Dial M for Murder

I haven't seen Psycho. I haven't seen Vertigo. I haven't seen North by Northwest. So, for some reason I decided to watch Dial M for Murder, which is a movie I hadn't heard much about until I put it on the list (so much for the pop culture theme). 

But, I have to say that Dial M for Murder is highly relevant today. It was made in the 1954, when 3D was all the rage... sound familiar? Warner Bros. told Alfred Hitchcock that he could either make the movie in 3D, or not make the movie at all. So, he made it in 3D. However, by the time the picture got released, the 3D craze was over, and it wasn't really shown in 3D anywhere.

But, the movie still holds up! It was intriguing and full of twists and turns and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The story was great! The performances were great! It all came together beautifully to make a film that didn't rely on a gimmick.

Now, I'm not saying that seeing the movie on a big screen in 3D wouldn't have enhanced my film-going experience for this movie. However, Dial M for Murder did not rely on the special effects to make the movie worth watching... unlike some recent 3D flicks (*cough* Avatar *cough*).

That's right, I said Avatar between coughs! You may not give a damn about my opinion, but this is my blog, so I am allowing my paragraph to rant about this so called "revolutionary film". Ever since I saw previews for the film, I decided to boycott it. To this day I have not seen it... despite the $2,767,691,607 box office (according to good ol' Box Office Mojo), the Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Why? Because even before the movie came out, everyone saying Avatar was going to finally cause the movie industry to completely convert to 3D and I desperately do not want 3D to be my future. Now just watch... my first big break will be a 3D movie. My family and I always joked my first project I would be hired to direct would be the live action "My Little Pony" adaptation... I'm just that much more excited to have it be in 3D.

Now, enough of my ranting. I'll go on to say that I really liked Dial M for Murder and that I can't wait to sneak into a ton of screenings of Alfred Hitchcock's films on the big screen for the Alfred Hitchcock class Drew Casper does here at USC. He is most certainly a director I need to catch up on because he is obviously hailed for a reason if this less famous movie of his is so awesome.

COMING SOON: An unusual classic romantic comedy- Adam's Rib.