The 39 Steps

An introduction to the career of Alfred Hitchcock.

This film sets up the formula for the traditional movie from the mind of Hitchcock. Made in 1935, this work was made in England before Hitchcock's move to the United States. The themes of class, uncertainty, and paranoia are all evident.

Class shown by the influence, and homes of the rich characters. For not these elements of class, our antagonist and his lovely female companion would not have been in such a situation.

Uncertainty, from an empire in the midst of decolonization. From the memories of World War I, and the possibility of World War II. Also, an uncertainty of a society trying to find its motion picture identity. Britain is a country stuck in between the blockbusters of Hollywood, and the Art House films of the European continent.

Paranoia can be found in the elements of the fear of a Second World War. Paranoia of the outsider, and in the case of this film, sometimes the insider.

In a way The 39 Steps is a movie ahead of its time. This movie can be seen thirty or even seventy years later and theses same three themes can be applied to the fears and attentions of that time. For example the Cold War and the War on Terror.

A nice pairing for this film if the Edmund Fitzgerald from Goose Island.

Burn After Reading

A definite disappointment as Coen brother's films go. There was the loose connections between all of the characters, but the strong irony was not there.

Burn After Reading does not seem to fit the Brother's audience. However, they are making a statement against the governments intelligence agency. Character development was weak and the ending was too abrupt.

Like The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading is making a political statement about the parliament of our times. The former being the first Iraq war, and the latter being about the fear of false intelligence.

To go along with this film, a dark lager would go fine.

The Fall

If you like Salvador Dali, the Princess Bride, and a strong IPA, The Fall is your movie. The cinematography is amazing with a strong resemblance to Dali. After seeing this flick it is easy to see why it took them four years to film, all on location. All of the characters have their own romantic feel. The storyline is similar to the 80's favorite of the Princess Bride and further perfected by Femme Fatale. Characters are found on both sides of the story, and the little girl in the film imagines a story being told to her. People she sees around her end up in her imagined version of the story. The story is a but hard to follow, but is held up by the amazing attention to detail and cinematography. Finally Goose Island IPA pairs nicely with The Fall. The hops and history of the IPA go well with the adventure. And, when is it ever a bad time for a pale ale.