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Charade (1963) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2024-09-12 19:15:02
Edited:
2025-10-17 17:46:54
Imported:
2026-08
Tags:

Content

Hey everyone! Another Reactr request here for you all, courtesy of Nathan Jasper. I won't be putting this in the queue for a YouTube edit, but maybe one day!

This was a fun one and I'm looking forward to your comments. [Direct link here.]

Cheers,

✦ KL

Files

Charade (1963) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction

Comments

William

Oh nice! I just caught this one again on TCM a couple weeks back. Such a fun flick. Cary Grant, as usual, is excellent.

Tyler Foster

I'm right again. 😎 Charade is one of the more famous movies in the public domain. I don't know why the rights lapsed, but while Universal produced the movie and still releases it on video, it has no copyright anymore, which is why it's available on so many free websites. Back in the day when the DVD market was booming, smaller companies would release movies like this and Night of the Living Dead (another especially famous public domain film that's actually great -- many public domain movies likely had their copyrights lapse because they simply weren't very good) on DVD for cheap to make a quick buck. This is often misremembered as the work of Alfred Hitchcock, along with Billy Wilder's Witness For the Prosecution. In reality, it was the work of Stanley Donen, who famously co-directed Singin' in the Rain. As to why, not only does it feature a similar blend of suspense and wit, but it also has Cary Grant, who, like James Stewart, worked with Hitchcock multiple times. Grant insisted upon the addition of the gags about the age gap between himself and Hepburn because he was uncomfortable with it, even though in reality, most of his various wives were actually younger than Hepburn (his famous relationships with men, like costume designer Orry-Kelly and actor Randolph Scott, were a little more age-appropriate). Charade received a fresh scan and remaster from the famous US home video label The Criterion Collection, which releases new editions of important classic and contemporary films. The transfer on Amazon Canada was probably Criterion's work, rather than one of the various mediocre public domain versions. The change in quality for the one shot probably means that the original camera negative was lost or irreparably damaged for that single shot, and they had to rely on a secondary source, like an interpositive. Back in celluloid days, the camera negative would be the best source, with 35mm film offering between 6K and 8K of detail (human eyes stop being able to discern the difference somewhere just beneath 8K). The negative would then be used to edit the film, and the final cut would be used to create an interpositive. An interpositive is a less-valuable print that can be used to make hundreds of copies for theatrical release without risking damage to the OCN. Release prints were therefore a copy of a copy, two generations removed from the negative, which also means that when someone watches an older movie at home on 4K UHD, most of which are scanned and restored directly from the OCN, what we get to see looks clearer and more detailed than filmmakers ever could have imagined. Also, many films made between roughly 2000 and 2010 were shot digitally, and thus have no negative. Their purest source is a 2K digital interpositive, or 2K DI, meaning when those films are presented on 4K UHD, they have to be upscaled. If you ever hear someone saying it's a waste to present old films in 4K, they don't know what they're talking about -- the older movies might have literally 3 times as much detail to extract from the negative than something made 10 years ago, which is one of the amazing ways that old movies are like a form of time travel. (Now, of course, with advances in technology, most DIs are 4K or 8K.) Another movie you would "recognize" James Coburn from is Monsters, Inc., in which he voiced the crooked, crab-legged company boss, Mr. Waternoose. It's definitely not as good as this one, but I'd be curious to see your reaction to the 2002 remake of this film by Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme, The Truth About Charlie. Plot-wise, it is a very faithful remake, where it diverges is style. They could've done much better in casting the Grant role, but the person they picked for the Hepburn role is spot-on (although I don't know if you're familiar with her). I'd say this falls in the category with Terminator 3, where it's not a top desire for me to see it, nor can I say for sure it would be a great reaction, but it would definitely be very *interesting* to hear your take on it. Also, glad I could help scratch that itch by figuring out it was Pretty Woman that featured the ending of Charade.

