hayleygorman-43033
Though not Orson Welles' most famous piece, it's important to note that when The Stranger made its debut, it was his highest-grossing film to date. The Stranger deserves more recognition and attention than it gets, overshadowed often. A wonderful blend of human emotion, drama and mystery. A town full of genuinely kind and unassuming people is a deliciously dreadful backdrop to serve as a foil for the true evil that is Franz Kindler. Loretta Young and Welles each display their respective prowess; Young with her talent for drama and emotion shining through and Welles does well playing a snake who tries to deceive everyone, maybe even himself too. A great film and one that any self-respecting Welles fan needs to watch!
m-krajeski
There are plenty of reasons to love a noir film. And this film gives you plenty to choose from. Maybe not the strongest plot, but it has beautiful camera work, and great control of lights and shadows. After World War II there was a large amount of controversy over such atrocities such as the holocaust. I think that the bottled up pain and anguish that the American population suffered was in a sense justified with the hunting and eventually execution of the remaining Nazi's. Orson Welles really understood his audience, and was able to produce a great film for the age.
persianlax
Before watching this I did some research and learned this was a more mainstream and traditional attempt at movie making by Welles, however I can still pick up all his signature techniques and styles and thought it helped make this classic noire film shine and really be a hidden gem. Unique camera angles and clever lighting. Welles possess this larger than life screen presence that we have grown accustomed to, even when his film threatens to lose credibility, by becoming too extreme or unbelievable, the dialogue or plot becoming almost too extreme or unrealistic, his masterful acting and directorial grasp keep it steady and the audience glued to the screen making it still very believable story Great cinematography, the use of shadows really makes this thriller better than the average classic. What really is signature Welles is the tension and thrilling of a story it is. You know what the good guy and the bad guy are planning, but you don't know who's going to act first, or who's going to get hurt when they do. At any moment you are waiting for a confrontation and after every tense scene you figure it is time where true identities will be revealed. The ending was suiting to, I thought to get impaled by a sword on a clock tower and to fall to his death was a suitable death for the Nazi
Joli M
'The Stranger,' came out only two years after the official end of World War 2. As such, tensions would have still been riding high to someone watching this in theaters at its' release. This film might actually be a great way to introduce some aspects of the holocaust to someone of a newer generation--it gives some specific highlights of what was done in Europe at the time, after all. And there would be no need to be well versed in the events of the rise of Hitler, or so forth to understand the weight of what Orson Welle's character represents. Although, having some background will certainly make you feel no sympathy for the way things eventually pan out at the end of the film. It felt a little as though there were some cues taken from 1931's Frankenstein; which felt perfectly used in this small world of a Connecticut Town where usually you would expect nothing out of the ordinary to invade people's daily lives. Also, the Actress playing Franz's wife gave an awesome performance. By the end, she has really become one of the strongest characters in the film. The detective, played by Edward Robinson is someone i have seen as both a villain and a a hero in movies. As such, his casting in the film felt like a great wild card that kept me on edge on his first appearance. Beautiful, well done movie. Highly Recommend.
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