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This is a week for the masters: Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Ray Harryhausen, in that birth order (1899, 1915, 1920). Hitchcock trafficked in obsessions. He had a few obsessions of his own, notably an abiding fear of police and a longing for cool blondes such as Grace Kelly. He channelled his obsessions into the socially acceptable medium of movies, where his male leads were frequently wrongly accused and pursued by the police (The 39 Steps, Young and Innocent) and chased by cool blondes played by Kelly (To Catch a Thief, Rear Window). Three of his best films are out this week in bells-and-whistles two-disc versions, and, yes, all have obsessions and blondes. In Rear Window (1954), a photojournalist (James Stewart) is sidelined by a broken leg and becomes a peeping Tom, peering at the neighbours across the courtyard.... [read full story]
