Product description

Strangers On A Train [1951]

Price: £5.98
RRP: £15.99 This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery
You save: £10.01 (63 %)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 7321900319751
Label : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Release date : 2004-11-01
Title : Strangers On A Train [1951]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Parental Guidance
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 2
Original release date : 1951-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 96
Studio : Warner Home Video
Theatrical releaseDate : 1951

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-09-21 rating:

Exciting and clever thriller.

'Strangers On A Train' is one the greatest Hitchcock Movies.

Staring Robert Walker (who for some reason makes talking of murder sound 'sexy') plays 'Bruno Anthony' - a rather 'unbalanced' man to say the least, and who has an equally 'dotty' mother played by the marvellous Marion Lorne (remember the 'dotty' aunt in 'Bewitched'?)

He meets a famous Tennis Player, 'Guy Haines' on a train and speaks of 'switching' murders - the disposing of two different people each of them could do without, but 'Haines' does not take him seriously - bigger fool him!

This also stars Patricia Hitchcock (daughter of Alfred) who, though has a somewhat smaller role, nevertheless makes a lasting impression.

There are quite a few dramatic scenes in this, and one of the most exciting ever has to be the 'Merry-Go-Round' finale!

This is a movie one can watch over and over again and never tire.

Bonus material includes a silent Newsreel featuring Hitchcock.

NOTE: Surprisingly, this has not been re-mastered.

TRIVIA: Robert Walker who took the lead was to die the same year this movie was made.

review by: date: 2008-09-03 rating:

I have a theory that you should do everything before you die
Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) on a train and Bruno has the idea for a perfect murder. If two people, who ostensibly have never met, swap murders there will be no apparent motive and nothing to link each to the other's crime. Guy humours Bruno, largely to get rid of him, but Bruno actually carries out the murder of his wife, and then expects him to return the favour. This is the basis of Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train.

Packed with great set-pieces (the tennis match, the climactic carousel ride), stunning technical shots (we see Miriam Haines' murder through her own glasses) and a superb villain in the form of Robert Walker's Bruno Antony, Strangers On A Train was a return to form for Hitch after three relatively disappointing films both in terms of critical and commercial reaction (Rope, Under Capricorn & Stage Fright).

Hitchcock expertly toys with the audience's emotions throughout the film. Although Bruno is a murderer, we feel more sympathetic to him that we do to Guy at times. After all, Guy would like to have done it himself and shows little emotion at his wife's death. A great moment comes when Bruno decides to blackmail Guy; having kept Guy's lighter he intends to place it at the scene of the murder and whilst we, as viewers, desperately want Guy to finish his tennis match in time (and escape the attentions of the police) in order to give chase to Bruno, we also hope that Bruno, who drops the lighter down a drain on his way to the scene, manages to grab the lighter and continue on his journey. It's also true in general terms that Hitchcock's camera seems to prefer the charismatic and flamboyant Bruno to the more stoic and, well, dull Guy.

As ever with Hitchcock, the film was very different from the Patricia Highsmith novel upon which it was based; in the book Guy actually kills Bruno's father and Bruno's main motivation is not the death of his father but his hope of an amorous relationship with Guy, a strand of the story firmly pushed to the background in the movie, although there are intriguing nuances that hint at it.

A great initial idea, a tight script, a superb villain, some cracking set-pieces and the suspense and tension cranked up to the maximum. Whatever way you look at it, Strangers On A Train is a great slice of Hitchcock action.

review by: date: 2007-08-13 rating:

Dark little tale handled with flair
It is in the better half of Hitchcock thrillers but not quite at the top. I'm being picky here I know, but it just feels a tad too American for my taste, and the leads are not well known (to me). Apart from that this movie is directed with verve and has one of his trademark endings with a great action sequence filmed in stunning montage. Looks like the great director was experimenting with some new camera tricks and generally testing out his craft. It mostly works, even if the plot is a little far fetched. Could be a treat if you don't know this film.

review by: date: 2006-12-15 rating:

Hitchcock classic but....
There is no doubt this is an absolutely classic Hitchcock movie. Based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, it concerns a famous Tennis player, Guy Haines, who meets Bruno Anthony on a train. Bruno it turns out is somewhat unhinged! To shake Bruno off as he leaves the train, Guy indirectly agrees to swap murders "well sure Bruno we talk the same language". Well of course from there on Guy is in serious trouble....

This film has some Hitchcock's finest set pieces, including murder reflected in the victims fallen glasses, as well as a great carousel sequence. Farley Granger and Robert Walker are excellent in the leading roles. The script would be a great example to some modern filmmakers, who could learn a thing or two from watching this.

My only reason for not giving this version 5 stars (and if I could it would have been 4.5) is that there is another double sided edition available with two versions of the film. The longer version has an extra 2 minutes on it which is not on this release. Whilst this doesn't detract from the brilliance of this film, the other DVD is a much better buy.

Whichever you decide to buy you won't be disappointed by this film.

Similar products

North By Northwest [1959]
Vertigo [1958]
Rear Window [1954]
Shadow Of A Doubt [1942]
Citizen Kane [1942]

Similar categories