Peeping Tom
Dir: Michael Powell
1960
*****
I think Martin Scorsese said it best when he said that "Peeping Tom and 8½ (Federico Fellini) say everything that can be said about film-making, about the process of dealing with film, the objectivity and subjectivity of it and the confusion between the two. 8½ captures the glamour and enjoyment of film-making, while Peeping Tom shows the aggression of it, how the camera violates... From studying them you can discover everything about people who make films, or at least people who express themselves through films". Michael Powell was heavily criticized (and misunderstood) for Peeping Tom and it effectively ended his career. It is a departure of theme from his previous work and I think it took people by surprise somewhat. I would agree that it is no where near as entertaining as A Matter of Life and Death or The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp but it's message and execution make it a masterpiece of modern cinema. It's a highly complex look at voyeurism, the main character being a sinister voyeur but the audience also, as we're the ones watching through his camera. It breaks down the third barrier but in reverse. It's a psychological wheel and a terrifying idea, terrifying visually but also because it makes the viewer question their own impulses. It's far more morbid than sexual as the press mistook it for, rather stupidly really, as being aroused by the look of death rather than nudity is far worse than seeing a bit of bare flesh. A misunderstood masterpiece.