Customer Reviews

Games [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
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3 star:		(3)
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This is the one of the BEST thrillers I've ever seen. The plot is written to keep even the most intelligent viewers guessing to the end. The movie takes a little time to build steam, but watch out when it does, these guys play some powerful mind, and realistic games.

A couple is fascinated by games in this suspenseful and well-acted thriller that does not disclose its plot until the end. Katherine Ross, a very rich woman, is married to James Caan, who has no money of his own. One day Katherine is visited by a very likeable woman, Simone Signoret, who becomes sick during the visit. Katherine tells her she can stay at the house until she is well. Simone tells the couple that while they enjoy games, she suggests that they play more macabre games, those that could end up with death. They agree. The initial games involve an apparent shooting, a deceptive beating by the husband of his wife, and a seeming scene of adultery where the surprised husband almost kills the adulterer. The husband then suggests that they play a trick on the man who took part in the apparent adultery. But it goes wrong. While there were supposed to be blanks in the gun, there were real bullets and the man is killed. The husband tells his wife that they need to cover up the murder. The body is removed but the wife sees blood where it should not be and has a vision of the killed man. What is going on? Who is the female guest?

Curtis Harrington's "Games" is an overlooked gem to say the least. How could a movie that stars James Caan, Katherine Ross, and Simone Signoret not be mentioned nowadays much less have a proper release? (It's still only available as a VHS and bootlegs).

This has great performances, a story within a story, and a nice twist. Caan and Ross play two socialites who play a couple of mind and magic games to their guest. One of their games goes horrible wrong when they shoot the delivery boy, Norman.

All this coincides with the arrival of a mystery woman named Ms. Schindler. Caan is great. He showed even at this early age of his career acting muscle. Ross I've never seen a terrible performance from her. She is so beautiful and innocent in her movies, you can believe any part she plays.

There are a couple of nifty camera tricks and moves that makes this movie mysterious and scary at times.

I would recommend seeking it out.

For some inexplicable reason, Amazon has removed the rate-movie feature from the main product page. One must now write a review in order to rate a movie and generate recommendations. This is not a review, but merely a means to allow me to rate this movie and improve my recommendations. If you are as annoyed by this new "feature" as I am, please register your protest w/ Amazon help.

My wife and I saw this in the theater back in '67 when we were just dating. We still talk about it now and then. Every once in a while I search the internet for the DVD and am amazed that this is still unavailable. If the opportunity to see this ever comes your way, don't miss it!

I originally saw this movie when I was pretty young but it stuck in my mind.

As a big fan of scary movies, I always remember the music from this movie as creepy. It is sort of strange story and Simone Signoret is a very odd character but I like this movie anyway.
After seeing so many scary movies and comparing it to today's movies, perhaps it is a bit cheesy, the blood is not realistic looking at all.

For some reason, I still like this movie. It is entertaining in it's own way.

I saw this 40 some years on an old TV show called Mystery Theater. Not a lot of what's been thrown at me in 65+ years of TV/film viewing has stuck, but this TV movie is Velcroed to my psyche. I've tried to sublimate the plot, hoping that one day i'd be able to see it again.
That said, I can still see the kitchen: was there a dutch door...and a service elevator? Oh yeah, there certainly was a service elevator, yikes! Seems like there was a balcony overhanging the living room? I could be wrong, but I think there was xmas tree in the final scene, or maybe a blinking flashlight.

The price of this video is too steep for me, but I am very tempted.
Hopefully someone will read these reviews and bring this out on Blu Ray.

This is a Hitchcockian suspense film. How can a social climber who marries a rich heiress get rid of her to seize her fortune ? He uses the services of a professional killer, in this case a woman, Mrs Schindler, a German woman. Simone Signoret is a marvelous professional killer. The wife is made crazy, little by little, with the help of a delivery boy who likes playing games. This boy, this accessory to the final crime, is in fact turned into a haunting ghost taunting the woman into a crazy killing reaction. The boy thinks he is playing a trick on her and that the bullets will be blanks, but they are no blanks and he is killed, assassinated. The woman is thus captured by the police and the husband gets his hands on her fortune. He sells at once all he can sell in order to go to foreign countries and live on his prize. But his professional accomplice is a professional killer and thus she has the last word and captures the spoils of the action. The details are in the film. Simone Signoret is marvelous, even if she has a French accent, rather than a German accent. She is of course an allusion, nowadays, to another film due to her name. Mrs Schindler. But she does not save lives. She executes people in order to get a profit out of it. If you want to kill your wife, never get in touch with professionals because you are an amateur and amateurs are always the victims of professionals. And never drink anything presented to you by your professional accomplices. As for the plot, it is very imaginative and creative. Hitchcock himself could not have done better. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

This is the first time that I have seen this film available ANYWHERE! This is the first remake of the great DIABOLIQUE with Simone Signoret. The film stars James Caan and Katherine Ross as idle-rich urbanites who are into games of all kinds. They encounter Simone Signoret (in a different part from the original} as a cosmetics saleswoman who becomes their houseguest. Then the real games begin. There are a lot of neat twists in this movie, and remember enjoying it immensely when I originally saw it in the theatre. I haven't seen the most recent remake of DIABOLIQUE, but I doubt it is more entertaining than this one. Also with Don Stroud in one of his first parts. I may just have to buy this one.