Notorious

You can add Sabastians name to my list of playmates.

A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * * * ) DVD Rating: ( * * * · · )

Alicia and Devlin share a quiet moment at an outdoor cafe in Brazil. The steel eyes of Devlin (Ingrid Bergman), "most definitely not a lady" she is later referred to. Is he contemplating whether or not this lush may be able to succeed to infiltrate the remains of a third riche science team or is his mind wrapped around our heroine like his handkerchief was wrapped around her perfect waste that cold evening in Washington.

In 1946 Snow Dogs.

There is a great irony in seeing the plotline of Notorious wrapped around Tom Cruise's face off of some european terrorist. MI2 wasn't too bad a movie, but to steal the plot from a movie as perfect as a zen circle and then ruin it with bad acting and over-done gun fights is appalling. The conclusion of Notorious is a perfect example of a wonderful ending without a gunfight. No one needs to die to tie this picture together. The silhouettes of two men at a doorway and one on a dusty driveway is enough.

The DVD of Notorious can hardly be reviewed. The movie was released in 1946. To re-mat the picture to a 16x9 screen or attempt to add multi-channel sound would be as bad as Ted Turner adding color to It's a Wonderful Life. Having multiple commentary tracks with Hitchcock historians would have been an excellent bonus, but it cannot be expected. Playing back a 4x3 movie on a 16x9 screen is frustrating but for a movie such as this, there is no other way.

Our hero and heroine meet again at a park. He looks at her with jealousy and tenderness. He loves her for her patriotism and hates her for her actions in it's name. She looks bad, probably on the booze again. Frustrated at his own mix of emotions he lashes out with words that cut to the bone. She reaches into her purse and draws out his handkerchief. "You can have this back."

I have no other way to describe it. I am in love with this movie.