Stellar for its time. Great today.

Rating: 8/10 (10 August 2006)

I believe that this film is one that will be watched for generations to come, and that is not something I am willing to say of many films. The fact that it remains a much-loved film by all is enough to say it has stood the test of time. I much regret that I did not have the opportunity to see it when it first came out and was groundbreaking in its complexity and brilliance. It came out in a period where the vast majorities of mystery/thrillers were neither mysterious nor thrilling, yet this proved to be both, even today. Had I seen it when it first hit the big screen, I undoubtedly would have rated it 10/10, yet the reasons for the subtraction of points are minimal and probably anal. Firstly, while the ending on the obviously green-screened Mount Rushmore is thrilling, it came off as slightly cheesy, and not exactly the dynamic finish I have witnesses in some more recent thrillers. Secondly, I think that some of the scenes between Roger (Cary Grant) and Eve (Eva Marie Saint) drag on just a little too long for my taste, and although they are entertaining, they just don't fit in with the flow of the whole. All in all, though, I would say it is a thoroughly entertaining and exciting film, well worth seeing.