Your Favourite Mid-Century Film

Of the four mid-century films we have viewed—“Notorious”; “Singin’ in the Rain”; “North by Northwest”; “Some Like it Hot”—which do like the best and why? Answer at the blog before coming to class next week. Mention at least one specific scene in your answer.

“Citizen Kane” Or “Notorious”

        It's difficult to choose between "Citizen Kane" and "Notorious." “Citizen Kane” has wonderful camera shots. Welles was one of the first to use the famous deep focus technique in his film. Using this shot, the spectators could clearly see every actor scattered at different depths within the scene. These deep focus shots are extremely unique and technical. When Charles’ parent discusses with Mr. Thatcher, I could clearly see young Charles and the sled through the window behind them. Next, I love the use of the crane shot. I was like a bird flying in the sky looking down at the warehouse, then flying down to see the “Rosebud” in the fire.  

        On the other hand, “Notorious” has a beautiful shot that passes the faces of Devlin with Alicia, Alex, and Alex’s mother down to the three spies. Another interesting shot is when the camera goes past Alicia's face, changes to her perspective, then rotates to show Devlin standing beside the door.

         "Notorious" uses many close-up shots to create tension and direct the audience's attention. There's a close-up shot of a key in Alicia's twisting hand, which then moves to her husband's face when he holds her hand. Another example is when the camera focuses close on the solemn face of the spy. I felt very nervous during the dolly shot moving across the labels of the wine bottles because of the anticipation of him discovering the swapped wine bottle. The camera then stopped on a close-up of a bottle with a label of 1940 instead of 1934. Hitchcock also used close-up shots to show the emotion between the characters. At the end of the film, there is a close-up of Alicia's smiling face when Devlin prevented Alex from getting into the car. These close-up shots deeply touched my mind. Moreover, I find it delightful to watch romantic shots with kisses between Alicia and Devlin. I love that Hitchcock's movie is full of romance and emotions. Therefore, “Notorious” is my favorite film.