Kind of a clever title, "Arabesque." One thinks of the dance position right away but that's not it. It's that the movie has something to do with Arabs, although in fact it could have been any ethnic group -- Arabs, Mongols, Trobriand Islanders, Meshpukah.
No matter, the movie's a pretty dull imitation of Hitchock. There were a horde of them about in the 1960s -- "The Prize" with Paul Newman, "Charade" with Cary Grant himself, and this one with Gregory Peck.
The general idea is that some rather ordinary man is swept up into some international scheme of intrigue that centers around a mysterious object that Hitchcock called the MacGuffin in his famous anecdote. In "Arabesque", not only is the general idea ripped off but the director, Stanley Donen, borrows heavily from particular scenes. Without paying a good deal of attention, we can all see replays of Hitchcock's cinematic tactics. Most are from "North by Northwest." If Cary Grant was driving drunk on the highway, a drugged Peck must ride a bicycle through London's traffic while singing "Gaudeamus Igatur". If a just-stabbed victim falls into the arms of the innocent Grant in the United Nations building, a mistakenly stabbed victim falls on Peck in the crowd at the race course. The hand-holding chase over Mount Rushmore becomes the hand-holding chase through London's zoo. But "North by Northwest" isn't the only source for the material. There is the reflection in the eyeglasses from "Strangers on a Train" and the hysterically swinging overhead lamp spastically illuminating a scene of violence from "Psycho." I won't go on about this. If you haven't followed Hitchcock's stuff too closely you may find it interesting, although I doubt it. On its own, it's not enthralling. I didn't care who got the mysterious hieroglyphic message.
Sophia Loren looks exceedingly glamorous. I'd share a shower with her any day. She's flamboyantly feminine. Any more of that and she'd begin to look like Jane Mansfield. Peck was a splendid actor and a good man but no comedian. He came close in "Roman Holiday" and almost as close in "Designing Women." The direction is disorienting. There are a good number of stylish 1960s scenes full of wobbling cameras, instant editing, reflected images, half-hidden objects, and blurry shots.
See it if you like. I wasn't too enthusiastic about it but you might get more out of it.
No matter, the movie's a pretty dull imitation of Hitchock. There were a horde of them about in the 1960s -- "The Prize" with Paul Newman, "Charade" with Cary Grant himself, and this one with Gregory Peck.
The general idea is that some rather ordinary man is swept up into some international scheme of intrigue that centers around a mysterious object that Hitchcock called the MacGuffin in his famous anecdote. In "Arabesque", not only is the general idea ripped off but the director, Stanley Donen, borrows heavily from particular scenes. Without paying a good deal of attention, we can all see replays of Hitchcock's cinematic tactics. Most are from "North by Northwest." If Cary Grant was driving drunk on the highway, a drugged Peck must ride a bicycle through London's traffic while singing "Gaudeamus Igatur". If a just-stabbed victim falls into the arms of the innocent Grant in the United Nations building, a mistakenly stabbed victim falls on Peck in the crowd at the race course. The hand-holding chase over Mount Rushmore becomes the hand-holding chase through London's zoo. But "North by Northwest" isn't the only source for the material. There is the reflection in the eyeglasses from "Strangers on a Train" and the hysterically swinging overhead lamp spastically illuminating a scene of violence from "Psycho." I won't go on about this. If you haven't followed Hitchcock's stuff too closely you may find it interesting, although I doubt it. On its own, it's not enthralling. I didn't care who got the mysterious hieroglyphic message.
Sophia Loren looks exceedingly glamorous. I'd share a shower with her any day. She's flamboyantly feminine. Any more of that and she'd begin to look like Jane Mansfield. Peck was a splendid actor and a good man but no comedian. He came close in "Roman Holiday" and almost as close in "Designing Women." The direction is disorienting. There are a good number of stylish 1960s scenes full of wobbling cameras, instant editing, reflected images, half-hidden objects, and blurry shots.
See it if you like. I wasn't too enthusiastic about it but you might get more out of it.