The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

Suspenseful tale, and romantic. You can see the Hitchcockian touches the master would bring to his later films, such as use of various camera angles to signify apprehension and danger. Overlook some of the histrionic acting by secondary characters, as this style was typical of silent films. Also, watch in SILENCE because the modernized soundtrack is awful.

I first saw this silent, which its director considered his first real "Hitchcock movie," in 1974: a terrible 16mm print whose virtues, at a young age, I was unable to appreciate. Watching it forty-three years later—lovingly restored, with a beautifully composed musical soundtrack—is nothing short of a revelation. Once I moved myself beyond the style of its time (1926)—the hideous but necessary pancake makeup, the theatrical poses adopted by the actors of that era, and so forth—I was stunned by its achievement. Even at the tender age of 27, Hitchcock knew exactly what he was doing and how to do it. I was amazed by camera placement and compositions that captured what this director would accomplish, with maturity and greater technical resources, twenty and thirty years later. Hitchcock enthusiasts will see in "The Lodger" nearly exact images replicated in films like "Vertigo" and "Psycho." Already Hitchcock declared his predilection for blondes, handcuffs, and "The Wrong Man" on the run. In a real sense this movie was a rough draft for "Suspicion" and compromised by many of the same constraints: Ivor Novello, in his time, could no more be a cast as a villain than Cary Grant could be some fifteen years later. The bonus features, particularly a thirty-minute filmed essay by William Rothman, enhances one's insight. The few title cards—used mostly for necessary exposition that could not be conveyed any other way—are largely superfluous: this is pure cinema in the way that Hitchcock always strove to achieve, Criterion never disappoints, and this is no exception. The restoration is magnificent for a film ninety years old; the supplemental materials (including thirty minute audio clips from interviews of the director by Bogdonavich and Truffaut) are not fluff; they are substantive contributions to the film's achievement. I believe this is a must-own for Hitchcock lovers.UPDATE TO PREVIOUS REVIEW: After reading other reviews for this item, I think it imperative to clarify some confusion swirling around "The Lodger." Many reviewers have docked "stars" from this item because they are obviously reviewing a different product from the one identified here. It becomes obvious when one reads reviews being posted from the early twenty-first century: the Criterion Collection's edition of "The Lodger" was not released until June 27, 2017—at this writing, just over three months ago. The reviewers of earlier editions with inferior remastering and production values did not misrepresent what they saw, which probably was miserable. But they are not reviewing the Criterion edition, which is now the new benchmark. Cinephiles, to be sure, may and will argue the merits and mars of the Criterion version, but at least they are arguing over the same thing.Amazon ought to separate out and distinguish older, dreadful copies of a film from recent, pristine editions of the same title. It's quite misleading, because purchasers have a right to know exactly what they are buying. In this case, if you shell out your hard-earned shekels, make sure you are buying s sweet peach, not a moldy prune.

since this one also had Downhill with it, I decided to buy this one also!The Lodger: Alfred's first mystery movie! This is really decent, but it's silent and I'm not particularly fond of them! Decent story, but for a better film about The Lodger watch the 1953 movie The Man In The Attic!! C+Downhill: An extremely depressing and boring movie! Not to watch again!! D RP

The Lodger is a superb movie, indeed a famous movie. It's mostly known these days as was an early Hitchcock but I've no special interest in Hitchcock and I bought the movie on account of the star, the glamorous Ivor Novello. I have always found him absolutely fascinating, and simply had to see the movie. There is a later version than this that is remastered with more information and that's the one I'd recommend, not this version, but this was a good stopgap until the remastered version appeared. The quality of the movie on this DVD - I can't tell if it has been remastered or is the original. Don't expect high quality for these very old movies.The story is loosely based on a Jack the Ripper kind of theme. The heroine is a model who shows clothes in a dress store. It's winter and foggy in London, and a madman is on the loose murdering beautiful fair-haried young women. There's a pattern to his murders which soon becomes clear. The heroine is daughter of a couple who rent out a room and Novello comes to rent it. One of the most famous stills of all time, I think, is cloaked Novello as silhouette against the London fog as the heroine's mother, the landlady, opens the door. The whole story I find fascinating, and very well done. Hitchcock produces a very atmospheric movie here and no wonder it's remembered and highly regarded. Over and over, we are wondering, is the Lodger the murderer. It seems all too likely and the heroine's parents get more and more worried whilst her pushy and tedious policeman boyfriend boasts about his work trying to find the criminal, and making heavy-handed advances to the heroine. But she, having discovered a far more attractive man in Novello, is also convinced that Novello is not the murderer. Things eventually come to a head during the hunt for the murderer after his latest evil deed, and we learn the truth. The story was replayed by Novello some years later as a talkie, and this is fascinating because of course we hear him talk - a lovely voice - and see him play a little on the piano that's conveniently in the room he rents! He played a good deal on stage in the plays he wrote and starred in, and it is an absolute joy to see him play in the talkie although that movie isn't quite as good as this silent version.Murder is another old movie from the time by Hitchcock. I did watch it once and it was worth watching, but I didn't have a special interest in the actors nor Hitchcock so I haven't watched it again and can't remember anything about it now.

i BOUGHT THIE DVD BECAUSE OF THE LODGER , BUT I LIKED THE ADDED FILM 'DOWNHILL' BETTER '. AND I DIDN'T EVEN EXPECT TO GET THIS OLDIE ON THE DVD ! IT WASEN'T EVEN ADVERTISED THAT IT WAS ALSO ADDED ON ! "DOWNHILL" IS THE STORY OF HOW BOYS WILL BE BOUS IN 'MERRY OLE' ENGLAND IN THE LATE 20'S . THE TRANSFER IS BEAITIFUL AND BROWNISH TINT . I'M SURE I'M NOT THE ONLY BUYER WHO WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED WITH THIS ADDED FILM .NOW MY ALFRED HITCH FILM COLLECTION IS COMPLETE EXCEPT FOR HIS FIRST TWO WHICH WERE 'THE PLEASURE GARDEN' AND 'THE MOUNTAIN EAGLE' WHICH WERE NOT RELEASED FOR UNITED STATES DVD PRODUCTION YET . GET THIS DVD , YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED .

Item arrived quickly and in good condition, exactly as advertised. A good amazon seller!