#26
Posted: 9/12/04 at 1:30am
I first saw Night of the Hunter on TV when I was a kid back in the 70s. It terrified me. Never forgot it. Since these were the pre-VCR days, I didn't have a chance to see it again until I was in college. I quickly realized why I had never been able to get the movie out of my head -- it seemed as if the images on screen were the direct product of a child's fevered imagination.
Hardcore cineastes tend to adore it because it has some of the most beautiful images ever committed to film -- and they're all in service of the story. Plus the story is a doozy. I can't think of many films that go to the narrative extremes this one does. There are certain "rules" in genre films about the level of jeopardy you can place a child in. In this film John has the weight of the world placed on his shoulders and absolutely no one to turn to. At each point you think it can't possibly get any worse, and then halfway through, the movie takes a vicious turn that the viewer is completely unprepared for. Especially a viewer back in 1955.
A note about Lillian Gish -- when John first meets her, she's just as over the top as everybody else. Once she gains his trust, though, she becomes this calm, nurturing figure. What a beautiful film. I'm gonna fire up the DVD player right now.
Hardcore cineastes tend to adore it because it has some of the most beautiful images ever committed to film -- and they're all in service of the story. Plus the story is a doozy. I can't think of many films that go to the narrative extremes this one does. There are certain "rules" in genre films about the level of jeopardy you can place a child in. In this film John has the weight of the world placed on his shoulders and absolutely no one to turn to. At each point you think it can't possibly get any worse, and then halfway through, the movie takes a vicious turn that the viewer is completely unprepared for. Especially a viewer back in 1955.
A note about Lillian Gish -- when John first meets her, she's just as over the top as everybody else. Once she gains his trust, though, she becomes this calm, nurturing figure. What a beautiful film. I'm gonna fire up the DVD player right now.
