There is much in this gem to warrant a review. I will be speaking to the way in which this film was made, and to the acting of McGoohan. If all films were made like this, it would be hard to enjoy them. The movie has an unsettling feel to it. So it wins with novelty. The tracking camera method, with bobbing and weaving, emerges here. I do not have the accumulated movie experience to know whether this was a pioneering effort in this film. The directors of The Bourne Series certainly use it a lot, and to equal effect ... to heighten the tension. Tension is further enhanced with that fast-cut, scene jumping method. You just know something bad is coming down. Soundtracks from one scene to another overlap generously, giving the viewer a sense of dizzying omniscience. The episodic chunks are also punctuated with a variety of crashes and rattling noises, guaranteed to keep you on- edge. Let's be out with it. The sustained tension and uncertainly of this film are simply a build-up to the "shock-wave" ending. When the "shock wave" ending was triggered, I felt, at once, grief, sorrow and defeat, just as the director wanted. How about you?
McGoohan always had a flair for the Macabre. It's all over the place here. Not sure whether that grotesque feel comes from McGoohan's influence, or whether he signed up for this shocker in anticipation of the harsh framing you get for this crash-bound roller coaster ride. The XMAS music, played with weird instruments and synthesizers in low- cut keys, perpetually conveys the sense that something evil has encroached upon the winter festivities. An emotional trespass.
I have seen perhaps three(3) summaries of the story, and none seem to mention a certain odd-placed character. Watch for a well-dressed lady, with an obvious connection to "Kingsly", the broadcaster. She muddles through her day, listening to the broadcast, with no emotional response to the crime unfolding on the airwaves. I concluded she was a mistress, certainly a gold digger with her indifferent tracking of the high crime unfolding on the radio.
I was living near Phoenix in the early 19080's, when a live, on-air, hostage situation emerged. The guy was obviously a kook. I have to wonder if that event was inspired by this film.
A word on McGoohan. After many years of delighting in this actor, my eyes were finally opened to a particular skill of his. He has the ability to play characters, who are also playing out a role. In Danger Man/Secret Agent, he played a spy who often assumed yet another character for the sake of covering. In those Columbo episodes, he would play a killer, pretending to be innocent. In this tour-de-force, he plays a broadcaster (a type of actor), who in turn must act calm and detached in the face of lethal danger. McGoohan has managed to bump it up yet another notch.
Please over look that campy 1970's look, and enjoy this novel approach to high-voltage story-telling. Despite its horror moments, this film has a socially redeeming and satisfying conclusion.
McGoohan always had a flair for the Macabre. It's all over the place here. Not sure whether that grotesque feel comes from McGoohan's influence, or whether he signed up for this shocker in anticipation of the harsh framing you get for this crash-bound roller coaster ride. The XMAS music, played with weird instruments and synthesizers in low- cut keys, perpetually conveys the sense that something evil has encroached upon the winter festivities. An emotional trespass.
I have seen perhaps three(3) summaries of the story, and none seem to mention a certain odd-placed character. Watch for a well-dressed lady, with an obvious connection to "Kingsly", the broadcaster. She muddles through her day, listening to the broadcast, with no emotional response to the crime unfolding on the airwaves. I concluded she was a mistress, certainly a gold digger with her indifferent tracking of the high crime unfolding on the radio.
I was living near Phoenix in the early 19080's, when a live, on-air, hostage situation emerged. The guy was obviously a kook. I have to wonder if that event was inspired by this film.
A word on McGoohan. After many years of delighting in this actor, my eyes were finally opened to a particular skill of his. He has the ability to play characters, who are also playing out a role. In Danger Man/Secret Agent, he played a spy who often assumed yet another character for the sake of covering. In those Columbo episodes, he would play a killer, pretending to be innocent. In this tour-de-force, he plays a broadcaster (a type of actor), who in turn must act calm and detached in the face of lethal danger. McGoohan has managed to bump it up yet another notch.
Please over look that campy 1970's look, and enjoy this novel approach to high-voltage story-telling. Despite its horror moments, this film has a socially redeeming and satisfying conclusion.