Review of Witness for the Prosecution (1957) by Aaron W — 10 Apr 2004

[font=Trebuchet MS]Somehow I managed to clear out two Netflix offerings this weekend. Not bad, but not great either.[/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS][b]Ladykillers[/b] (the old one)[/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS]Very dear and sweet, and I absolutely loved the older character. She was humble sweetness incarnate, and I found myself perking up during her scenes. I didn't care for the deviant criminals as much, save for Guiness' character, although I think I enjoyed it more because it wasn't very "Guinessy". The script was incredible, and I can understand why a fine pair of filmmakers today would like to get their hands on it.[/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS]Speaking of which, I really came to appreciate the remake's style, and the way the characters were fleshed out, given a little extra attention, and received proper introductions. That is one thing I thought the original was lacking. The original was much more snug, while the remake was practically wide open, but had a considerable amount of style. I gave both films the same rating, but this is the rate case where I actually prefer the remake. I know, people will probably take offense to that stance, but so be it.[/font].

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[b][font=Trebuchet MS]Witness for the Prosecution[/font][/b].

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[font=Trebuchet MS]I love Billy Wilder's writing and directing, and both were in top form on this film. It was well-paced, intriguing, and paid off with a surprise ending (which I predicted - yay me!). The lead character Wilfrid Robarts was a delight to watch. I really wonder why he didn't get top billing, considering he had by far the most screen time, especially knowing how much of a control freak Billy Wilder is. That probably sheds a little bit of insight into what I didn't like about the film. I'm not the biggest Marlene Dietrich fan, and I did predict the twist. The final 20 minutes were without a doubt the weakest, but I guess movies such as this are really written for the sake of that final twist. Just not my tastes, I suppose.[/font].