Criterion Collection: Foreign Correspondent [Blu-ray] [1940] [US Import]

"Foreign Correspondent" (1940) was Alfred Hitchcock's second American film after the fabulous "Rebecca" (1940) and what film it is. It got everything you need for a thriller: Newspaper reporters; espionage; traitors; car chases; plane crashes; sea rescues, romance; war; assassinations; political conspiracies and bell towers, oh and let's not forget windmills. Not only that but cinematography by none other than Rudolph Mate whom serious cinema buffs know as the cinematographer of films like the sublime "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (Dreyer,1928), "Vampyr" (Dreyer,1930); Dodworth (Wyler,1936); Stella Dallas (Vidor,1937) and "To Be Or Not To Be" (Lubitsch,1942) all of which are regarded as classics. "Foreign Correspondent" also has some fine energetic performances from Joel McCrea (Sullivan's Travels, 1941; The Palm Beach Story,1942) and Laraine Day as well as supporting cast of Herbert Marshall, George Sanders and Albert Basserman. The special effects are just remarkable especially the scene at sea which is just impossible to believe was shot in a MGM studio. "Foreign Correspondent" is a fan favourite and without a doubt a thriller masterpiece even German Propaganda minister Goebbels refered to it as "A masterpiece of propaganda, a first-class production". "Foreign Correspondent" opened at cinemas August 16, 1940 just three weeks before the start of the Blitz which is depicted at the end of the film.The DVD transfer is of a good standard although the soundtrack could be better. There are no extras.

good Hitchcock film, one thing I regret there was no subtitles for the hearing impaired

I used it for my personal viewing as an Alfred hitchcock fan. And it's a great movie full of suspense

Another of Hitchcock's "forgotten" classics, few realise that this film was nominated for SIX Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.It's certainly difficult, even more than 65 years after it was made, to watch this without one eye on the propaganda "message" of the film, but Hitch's first thought was always towards the entertainment value of his movies. And whilst this may not be a North By Northwest, say, it certainly deserves to be ranked towards the upper echelon of his efforts.Johnny Jones (or Huntley Havestock if you will) is an American journalist sent to London to eek out a war story for his newspaper. He finds himself battling against mysterious forces after witnessing the apparent assassination of peace activist Van Meer.Joel McCrea is strong as the eponymous hero of the hour, although he is hampered by some ridiculous flaws within his character, and whilst Laraine Day is good as the love interest Carol Fisher, their romance is perhaps less than believable. Whereas in the 39 Steps you could see why Pamela would fall for Richard Hannay, despite her initial frostiness to his behaviour, it jars just how quickly Fisher starts to believe Jones/Havestock and falls in love with him.There are some good supporting performances as well, not least Herbert Marshall, as one of Hitchcock's trademark cultured villains, which go a long way to overcoming the few minor problems that exist with the film. Albert Bassermann, despite learning English phonetically for the part, managed to grab a best supporting nomination at the Academy Awards.Hitch offers up some fantastic set pieces (Van Meer's assassination, the chase to the Windmill and, best of all, the climactic plane crash) and whilst it can be difficult to have much empathy with Huntley Havestock (you will at times feel more sorry for Marshall's villainous but human Stephen Fisher) at it's heart the movie is a rollocking roller-coster ride of action.Yes it's a bit slow to get going and does perhaps have too many endings (although one can understand the need to clear everything up AND make a fairly direct plea to America in respect of the War that was raging in real life) but these are minor considerations. Whilst there are bettter films in the Hitchcock canon this remains a stong entry and one that is very much worth a couple of hours of your time.

Not as later movies made

When people talk or write of the best Hitchcock movies Foreign Correspondent is often overlooked but the first time I saw it I was blown away. Especially as I had just traveled up in the lift the the top of Westminster Cathedral, not to be confused with Westminster Abbey, which plays a very suspenseful part in the story. Old, black and white, made in the early days of World War Two, it was a propaganda battle cry to the Americans to join in.It has a gripping story but also a sense of humour. The plane crash sequence is still haunting. Enjoy.

I am a huge fan of Hitchcock. This is one of his earlier black and white films. The scene in Amsterdam with the umbrellas is iconic as is the scene in the windmill.It features a cynical resourceful American journalist trying to figure out which are the bad guys.

Classic Hitchcock. Several memorable scenes and performances. Edmund Gwenn steals the show!