strangers on a train

i am still going through all of the films of hitchcock. tonight's viewing was of the film strangers on a train. hitchcock apparently always had one character (the evil, crazy one) who suggested murder as a fascinating, amusing concept in his films, or in a lot of his films. this film is no different. i will not reveal the plot points, or the ending, in case you haven't seen the film yet. as a hitchcock film, it's a little better than average, with a climax to the action of the film that's interesting, compelling, suspenseful.

so why am i researching all of the films of hitchcock? well, i guess as a film student i want to be 100 percent familiar with certain film makers. i sent away for a few of the films of akira kurosawa on dvd. that's another film maker that i want to know all about. "like kurosawa i make mad films. ok i don't make films. but if i did they'd have a samurai." sometime soon i will sit through the 7 samurai once again, though there are parts that i fast forward, i am ashamed to say.

i want to know 100 percent about all the films of hitchcock and also all of the plays of shakespeare. that's a starting point. for further learning. there was a man who was on death row, and a christian pastor went in there to his cell and the guy was there with papers and books and was studying. "i can get you a tv," the pastor said to the prisoner. "no," said the prisoner, "i have to study to become a lawyer." he was studying law books. he didn't care that he maybe had only 6 months in which to live. he was working on self improvement, for the improvement of his soul. i like that story and i remember it sometimes. i am a film student, and that is how i define myself, because i love stories that are told, either in words or in images. i believe God also loves stories. one rabbi said there is both good and evil in life because God loves a good story. all of us have lives that are told as a story.