Charade (1963)

Great Movie, Lousy DVD

This is the version I unfortunately bought a few years ago - it's the Delta version with the big picture of Cary Grant on the cover, pictured here. Not only is it grainy, it's jumpy (a jumpy DVD?!?) and not only is it jumpy, but every so often the Delta logo appears on the bottom right hand of the screen, as though you were watching a movie on television. Now that I know of the other versions, I purchased one highly recommended on Amazon's site and am looking forward to a better movie experience. "Charade" deserves it - it's the coolest! October 28, 2008

BEST CHARADE

As usual, this Criterion edition of the public domain flick "CHARADE" is the best to date.
Christophe Champclaux October 8, 2008

Charade

The movie came in expected condition. They shipped quickly and did a great job. August 31, 2008

Not up to Cary Grant potential.

Half hearten drama , romace weak with story line, and I like most Cary Grant movie but this is a one time see at best. August 17, 2008

Classic Mystery

This movie begins to misdirect you from the very beginning. There are a number of plot devices that the avid mystery fan will recognize, but their reuse in this film provides only a minor distraction from the fun.
Reggie Lampert, very convincingly played by the always beautiful Audrey Hepburn, is informed her husband has died at the beginning of the movie. Reggie quickly becomes the target of a group of nefarious individuals played by James Coburn, George Kennedy and Ned Glass. While the role of these three is clear, what is less clear are the roles of Mr. Bartholomew (Walter Matthau) and Peter Joshua (Cary Grant). Both the latter appear to want to help Reggie, but in very different ways.

Adding to Reggie's initial confusion is why everyone is after her. As the movie slowly reveals, her husband was not all that he appeared. Her husband conspired with a group of others to steal a quarter of a million dollars during World War II. However, Reggie's husband apparently decided he wanted all the money for himself and took it without the other's consent. Naturally the other partners were a bit upset and took out their frustrations on Reggie's husband.

The question everyone asks of Reggie is where the money is located. Unfortunately, Reggie's husband neglected to advise her where he hid a quarter of a million dollars in stolen loot. Reggie must find the money to save her life.

This movie intentionally misleads the viewer from the beginning. Cary Grant consorts with the characters we know are criminals, yet he initially appears to be a good guy. Walter Matthau is much less helpful than he should be given that he has an office in the U.S. Embassy. There are even brief moments at the beginning of the movie where I wondered whether Reggie might know more than she revealed.

Paying attention to the movie, you may find that you guess the location of the cash before Reggie and Peter. The plot is prepared for your guess, and both characters lose the money just when they discover where it is hidden. You may guess the other secrets of the movie as well, but the fun is trying to guess before everything is revealed in the final minutes.



July 29, 2008

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