Cary Grant at the Glasgow Film Festival.

Any Hitchcock fans among you will realise that the title of the blog is a line from Hitchcock's 1951 film Strangers on a Train. I had a vague idea about doing a blog "ages" ago and set up this profile. However, at the time I was finishing off my MSc and I'm easily distracted as it is... so I figured that another distraction would be bad.

This week saw the announcement of the Glasgow Film Festival schedule. I already knew that there was to be a Cary Grant thread to the programme this year - they'd been trailing this with a still from North by Northwest. So...for many weeks I've been saying variations on, "oh wow...will they be showing North by Northwest?" Happily: they are. Huzzah! Also showing is the excellent Notorious and the less great, but still good, To Catch a Thief (actually, don't knock it; it was parodied in that episode of The Simpsons where Homer becomes a vigilante). Hitchcock is one of my favourite directors, so given the title of my blog, I thought I'd resurrect the idea with a post about Hitchcock.

I realise that I'm extremely unlikely to say anything desperately new about Hitchcock...given the sustained quality of his output and the huge influence that he had on film-making, that's nigh-on impossible. Anybody who has seen any of his films will be aware of his attention to detail, inventiveness and wit (although not terrible, Mel Brooks' High Anxiety falls a little flat because Hitchcock's films are more knowing than the mockery would suggest).

Hitchcock's films point to an opportunity that film-makers miss today. He made films there were popular (and were unashamed in their desire to reach as many people as possible) but were credible and coherent pieces of art. North by Northwest, for example, is an exciting film, it also doesn't demand a lot of the viewer. There is, just as there is a place for demanding and thought-provoking literature or music, a place for demanding film-making. Not everybody shares that view of course - I've been called pretentious on more than one occasion because of my tastes (pretentious, watashi?). However, I don't see why lighter fare should insult your intelligence (these days, usually loudly and for two-and-a-half-effing-hours). This is the space that Hitchcock fills for me. He was a master of the form, he understood the medium of film and, more importantly understood that it can be worth your while to treat your audience with a little respect. I wish that we'd see more of this today.

Currently listening:

Sonic Youth – EVOL

Can – Tago Mago