ceichler

Never saw this Dietrich film before. It is wonderful, considering that it was made 41 years ago. Two sequences stand out--- the party sequence (catch the costume in all the splendor black and white can provide) and the hilarious Dietrich/peasant scene. I couldn't believe it was Marlene at first. This film is a small gem!

Thrillers. In today's age we know the classics, Hitchcok, DePalma etc. then there are the obvious average thrillers that a viewer can figure out within the first five minutes. "What Lies Beneath" is what one has to call an above average thriller. Not bad, by any means, but not outstanding. The basic premise of the movie covers the gamut of thriller icons--missing individuals, a secluded wife, eerie dreams, sounds, film noir glimpses, night time scenes. The first half of the movie unwinds and had me going. I wasn't sure to what disclosure would start the plot to unravel. Interesting exposition, convincing performances, generally shocking moments. However, once the viewer is abruptly let in on the secret that has generated the momentum, the film falls flat and becomes the typical "cat and mouse" conflict. I have never really thought Michelle Pfeiffer was a great actress, but she does show considerable vulnerability as the heroine. Harrison Ford plays an atypical role and does it well. Plenty of thrills and moments but the whole picture looses steam once we know what's going on.

This will remain an obscure film unless the viewer is familiar with the play as originally written and staged. I saw the original production and a local production and the play deserves to remain on the stage. In opening up the film, we get a mystic view of pre-Hitler Berlin that i enjoyed and also some detailed shots of the countryside location and the harsh reality within the factory where prisoners are working. There are several intense scenes but the whole claustrophobic feeling generated on stage is never matched by the close-ups in the film.