For some reason, I thought Hitchcock had remade Sabotage as Saboteur, but no, they have nothing to do with one another. Saboteur was one of his "falsely accused man" stories, while Sabotage really follows the actual saboteur, the clueless people in his life, and the copper trying to stop him. The year is 1936, so this isn't right off the heels of Hitchcock's silent films, and yet it feels like a bridge between silent and sound. What he learned in one medium - in particular the use of silence - is used to create tension and mystery in the other. Worth watching on the basis of technique alone. There are a number of interesting supporting characters, another Hitchcock staple, like the pet store man, to enliven things up. What drags the film down somewhat is John Loder's detective. What an absolute ass. He thinks he's the hero of this story, but he's too much of a jerk for that. No, the real draw is Sylvia Sidney as the saboteur's young wife. It's all on her.
This one was weird. Characters reacting in strange ways. There was some signature Hitchcock stuff (The build-up to the explosion, in particular) but it was a bit of an odd little film.
Just to add a counter-point to some of the other comments, for me this is one of Hitchcock's best. His earlier films are particularly expressionistic and oneiric, with wonderful imagery but with his tools of suspense already applied in full force. Sabotage is particularly notable for the 'stabbing' scene, which I consider not only one of Hitchcock's best but one of the best scenes in cinema history - but it's surrounded by other little bits of brilliance that get overlooked. For example, the subtly devastating scene when Mrs Verloc sits down to laugh at the cartoon. Hitchcock may have not been fully developed in some ways at this point, but Sabotage is the peak of a pure and expressionistic style developed in the silent years that faded as his career went on - yet never went away completely.
Not the best from Hitchcock but he was still developing his techniques at this time. The lead up to the explosion was typical Hitchcock as well as the camera angles and sympathy for the bad guy. But generally, not as strong a film as "Sabatour" or " North By Northwest".
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Siskoid
For some reason, I thought Hitchcock had remade Sabotage as Saboteur, but no, they have nothing to do with one another. Saboteur was one of his "falsely accused man" stories, while Sabotage really follows the actual saboteur, the clueless people in his life, and the copper trying to stop him. The year is 1936, so this isn't right off the heels of Hitchcock's silent films, and yet it feels like a bridge between silent and sound. What he learned in one medium - in particular the use of silence - is used to create tension and mystery in the other. Worth watching on the basis of technique alone. There are a number of interesting supporting characters, another Hitchcock staple, like the pet store man, to enliven things up. What drags the film down somewhat is John Loder's detective. What an absolute ass. He thinks he's the hero of this story, but he's too much of a jerk for that. No, the real draw is Sylvia Sidney as the saboteur's young wife. It's all on her.abemad
Not the best Hitchcock, but it has a couple of memorable scenes. The opening scene is great and the climax scene towards the end is also extraordinarycaley
This one was weird. Characters reacting in strange ways. There was some signature Hitchcock stuff (The build-up to the explosion, in particular) but it was a bit of an odd little film.imokaylarry
Just to add a counter-point to some of the other comments, for me this is one of Hitchcock's best. His earlier films are particularly expressionistic and oneiric, with wonderful imagery but with his tools of suspense already applied in full force. Sabotage is particularly notable for the 'stabbing' scene, which I consider not only one of Hitchcock's best but one of the best scenes in cinema history - but it's surrounded by other little bits of brilliance that get overlooked. For example, the subtly devastating scene when Mrs Verloc sits down to laugh at the cartoon. Hitchcock may have not been fully developed in some ways at this point, but Sabotage is the peak of a pure and expressionistic style developed in the silent years that faded as his career went on - yet never went away completely.daisyaday
http://www.archive.org/details/Sabotage_1936Donnie DuPree
The climax scene must be one of the most tense things I've ever seen.ClassicLady
Not the best from Hitchcock but he was still developing his techniques at this time. The lead up to the explosion was typical Hitchcock as well as the camera angles and sympathy for the bad guy. But generally, not as strong a film as "Sabatour" or " North By Northwest".