Dial
M for Murder 3D: ****/*****, or 8/10
If
you think the contemporary 3D craze is a new phenomenon, think again.
Though the current output of 3D movies far surpasses those of bygone
eras, there have been two previous waves in cinema featuring the
addition of a third dimension to draw audiences away from their
television sets – first from the sets themselves, the second time
from the choices offered by VCR technology: these days it's a
combination of high quality television production, the relatively
large size of the home cinema screen and the ease in digital
technology for users to watch whatever they fancy that threatens
audience attendance – the previous one during the Eighties, the
very first one in the Fifties. Then, like today, some high profile
directors, fascinated by the narrative and visual possibilities
offered by the three-dimensional aspect, tinkered with the technology
to see what it could accomplish and add to the overall viewing
experience. During the short lived fad of the Fifties, the most
notable director to explore the new dimension was Alfred Hitchcock,
who used it only once, for his 1954 crime thriller Dial M for
Murder. Though its 3D release was almost as brief as the interest
in 3D technology itself in that decade, it cannot be denied the 3D
version of this classic film still makes for a fascinating watch,
both with regards to the use of the third dimension and the story
itself. Thanks to the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, I got the
opportunity to experience this film as Hitchcock shot it, in a
beautifully restored print that utilizes the modern 3D techniques,
which also benefits the vividly rich Fifties' colour palette that
would have been absent in the original 3D print with its notorious
red & green glasses.
It's
clear upon watching the film Hitchcock made ample use of the added
layers of depth 3D offered, as we get a clear sense of persons and
objects in the foreground, the middle and the background of the
frame, the depth perception shifting as another person or object
moves into frame prominently on a closer layer. Considering most of
this Kammerspiel type film takes place in a single room, 3D
actually comes in quite handy to make the environment feel more alive
and diverse than it otherwise would have felt. Especially notable is
the scene where two characters are in mid-conversation and a vase
enters the shot, basically right in our faces as we see the two men
continue to talk behind it, though separated (both visually and in
terms of their narrative interests) by the vase which is positioned
in the middle of the shot composition. Of course, a few more typical
in-your-face shots are also present, and these work far better than
the ones we have grown used to, outstretched arms feeling almost
tangible as they seem to hover right in front of us. Also charming to
behold is the blue matte lines that appear around characters as they
are in motion: the modern 'high frame rate' technology might have
been of benefit to avoid such visual oddities, but in this case it
makes the movie feel even more historically intriguing from a
technological viewpoint. Nevertheless, after the first hour it seems
Hitchcock was running out of ideas as no particularly noteworthy new
use of 3D is witnessed and the novelty of its sensations wears off.
Until that point, this film makes some of the finest use of 3D to
this day. The incomparable Grace Kelly never looked more beautiful
than she does in all three dimensions in this remastered 3D print.
In
terms of story Dial M for Murder is simply a little outdated,
through no fault of its own. The problem is it has been emulated,
copied and parodied for almost sixty years. Though Hitchcock's famous
mastery of suspense and the delivery and timing of his actors'
dialogue is still of the highest order, it cannot help but make the
movie feel like its dragging its feet just a little too long. The
moment police inspector Hubbard (John Williams; not that one) enters
the crime scene and displays just how brilliantly deductive the mind
of a British inspector works as he spends the next 30 minutes
explaining the details of the murder attempt for longer than we care
to hear it (we got the point!), while occasionally touching his
moustache in every conceivable clichéd manner, the movie drones on a
little too much. Until that time though, the exciting plot offered by
a man (Ray Milland) who means to murder his wife (Kelly) by
blackmailing a former schoolmate who has fallen on hard times
(Anthony Dawson), only to have the assassination gone horribly awry,
makes for s striking crime drama of the highest order, good for many
a scene of emotional tension like only Hitchcock managed to deliver.
1954 proved a good year for Hitchcock, as the celebrated director
released his even more highly acclaimed (and superior) suspense masterpiece Rear Window – also starring Grace Kelly – only a
few months later.
