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If you’re curious, filming _Rebecca_ was a constant struggle between Hitchcock and David O. Selznick … and may have been the catalyst sparking Hitchcock’s subsequent directing style!! _Gone with the Wind_ had been such a massive hit that it went to Selznick’s head - especially since Selznick’s “hands-on” production (i.e. his meddling) was credited with the film’s being a smash - so Selznick was desperate for another hit AND desperate for his production to be credited for that film’s success. Hitchcock’s star was already on the rise totally independent of Selznick, so for _Rebecca_ Selznick basically glommed himself onto the promising young director and would NOT keep his hands off of Hitchcock’s film! The dry and sardonic Hitchcock loathed Selznick’s cheap sentimentalism and tawdry melodrama … one especially-hated Selznick interference was an effects shot, of smoke from a chimney forming a letter R above a house!! (“R” for Rebecca … get it!?!?) Hitchcock did not have final cut, and he learned from _Rebecca_ that even if he managed to keep Selznick off of his set, Selznick would still take any footage Hitchcock had shot - including footage left on the cutting-room floor - and he would splice it, and cut it, and re-edit it all, resulting in some totally different film by which Hitchcock could no longer abide. But Hitchcock was stuck working under Selznick for several films more. So what was Hitchcock to do? Well, Hitchcock began plotting out his films very carefully in advance - even more so than he had already done in the past - and Hitchcock tightened every word of the script and planned out and timed every scene down to the second and storyboarded every shot … with an eye to ensuring every second of film contained something essential to understanding the plot: a line of dialogue revealing a clue, a glance indicating an alliance, the reveal of a McGuffin in the background, some crucial piece of foreshadowing … all with an eye to making sure, if a scene was either cut or resequenced to some other point in the film or even just slightly shortened, the film’s plot would no longer make any sense. And Hitchcock didn’t stop there: while most directors aim to get “coverage” - which is to say, many overlapping shots of the same scene from every angle short and wide, so that the editor has enough footage to edit around any mistakes or even to radically reshape the movie - Hitchcock stuck to his script and to his storyboards with maddening economy, refusing to shoot so much as an inch of excess film beyond what he intended to be shown on the screen. And … it worked! Hitchcock successfully hemmed Selznick in, presenting him with perfect finished puzzle-box movies, from which nary a scene could be cut, and for which no extra footage existed from which to splice in additional scenes. The frustrated and increasingly alcoholic Selznick took to calling Hitchcock’s films “those goddamn jigsaw movies.” Anywho, just thought people might be interested to know the place _Rebecca_ holds in Hitchcock’s filmography, and the role Selznick, as producer of _Rebecca,_ inadvertently played in shaping Hitchcock’s later notoriously frugal filmmaking style!

@kubricklynch

10 ай бұрын

Fascinating!

You should definitely read Rebecca, it's told from the second Mrs DeWinter's pov, and conveys a lot of emotion. It's like a modern cousin of Jane Eyre

@kubricklynch

10 ай бұрын

I would love to at some point. Just too many books out there I want to read!

this is so fun to watch ty!!

I definitely dont hear the lost weekend beeing brought up much, one of the best performances ive ever seen. Keep up the good work man, love your content

Love this content! Keep it up man

You are doing an amazing work 👏

@kubricklynch

10 ай бұрын

Thanks!!