Nathan Jasper

Immediately setting the tone with, "Sylvie! Can't you do something constructive like start an avalanche or something?" You know it's going to be fun when the first 7 minutes are filled with sharp, witty banter. I never really noticed the hay piles before but now that you mention it, I feel that it's got to be an inside pun joke like, Hay! Where the hell's all my stuff? The men at the funeral all had interesting ways of making sure Charlie was dead. Sneezing on him, checking for breath, and seeing if he'd react to pain from being pricked by the needle. So now we know four things: Charlie hated germs (but then again who likes being sneezed on?), he knew how to slow his breathing just enough to look dead, he wasn't able to ignore pain, and his acquaintances were all strange individuals. I liked the little touch in the phone booth how Regina took out her cigarettes and matches but just sat in shock, sucking on the cigarette. Someone drops lit matches on you while threatening you would certainly have an effect. I'm glad they didn't have her just shake it off like it never happened. She wasn't used to things like that so of course she'd be shaken up. Fun fact, George Kennedy, who played Herman, was considered for Lex Luthor in the '78 Superman before Gene Hackman was cast. He's played four notable villains in his career but was considered to be one of the nicest actors in-person. James Coburn was indeed in many westerns. His career started with appearing as the "villain of the week" in a few western shows until he landed a part in The Magnificent Seven. More episodic appearances for a few years until he got parts in The Great Escape and Charade. After that, he started being taken seriously. While he had co-star or small roles in several movies, they were still a step up from TV cameos. He's been in a lot of famous movies like Young Guns 2, Sister Act 2, Maverick, Payback, Eraser, The Nutty Professor, and Monsters Inc. Back to the movie, the whole shower scene was so cute. It proves Peter's a good man, risking being silly just to make Regina smile after all she's been through. How would you like to be one of those couples on the riverbank just trying to have a date then a riverboat shines a spotlight on you? Magical indeed. (Kind of ironic they arrived in the gardens, stating it was 5:00 Thursday right at the moment I'm watching at 5:00 on Thursday LOL) The whole final act was so intense! We went from thinking we had it figured out after the stamp reveal to realizing we knew absolutely nothing. And just when we think Peter is the villain after all, he says his beautiful line "I can't think of any reason why you should [trust me]." He didn't even try to lie because that's how much he came to care for Regina. So at the time the film was made, Audrey was 34 and Cary was 59. So you were correct, pretty massive age gap! There was a remake of this film titled The Truth About Charlie which starred Mark Wahlberg and Thandiwe Newton. It tried to make the story more dramatic and cut out the humor entirely. Mark and Thandiwe had zero chemistry, especially in comparison to greats like Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Mark even hated the remake and made fun of being "tricked" by his agent into doing the film in an episode of Entourage. As always, thank you so much for your reaction! You have such wonderful insights and your empathy/sympathy makes the reactions all the more enjoyable. Time to U-turn into the Dark.

Nathan Jasper

I have to disagree about Thandiwe Newton being spot-on for the remake. One smile from Thandiwe and you can tell she's up to something and loves to play dirty whereas Audrey has that confused innocence and quick-wit that made her such a believable protagonist. Not to mention the remake had no edge or prolonged mystery. It felt more like a chore than a joy. But that's just me! If you liked it, that's awesome. In the end, your opinion is all that matters when it comes to what you enjoy. KL's reaction to it would certainly be interesting to see.

Tyler Foster

In this case, I would say that "spot on" represents someone who evokes aspects of Audrey (I think they have a similar build and face shape) but who is also suited to the much different movie that Demme is making. Frankly, I don't think Demme cares about the mystery much at all, which is why he didn't bother to change it. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call the movie great, but it is certainly in the vein of the kinds of remakes I appreciate most: ones that use a little of the familiar to achieve something totally different. Remakes should be like covers of songs. You know the words and some of the notes but the overall sound and feel is a new take on it.

sterow

I think if you asked me to recommend a pre-1970 film that was accessible to modern viewer who didn't like / didn't usually watch older movies, this would probably be my pick. Still great fun.

Movies with KL

When you were hoping for Charade, I was like COOL. It's funny that this is widely mistaken for a Hitchcock film, but I can understand why, even with my very limited Hitchcock experience. Ahh good to know that Cary wanted that stuff in the dialogue. Thanks for the info about upscaling! I always forget that James Coburn is in Monsters Inc. He does have a great voice for voice acting.

Movies with KL

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing everything you enjoy about it too. That shower scene is definitely memorable.