Review of Dial M for Murder (1954) by Robert M — 20 Sep 2009

Wonderful and surprising twists and turns throughout. Like Psycho, you're rooting for the bad guy to get away with it, so you should feel appropriately guilty afterward. This film features some of the best performances in Hitchcock's extensive catalog, including those by Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, and John Williams (not the composer, stupid!). The DVD is awesome because the special features include a short documentary on the film with M. Night Shyamalan talking about his favorite scenes!

Creepy moment: The scene where Milland describes his plan for the "perfect murder" is shot completely from the ceiling downwards, giving the audience a feeling that orchestrating a murder is a sort of video game, devoid of emotion and feeling. (And lays the groundwork for some of those classic high-angle shots in Psycho.).

Also: I didn't know scissors could be so damn DEADLY.

Recommendation: Stop watching CSI and rent this immediately.