Zemeckis made this between Cast Away shoots as an explicit Hitchcock exercise, and it is far stranger than its box-office-thriller reputation suggests — long silent stretches, a reflection-obsessed camera and a final act that commits completely. Michelle Pfeiffer carries almost all of it alone. On a 35mm print the widescreen compositions and the water sequences look the way they were engineered to. Worth the two hours.
What to expect
Metrograph's Ludlow Street auditorium with a repertory crowd that treats the film seriously rather than ironically. The print gives the widescreen frame real depth, particularly in the water sequences the film is built around. It runs 130 minutes with no intermission, so plan a late dinner rather than an early one.
Good to know
- Metrograph is at 7 Ludlow Street; take the F to East Broadway
- The film runs over two hours, so plan the evening around it
- 35mm screenings sell better than digital ones — book online
- The upstairs Commissary restaurant is open before the show
- Phones are not tolerated in the auditorium
- Ask about accessible seating and elevator access when booking
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Common questions
Is it actually a horror film?
It is a supernatural thriller in the Hitchcock mode rather than a gore film, with a slow build and a few strong shocks.
How long is it?
130 minutes with no intermission.
Why is it worth seeing on a print?
The widescreen compositions and reflective, water-heavy imagery hold far more detail projected on film than in a compressed stream.
More film this weekend
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