‘Casablanca’ is renowned and is justly acknowledged as one of the most romantic films of all time but it is much more than the tale of a love triangle. Of course, it shows that the power of love can affect the human psyche, as demonstrated by Rick’s metamorphosis, but, actually, the film is one of the most subtle pieces of propaganda ever made. Made in the bleakest times of WW2, this film has so many levels to it that it takes many viewings to appreciate them. The main theme is not romance but self-sacrifice as its message to the world at war is to give up the personal agenda for the common cause. It reminds wartime audiences, many of whom have loved ones fighting abroad, that their situation is the same as that of Rick, Ilsa and Victor. Rick’s initial selfishness, (‘I stick my neck out for nobody’ and ‘the problems of the world are not in my department…’), is a metaphor for USA indifference. It must be remembered that the events and politics are hard to comprehend and put into perspective for current audiences than for those living through WW2, not knowing who the victors would be. The script can be considered as a 'State of the Union' address, both for home and foreign policies, in which there are references to Civil Rights, as embodied in Sam and, of course, the debate about America’s involvement in the conflict. Basically, the film is politically motivated because it is a plea to America to join the war. Please note that the action takes place in pre-Pearl Harbour, December, 1941. The screenplay is so intelligently written. It is a masterpiece of complexity, containing subliminal political opinions and messages all carried along on a thrilling plot with brilliant one-liners and memorable quotes, together with comedic elements and contemporary, social commentaries. Even the support actors make major contributions to the enjoyment. There are also many ‘adult’ themes which escaped the censors: one example is the scene between Rick and the Bulgarian bride which suggests Renault was willing to be involved in underage sex/ménage a trois. Another is Rick’s and Ilsa’s last tryst in which it is clearly implied that they have made love. Michael Curtiz’s direction is multi-faceted: Documentary, Film Noir, German Expressionism, Flashback etc. He is the master of creating the plot via seamlessly connecting a series of rapid-fire vignettes. There is subtle direction and cinematography. For example, Ilsa wears black and white clothes and is cast in shadows and in a mirror which symbolise the ambiguity of her role. POINTS OF INTEREST AND NOTES FOR SUBSEQUENT VIEWINGS. This is the the first non-musical movie to use music almost as an another protagonist, (which Tarantino does now). For example, ‘As Time Goes By’ is a valuable recurring theme and, in Paris, Rick and Ilsa dance to ‘Perfidia’ which means untrustworthiness. Also, ‘Love for Sale’ is played during the dialogue when the Bulgarian girl tells Rick about her ‘offer’ from Renault. Each character represents a country e.g. Two Japanese plotting; the Italian on the tail of the German; American indifference; French collaborators; the British robbed by foreign policy. Even the Balkan problem , (still ongoing), is mentioned via the Bulgarian couple. Quite evidently, Rick’s actions symbolise the USA in its change in policy from isolationism to participation and ‘….the beginning of a beautiful friendship…’ is the USA and Europe joining forces to fight Nazism. The significance of Letters of Transit is a metaphor for the might of America’s power and resources and must be delivered to the right side. Victor often tells Isla that he loves her but she never reciprocates, except for saying ‘ I know’. She tells Rick she loves him several times. The ‘La Marseillaise’ scene is the pivotal moment in which both Ilsa and Rick realise that saving Victor is more important than their own personal relationship. It also comes in just as Rick and Victor are about to argue over Ilsa but both drop the issue when they hear the music. This scene is rousing now but imagine how it must have felt for audiences right in the middle of the war when Germany seemed invincible and modern viewers need to put it in perspective in terms of world events full of Nazi and Japanese domination and when the outcome looked very bleak. The facial close-ups used throughout the film speak a thousand words: but particularly note Ilsa during ‘La Marseillaise’ when her expressions eventually show her admiration of Victor’s power and her realisation that this must be preserved at all costs. POINTS TO WATCH ‘It’s December, 1941 in Casablanca: what time is it in New York?... I bet they are asleep all over America’. PEARL HARBOUR ‘Even Nazis can’t kill that fast’ CONCENTRATION CAMPS ‘I don’t buy or sell human beings..’ CIVIL RIGHTS In any case... there is so much alcohol!!!! On this note, please watch out for glasses knocked over and glasses set upright… The Bulgarian couple keeps appearing many times as a symbol of hope and determination. In the bar room fight over Yvonne, Rick attacks the German only and not the Frenchman. Captain Renault dumps the bottle of Vichy water to represent his rejection of the Nazi- collaborating French Government which was located in Vichy. Just one example of the excellent and complex scriptwriting occurs immediately after the roulette scene. The girl thanks Rick for letting her husband win and Rick replies, ‘He’s just a lucky guy’, which, on the face of it, refers to the gambling, but, in Rick’s mind, means that the husband is ‘lucky’ because his partner truly loves him. Please imagine what hope the dialogue must have projected when Ilsa states that she’ll wear the blue dress again when Paris is liberated. Nobody then knew when this would be. The quotes from the film are now embedded in popular culture and are mostly said by Rick. However, Captain Renault has some of the best lines: e.g. when asking Rick why he had to leave America, he says, ‘I’d like to think you killed a man: it’s the romantic in me’ ; a gunshot to his heart would be his ‘..least vulnerable part..’; when told where the Letters of Transit were hidden in the piano, ‘’…it’s my fault for not being musical…’: on making the bet with Rick, …’make it 10,000 - I’m only a poor corrupt official…’ The end-product is a combination of superb screenwriting/ direction/acting and every other production aspect combined with a modicum of unpredictable luck. As I’ve said, ‘Casablanca’ requires multiple viewings and gets better with age and even its theme song, ‘As Time Goes By’ serendipitously reflects this!!

Casablanca and Best Years of Our Lives are hardcore favorites of mine. Rebecca, Lost Weekend and Hamlet are very strong, and I like How Green Was My Valley a lot. Mrs. Miniver is the rare classic I haven't seen yet. The others are forgettable to me. Gentlemen's Agreement became worse when I watched the other 1947 crack at tearing down antisemitism, Crossfire.

@kubricklynch

10 ай бұрын

Interesting, I'll have to check out Crossfire.

@bespectacledheroine7292

10 ай бұрын

@@kubricklynch I just think this kind of story fits the postwar noir mold over the Oscar darling one so much better. Just feels less phony to me. I haven't really heard anybody comparing them and determining a winner. And I usually like Peck more than Mitchum.

its always funny looking back at the best picture winners/nominees and seeing how many of them are just straight up forgotten and not really part of the "canon" anymore

@kubricklynch

10 ай бұрын

Yup! You have classics like Casablanca and things like Going My Way, that pretty much no one ever talks about.

@artirony410

10 ай бұрын

@@kubricklynch yeah its just funny to me because obviously at the time people thought that movies like In Old Chicago, Peyton Place, or Places in the Heart were among the best movies of the year and they're just largely forgotten now. There's also the whole conversation about movies that are canonical works now that weren't even nominated for awards at all

My top-10 of 40-s: 1.How Green Was My Valley 2.Casablanca 3.Gentlemen's Agreement 4.Going My Way 5.Best Years of Our Lives 6.Hamlet 7.Rebecca 8.All the King's Men 9. The Lost Weekend 10.Mrs Miniver 40th really are the only decade you have already overviewed for now where I at all do not have Oscar winners I really disliked. By the way next such decade would be 90th. So Mrs Miniver i just liked a bit less then others, places 8-10 are just normal for me.