overlong and overblown

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2017)

Back in 1968 I attended the UK premiere of this film. I had seen some of Polanski's early Polish shorts, his first feature, Knife in the Water as well as Repulsion and Cut-De-Sac and was already a great fan. That I was now to see the much hyped film Hitchcock had turned aside perhaps led to my expecting too much and I was bitterly disappointed in this overlong and overblown movie filled with hammy performances and Mia farrow looking and acting like some schoolgirl. Watching it again, after a viewing of The Mephisto Waltz, I imagined that 'class' would show through and that I had been nothing but a petulant youngster all those years ago. But, no, this seemingly much loved 'classic horror' really is rather lacking in substance. I guess the satanic sequence, still good but tame by today's standards had much greater impact originally and although I think Farrow's performance generally poor, she is excellent in a very fine telephone booth sequence towards the end. It may be that Polanski was in awe of her playing the skinny little girl and only now and again let her show her real potential and let rip in a scene or two that could have come from Hitch himself.