Charade

source: Charade

Charade - Cary Grant Audrey Hepburn Mystery 1963 Eng Subs 720p [H264-mp4]

source: Charade

With a whopping 8.0 rating, I expected it to be a fun 60's ride similar perhaps to "Penelope" or "Pink Panther". Turns out to be nothing like these. It's slow and talky. The mystery is barely there, the romance is unbelievable and the comedy and thriller bits get tired quickly because of poor script and heavy-handed direction. Rather than charming and feminine female character I always turn to older movies for, Hepburn is cold and hysterical. No help comes from unmotivated Grant, and Matthau, Coburn and Kennedy are all underused. The most dumbfounding disappointment though is the location: despite being shot in Paris, the movie stays mostly inside seedy hotel rooms and offices, and even when the action takes us outside, we're treated to process shots and fake backgrounds. This gives the film the hopeless, depressing feel of a Disney sitcom, where you know nothing exciting is going to happen as the plot won't escape the constrains of the 5 rooms it's trapped within. Pros: Henry Mancini score, some witty dialogue in the first act Cons: Boring, contrived, claustrophobic

I was one of those people who was convinced this was a Hitchcock movie when I first saw "Charade". I think this is because the idea of the plot, some of the set pieces and the style of direction are remarkably similar. The director here is Stanley Donan(co-director with Gene Kelly of "Singin' In The Rain"), and I thought he did a great job directing. The real stars of this classy, entertaining and I think underrated Hitchcockian-like comedy thriller are the clever plot(with an ingenious McGuffin) and the marvellous romantic score from Henry Mancini. The cinematography is skillful enough and the Parisian locations are ravishing. Not to mention some truly wonderful set pieces such as Grant taking a shower fully clothed, Grant and Hepburn falling in love on a river boat, a hair-raising cliffhanger on the roof, the priceless funeral scene and the sequence under the stage. The acting is marvellous, with charming, brooding and urbane Cary Grant and lovely and equally charming Audrey Hepburn making a dream pairing and making the most of a crisp, funny and sophisticated script. James Coburn makes a star-making turn, Ned Glass is deliciously obnoxious and Walter Matthau, a wonderful comic actor in his time, in an understated performance here that I personally think is the strongest one of the film. In fact, while I have nothing against George Kennedy, I did feel as though he was slightly phoning in his performance here, but considering how good this film is that is a minor criticism. Overall, this film is terrific, not the best movie ever made but a long way from the worst. It is such a shame people have to be so derogatory to not only this film in general, but also about Grant, Hepburn and other movie stars like James Stewart when they have a lot more talent than most of the actors working today and that is a fact. Not trying to sound opinionated, but I'd rather watch any Hitchcock or this than any of the Friedberg-Seltzer spoofs or Steven Seagal's most sloppily paced, lazily acted film. 9.5/10 for "Charade". Bethany Cox

This is a disappointment beyond words. Bumbling director Donen somehow managed to get two fabulous actors like Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant with Paris as a backdrop and still comes up with a turkey that is such an insult to smart audiences that I couldn't watch this til the end. There are just too many crucial moments when the movie is sabotaged repetitively from his clumsy, hamfisted work. The story is not too bad but the overacting, including, shockingly, from Hepburn, just spoils everything. The one-liners are weak and sound lame, just like most of the dialogue. You cringe at it when compared to masterpieces from Hitchcock where simplicity assures a timeless elegance that is sorely missed here. What a waste! Don't bother with this one if you appreciate well written film noir. How this could ever get such a high rating beggars belief.

It's sad, sleepy, cheesy and dated. Yes, even for the 60's this little piece of fluff was exactly that - fluff. The characters were so poorly developed and the plot was just stupid and asinine. Audrey Hepburn was so pathetic and unbelievable and just overdone. Gary Grant was also a mess and his character(s) were just retarded to all capacity. Audrey Hepburn's character takes women back to the early quarter of the century - turning them into helpless lovelorn suckers for a man. The Paris location had nothing to do with the film, the rest of the story blends into something so horrible and the action is barely existent. It's just horrible on so many levels. There is one magical piece in here - it's the setting under the stage floor - which is a real masterpiece in the entire film - quite unique in the entire film era of the 60's and to some degree - even 40 something years later. Aside of that fantastic little segment, this movie is a dismal mark on cinematic history.

This slow, dated and boring film is just a poor variation on earlier films like "North by Northwest". Cary Grant was far too old and paunchy (he had to try to disguise his age and excess weight by taking a shower fully dressed in a stupid, unfunny sequence). Hepburn could never act and her awful overacting quickly becomes very annoying. Probably the worst thing however is the fact that the story is so obvious and contrived. It is so obvious who the villain is from the very beginning of the movie. Grant should have retired before this rubbish. Both stars were too old for their parts, the film should have been made with Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood, as was originally intended. 0/10.

If you're in the mood for a clever mixture of suspense, romance, humor and some fantastic location shots, treat yourself to CHARADE. Audrey Hepburn was never more appealing than she is here--badly in need of help to discover the whereabouts of the hidden money her late husband's enemies want to find. With her life hanging in the balance, she enlists the aid of Cary Grant--but since all is not what it seems, you're in for some surprising plot twists along a very merry ride. Just relax and let Cary and Audrey do all the work--with the help of a great supporting cast including Walter Matthau, superb in a surprising supporting role. Stanley Donen keeps it all moving at a brisk pace and Henry Mancini's music is a sheer delight. Highly recommended as an expert, elegant mixture of humor and suspense, even if it does seem to imitate the Hitchcock way of filmmaking.

I have found many films just aren't as good as I remember seeing as a kid. A wide-eyed youngster gaping at a big silver screen at the theater can be more memorable than a middle-aged guy seeing that film decades later on a small television. However, here is one film that is EVEN BETTER than I remembered it. Yeah, it's a little dated here and there, but not much, just mainly Audrey Hepburn's dialog. However, the story with all its twists is just as suspenseful and fun to watch as it was over 50 years ago. I've seen this three times in the last two years, after that long, long absence. (Tip: spend the extra money to get the Criterion DVD disc. It is the only clear, sharp copy of this film I have seen.) The story's strength lies in getting the viewer involved. One never knows whether Gary Grant is a good guy or a bad guy. The dialog between Grant and Hepburn is very entertaining as the latter tries to figure out the same thing. There are lots of good lines, particularly by Grant. That in itself makes this film fun to watch multiple times. The pacing of this story also is good; the film moves fast and spaces the action out smartly. This has to be one of the best movies ever to come out of the 1960s. I have never known anyone who didn't like this film.