous work. This movie really can't be classified into one category, such as a straight psychological thriller, a suspense thriller, a detective story, a mystery, a romance, etc. Whereas most Hitchcock movies put less focus on the characters and more focus on the suspense, Marnie puts most of the focus on one character and less focus on the suspense. This movie is highly personal and psychological. This movie stars 'Tippi' Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker, Louise Latham, Mariette Hartley, Martin Gabel, and Alan Napier. Hedren plays the role of Marnie Edgar, a strange woman with psychological problems who is a professional thief and has an intense fear of men, thunderstorms, and even the color red. To sum up the plot in a nutshell, she empties her employer's safe and escapes. Sean Connery plays the role of Mark Rutland, owner of a publishing company that Marnie applies for a new job at. Marnie robs him as well. However, Rutland is infatuated with her. He tracks her down, but rather than turning her in to the authorities, he convinces her to marry him. While on their honeymoon, he realizes that she actually has a fear of men and fears intimacy. He gets more aggressive with her, resulting in her attempting suicide. Her intense fear of men is rooted in a traumatic childhood experience she had. Watch to find out how everything unfolds.
The musical score by Bernard Herrmann is memorable and is one of the strong points of the movie. The score is one of the best of all the Hitchcock movies, in my opinion (my other candidates are Vertigo and Psycho). There are some suspenseful moments. The special effects and some of the sets are pretty simple and low tech, but this doesn't detract from the film at all, in my opinion.
The acting is excellent. Sean Connery was excellent. It was great to see Alan Napier in the movie. I thought 'Tippi' Hedren's performance was outstanding. Her acting in The Birds (1963) was great, but she takes things to another level in Marnie. Originally, Hitchcock wanted to cast Grace Kelly in the role of Marnie, but she had to turn it down. I think 'Tippi' Hedren was the perfect actress for the part, and she delivered. I also like Diane Baker in this movie. I have a weakness for movies with good looking women in them.
This movie did poorly at the box office when it was released, probably because audiences were used to getting movies that were less personal, less psychological, and more suspenseful from Hitchcock each time, and Marnie was a departure from that. However, this movie's stature has grown immensely since 1964. As for myself, this is one of those rare movies that drew me in right from the start and kept my attention, but multiple viewings might be required in order for one to fully understand and appreciate it for what it is.
The DVD's extras include a documentary called The Trouble With Marnie, which basically is about the making of the movie and the movie's historical status, a picture gallery called The Marnie Archives, and the theatrical trailer.
Overall, this is a good Hitchcock flick if you're into this type of movie, whatever it's classified as (Hitchcock called it a sex mystery).
The musical score by Bernard Herrmann is memorable and is one of the strong points of the movie. The score is one of the best of all the Hitchcock movies, in my opinion (my other candidates are Vertigo and Psycho). There are some suspenseful moments. The special effects and some of the sets are pretty simple and low tech, but this doesn't detract from the film at all, in my opinion.
The acting is excellent. Sean Connery was excellent. It was great to see Alan Napier in the movie. I thought 'Tippi' Hedren's performance was outstanding. Her acting in The Birds (1963) was great, but she takes things to another level in Marnie. Originally, Hitchcock wanted to cast Grace Kelly in the role of Marnie, but she had to turn it down. I think 'Tippi' Hedren was the perfect actress for the part, and she delivered. I also like Diane Baker in this movie. I have a weakness for movies with good looking women in them.
This movie did poorly at the box office when it was released, probably because audiences were used to getting movies that were less personal, less psychological, and more suspenseful from Hitchcock each time, and Marnie was a departure from that. However, this movie's stature has grown immensely since 1964. As for myself, this is one of those rare movies that drew me in right from the start and kept my attention, but multiple viewings might be required in order for one to fully understand and appreciate it for what it is.
The DVD's extras include a documentary called The Trouble With Marnie, which basically is about the making of the movie and the movie's historical status, a picture gallery called The Marnie Archives, and the theatrical trailer.
Overall, this is a good Hitchcock flick if you're into this type of movie, whatever it's classified as (Hitchcock called it a sex mystery).