Rear Window
Release: 1954
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Notable Actor(s): Grace Kelly, James Stewart

One of the many classics Hitchcock would make over his career it's also one of my personal favorites. It's very rare when you have a film practically stay in one setting the entire time. The whole point of the film though is to have Stewart's character and that of the audience to stay enclosed within his apartment. If anyone has ever broke their leg or just have to stay in bed for long periods of time; you know it can be very boring. That's the problem with Jeff Jeffries (Stewart) ever since he broke his leg; he's so bored that he needs to do something ever since he injuried himself. So now he's resorted to spy on his neighbors and eventually he comes across seeing someone maybe killing his wife. Did the man he saw kill his wife? Or is he imagining all of this out of boredom?

A lot of the praise should go to the production of the film to so many of the departments working on this. From the people who work at the set designs to make a living neighborhood. All of this is a soundstage and the scope of the apartment complex is downright impressive. The sound department mixes noises coming from the complex; from people talking to each other to music playing across from Jeffries room to create a real life neighborhood. Also the people who worked the lighting had to use over one thousand arc lights to create a sun! So that when you see this entire area from beginning to end; it looks like they are filming in a real life area in Greenwich Village. You can't ignore the always fantastic direction by Hitchcock though who is always a stickler for perfection. Then tension in this really kicks in because again, he films it where it's a somewhat claustrophobic experience. We feel like we're as helpless as Jeffries is and we as a viewer start to think if we're starting to lose are mind like him because of boredom. You know right away how this film will pan out because of Jeffries injury in terms of pacing; but Hitchcock directs it in a way where you never actually get bored at watching he. He makes you feel just as excited watching this thriller as much as his other films.

The Night of the Hunter
Release: 1955
Director: Charles Laughton
Notable Actor: Robert Mitchum

Forget Freddy Krueger.
Laugh in the face of Jason Voorhees.
Michael Myers is a joke compaired to this man,

Any of these classic serial killers don't hold a candle to one simple man: Harry Powell. The scariest and most intimidating human being you will ever come across in film. He doesn't have magical powers or has the strength of several men. All he has is his wits and his charm; that is more then enough to get what he wants. If he has to kill someone then he will not hesitate to bloody his hands a bit. Even children aren't safe around him, which is one of the central aspects of this horror film.

I gotta admit my love for Robert Mitchum; maybe one of the more forgotten actors of today's time. Historians praise his work, and probably anyone over forty knows who I'm talking about. Today's generation, like myself, probably have no idea who the heck he is. Which is a shame, cause at the time Mitchum was like the George Clooney of yesteryear. Just a swave individual who's length of great work was just as impressive as his good looks. But Michhum was also a very talent actor and you can tell he always gave all of his strength to do a great preformance. This film is no different, and next to Cape Fear (more on that later) this is his best preformance. Every scene he's in is just so tense and you really don't know what he's gonna do. The fact that he has no problem going after kids, which is kinda unheard of for a horror film at this era, really shows how disgusting a man he is. Also, because he likes to pretend to be a preacher to get him closer to his goals is even worse. The more I would talk about this film would be ruining the experience. Go into this with a clean slate and enjoy one of the best horror films to come out. Okay maybe not a clean slate; just remember that Robert Mitchum is one fantastic actor to watch and your good to go.

The Ten Commandments
Release: 1956
Director: Cecil B. Demille
Notable Actor(s): Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston

Why is religion such a hot topic in film today? Cause when you look at the history of film; religion plays a huge factor in the early days of it. Hell one of the greatest films of all time focuses around a central character in the Bible. But today you gotta avoid it, today we are living in a more censored society. Anyways sorry about the rant right there. I just bring it up cause again, this is a classic epic by Cecil B. Demille and I would be hard press to think you could go this far in a film like this today. Not to say a biography on Moses wouldn't pass; but how long and inaccurate this thing is I would imagine there would be a swirl of controversy around it. Look at Passion of the Christ, I would think if Demille was alive and saw how that film got a reaction. He wouldn't even attempt at doing this.

As crazy as he became became towards the end of his life; Charlton Heston is really good in this. One of the all time memorible preformances in film for me. He plays Moses as an action hero in a lot of ways. He talks with a loud voice and when talking doesn't get the job done he goes down hard on his rulers. What's great about this film aside from the acting is how epic it is. If you haven't read the Bible and this is your first experience with the life of Moses, then your in for a wild ride. Not all of this is accurate but Cecil B. Demille and the wave of writers definitely have respect for the material. In fact if you have Demille as the director you know your in for a fun time. He's a stickler for making people amazed at his work and also the detail he puts into this is just amazing. Heck this isn't even his first time touching on this subject. He did another film on The Ten Commandments back in 1923 and at that time it was considered a marvel with the use of special effects. So this is a subject he's done twice and both are high points of the industry. If there is any film you should watch in your lifetime it's this. Even a person who is more off put by the topic of religion (like me) you'll just have a fun time watching this.

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