First viewed the film on 10th February 2003 for the first time.Have had read the novel twice in year 2002 and 2007.
One the 13th June 2010, I have watched it again for the forth time.
‘Till today,the impression never cease.. Do you concur?
Directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank William Abagnale Junior & Tom Hanks as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, released on December 25, 2002, ‘Catch Me if You Can’ is a comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale. Set in the 1960’s the film chronicle the life of Frank, who before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, dead-heading to many destinations in the cockpit jump seat, and he impersonated as a Georgia doctor (complete with a forged Harvard Medical School degree). Furthermore, he created a phony document of Harvard Law Transcript and then he legitimately passed his bar exam and masqueraded as a Louisiana attorney, which is awesomely impressive... His primary crime was cheque forgery, becoming so skilful that the FBI eventually turned to him for help in catching other cheque forgers.
Frank Abagnale is now one of the world’ most respected authorities, working with the FBI’s Financial Crime Unit on counterfeiting and secure documents, including check swindling, forgery and embezzlement. He has been a consultant, lectured and instructed hundreds of seminars worldwide and continues to offer his services for free to the FBI. Moreover, he has published several books, manuals and articles and has designed secure checks that are utilized by businesses worldwide
One of the factors that the film gets my attention is the setting. A near-flawless palette of period looks from the ‘50s and ‘60s times. The sequence of 'cat and mouse' chase between Frank Abagnale & Hanretty, also has succesfully created a lasting impression through its witty, clever scenarios, the humour that it contains and the mockery within. Especially the Soundtrack, which I still listen too for over 7 years, the collection and tone of music assembled dealt greatly with 1960’s pop culture. The fusion of several older generation songs with a similarly retro style of jazz in the underscore is obvious. John William’s composition for this particular film represents the perpetual chase. “The Float” is shifty with attractive rhythmic romp that is cyclical in its vibraphone and woodwind rhythms. It exhibits an excellent saxophone solo with ominous dramatic undertones.
Personally, I love “ Broken Home” the most, where the music volume has been reduced to melancholy solitude carried by a slow solo harp and lonely shadows of the solo sax and piano performances that graced the score's beginning. Perhaps, the whole OST has summarised a well-documented music album with indeed, a well genre-constrained score. The music simply never bores me. And it has been proven so strongly as I have listened to the soundtrack over and over again for more than 7 years.
Both reading the biography and watching the movie is inseparable. It would not be complete without doing both activities. Indeed, it has become one of my favourite movie to watch. While, the book itself is not to be missed, and if you decided not to read the book, you miss all the details.
Sources:
• Editorial Review, Filmtracks – Catch Me If You Can, written on 14th December 2002, revised on the 10th January 2009. Copyright © 2002-2010, Christian Clemmensen (Filmtracks Publications).
http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/catch_me.html
• Frank W. Abagnale, with Stan Redding , Catch Me If You Can – The True Story of a Real Fake, Bantam Book, USA 1980.
• Margaret A. McGurk, DiCaprio, Hanks have fun, so catch them if you can – The Cincinnati Enquirer, Friday, December 27,2002.
http://cincinnati.com/freetime/movies/mcgurk/122702_catchme.html
• Susan Goodwin & Becky Bradley, American Cultural History, Lone Star College – Kingwood.1960 – 1969.Copyright © 1999 [Kingwood College Library]
http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade60.html
• The Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Catch Me If You Can.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_Me_If_You_Can
