Underwhelmed by Night of the Hunter (1 Viewer)

[sleroi]

I finally got around to watching Night of the hunter, and was rather underwhelmed.

Mitchum's marvelously creepy performance seemed rather wasted, in the sense that the movie never really generated any suspense for me. For example, the scene in the basement, where Pearl reveals her secret, quickly devolved into a cartoon.

The actress who played Shelly Winters' mother had a grating voice and was quite annoying.

And I didnt buy Shelly Winter's quick brainwashing by Mitchum. Especially after overhearing Mitchum and Pearl.

But that has to do with the awful pacing of the film. The Mitchum/Winters relationship felt rushed and forced, and the movie seemed to be building to a climax before the one hour mark. So the whole rest of the film felt like a long, drawn out epilogue.

There was plenty of beautiful expressionistic imagery, but again to what point? Uncle Bertie's discovery was beautifully macabre, but I dont understand why he felt like he would be blamed.

And after the one hour mark Mitchum, the best thing about the movie, was virtually nonexistent. And his expected return again lacked any surprise or suspense.

And what was with him screaming like a girl? Another potentially tense, suspenseful scene turned into a cartoon.

Roger Ebert called this one of the greatest American films. Im glad I watched this, and it certainly wasn't horrible by any stretch. But one of the greatest?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Heresy!

 

[Lou Sytsma]

I'm with you sleroi. I enjoyed it but expected way more. Presume it was viewed as being very bold when it was first released. Now it's pretty tame.

 

[B-ROLL]

When one considers Mr Ebert's views on films one has to consider that he wrote the screenplay for ...

 

[Lord Dalek]

When one considers Mr Ebert's views on films one has to consider that he wrote the screenplay for ...

...your point being?

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Yes, better we forget his writing about 2001: A Space Odyssey, Citizen Kane, etc.

 

[ThadK]

Hard not to love this one. Pure cinema.

 

[TonyD]

Hard not to love this one. Pure cinema.

What does that mean?

 

[cinemiracle]

I'm with you sleroi. I enjoyed it but expected way more. Presume it was viewed as being very bold when it was first released. Now it's pretty tame.

The film was banned in several countries originally. It sure as hell packed a wallop for those people who saw it on it's original release. I too regard it as a masterpiece even after seeing it recently.

 

[Citizen87645]

Why do people like to trot out Ebert's trashy screenplay while disregarding what is really his life's work? (That's a rhetorical question.)

I admit it's been a number of years since I saw Night of the Hunter, and I'm sure there are some things that don't play as well as I remember them. But this inspires me to re-evaluate with a fresh viewing (if only I could find the time)!

 

[Edwin-S]

Rhetorical or not, people bring up his lousy script because his life work was trashing the work of countless creators, yet the man had zero talent to create anything better and actually was a whole lot worse than many of the people he was criticizing. I mean how does that work? He made a career mercilessly pointing out the flaws in story mechanics and characterization in the creative work of other people but was incapable of producing anything better.

 

[TravisR]

Rhetorical or not, people bring up his lousy script because his life work was trashing the work of countless creators, yet the man had zero talent to create anything better and actually was a whole lot worse than many of the people he was criticizing. I mean how does that work? He made a career mercilessly pointing out the flaws in story mechanics and characterization in the creative work of other people but was incapable of producing anything better.

That's true for 99 out of 100 film critics. Most of them are guys who are mad that they could never even make a bad movie. To be fair to Roger Ebert, he never struck me as a snob and he liked all kinds of movies from all eras so he wasn't the kind of guy who automatically wrote off animated movies or comedies or horror movies because they aren't 'serious' films.

 

[Citizen87645]

Rhetorical or not, people bring up his lousy script because his life work was trashing the work of countless creators, yet the man had zero talent to create anything better and actually was a whole lot worse than many of the people he was criticizing. I mean how does that work? He made a career mercilessly pointing out the flaws in story mechanics and characterization in the creative work of other people but was incapable of producing anything better.

Just because he doesn't have the ability to create anything better doesn't mean he can't have valid opinions. Or simply... An opinion. His life's work was also not simply trashing other people's work, as evidenced by the films he not only said needed work, but those he praised without end.

 

[David_B_K]

I'm always amused by these threads, in which someone trashes a movie that is generally regarded as a classic. I guess it is refreshing that this time the movie in question was not Citizen Kane. No matter how great a movie is or isn't - for every fan or devotee, there is someone who doesn't appreciate it. I know there are films I don't care a fig for that are proclaimed as great films or masterpieces by others. I guess sometimes our expectations are too high after hearing all the hype about a film's supposed greatness.

 

[dpippel]

Or, sometimes we just don't like something that most others find significant for one reason or another. That's the thing about the enjoyment of film (or music or art) - it's completely subjective.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

The funny thing is people "trashing" him for BVD, which is a terrific satire of both Hollywood (and vapid films like Valley of the Dolls) and exploitation cinema. He knew *exactly* what he wanted to do with that script.

I'm certainly no apologist for him as I often did not agree with his criticisms, especially later in his career, but to denounce him and all of his other work because you didn't like the one film he wrote is, well, silly.

 

[Jimbo64]

Still one of my top 10 favorite films, I remember seeing it as a child on tv and that image of Shelley Winters in the car with her hair flowing with the seaweed has stuck with me for years. I wish Charles Laughton had directed more films

 

[sleroi]

I didn't trash the film. I see it as an ambitious, unique film that didn't hit all its marks for me. After viewing it I tried to find some musings on the film to help me understand its retrospectively high praise, and Mr. Ebert's comment seemed a bit hyperbolic. I'm just trying to start a discussion to try and figure out what I'm missing, so I can have something to key in on when I rewatch it. There are a lot of elements to enjoy in this film, but for me the parts don't add up to a whole.

 

[Alex...]

Remake incoming

Scott Derrickson To Direct ‘Night Of The Hunter’ Adaptation For Universal

A new 'Night of the Hunter' movie co-written and directed by Scott Derrickson is in the works at Universal.

deadline.com

 

[Robert Crawford]

Oh boy!