Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: B Film: B+
In all of Alfred Hitchcock’s World War II era films that
deal with that war, none have aged better or have more impact than Lifeboat. The 1944 film was released in the thick of
the dark final years of the conflict and laid bare the world out of order. Jo Swerling scripted from the John Steinbeck
story about apathy in the face of Fascism and Communism. Outside of his representations in the Spy
genre he helped to create, in no film was Hitchcock more explicit about apathy
being as deadly as the dark ideologies it allows to thrive.
There is no pretension in his work to this, as it would be
for most hacks today. The story and
situation are much richer and darker, taken far more seriously and laid out in
a most meticulous way. The film opens
with a pampered society type (Tallulah Bankhead) alone in a boat, when suddenly
a man appears to join her. She pulls
out a 16mm cartridge film camera and starts filming him, the first note of
apathy in which if she can film him away, she will not have to deal with
him. This gives her the same “safe”
distance from him that the audience will have from the characters (and world
events via newsreels in general, often shot in 16mm) in the film, but there is
a false sense of safety that will quickly disintegrate for one and all.
As more people join, more tales are woven together simply,
but like the editing style of the film, they will not stay simple for
long. In a reality that seems more real
now than ever (and especially from the video-mania that has everyone being
taped), the stakes are higher here than in a contest or phony situation. At stake is the world itself and its future,
all in this relative microcosm in the middle of nowhere, especially when a Nazi
U-Boat captain joins them. Add
Hitchcock’s grasp of world cinema and his genius and you have a film that is a
triumph of experimentation, pulling off the seemingly impossible task of having
the whole film take place in one little boat.
The result is another gem from The Master Of Suspense.
The 1.33 X 1 image is good, but has many patches where it
could still use some work. Outside of
that, the cinematography by Glen MacWilliams, A.S.C., is remarkable in how it
captures all the styles Hitchcock wanted, the kind of impact that makes the
film work so well. Editor Dorothy
Spencer and Hitchcock himself make this film feel confined in that you feel as
trapped as the passengers, yet wide open in that we get as much water and sky
as we do boat. It is simply stunning
and brings us to ask the question why so many films with all of their
widescreen and color and fancy digital look and feel like bad television when
this block style work looks, feels and is larger than life? The answers speak volumes about how bad
filmmaking has become.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and Mono are both decent,
though the former has slightly more separation, which benefits the score by the
great Hugo Friedhofer (with his Middle initial “W.” included in the credits. It is another one of his subtly effective
scores like the many we have already reviewed in CD form. Extras include a stills section, outstanding
audio commentary track by the very well-spoken and informed Hitchcock expert
Dr. Drew Casper offering stunning insight into the Master of Suspense that will
even impress fans and film buffs, and a making of program called The Theater
Of War (19:54) that does a fine job of giving the film its due. Lifeboat is one of the unsung
Hitchcock greats and this DVD does justice to it.
- Nicholas Sheffo
