Episode 283 - Alfred Hitchcock Spotlight (part 3)

[kingstownted]

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Enough with the suspense, we return once more to the filmography of Alfred Hitchcock this week. In the wake of the release of Hitchcock, a pseudo-biopic of the director's personal and professional struggles in the realization of Psycho, we thought it would be a good opportunity to offer our comments on another selection of classic titles from his filmography.

Things begin with a look at the new film featuring Anthony Hopkin's portrayal of the character of Hitch, which proves an unusual approach to the biopic format. The question seems to be whether it was about the internal demons of the man, the behind the scenes story of Psycho or a combination that delivered neither.

(interlude - Hitchcock understood what cinema could be...)
The Lodger 24:28 - 31:27
(interlude - Maxim's proposal)
Rebecca 31:27 - 45:16
(interlude - pre and post atomic bomb implications of Notorious)
Notorious 45:16 - 1:00:37
(interlude - Alfred Hitchcock's trailer narration)
The Wrong Man 1:00:37 - 1:22:29
(interlude - Guillermo Del Toro on TMWKTM 1935)
The Man Who Knew Too Much 1:22:29 1:42:56

So we come to a close in our three episode retrospective of Hitchcock with many more important films and a beloved television series yet to address, however our plan is to continue with the discovery of his filmography and there will certainly be more discussion in the future. We welcome your comments and favourite picks from this iconic director.

As always we welcome your comments: [e-mail]
Voicemail [phone]

[yddy]

Having (finally) listened to the previous two episodes, I'm so excited to hear this one. I have discovered so many new fantastic films to watch as a result.

[sidach]

You are right about the tacked on ending of the wrong man being forced on by the studios, and i'm not sure its even true because I remember reading the son saying his mum never recovered and an interview where Hitchcock suggests the same thing.

As for future recommends id go for:
-Shadow of a Doubt: incorporates the suspense and humour and was often said by Hitchcock to be his favourite of his own films.
-Young and Innocent: contains one of the greatest tracking shots in movie history as we close in to reveal the killer.
-Spellbound: contains another essential element of his work, the emergence of psychoanalysis and freud.
Saboteur:I might have said this in a post for one of the other shows posts, but but it contains a blind man scene calling back to Frankenstein.
-The 39 Steps: The essential wronged man on the run film .

I would recommend watching all his films, but with regards to Ted's stating that there were some late 60s spy thrillers he wanted to catch I would say that although its been a while since I watched them I recall topaz being very mixed and weird (a lot of the film set in cuba and focused on 'castro') and torn curtain being very slow. Critical opinion ive read just now suggests this might be true and these films were the low point that frenzy is often compared to when being termed a comeback or return to form. However, I might still have to return to them to check them out as its been a long time.

[jmodlinc]

A bit surprised you guys liked "Hitchcock" so much, as it seems many found it to be a rather tonally inconsistent and superficial/slight piece.

Not sure how true this is, but possibly the reason why the actual production of "Psycho" was more or less glossed over was the Hitchcock Foundation denied them the rights to depict the filming of certain scenes in the movie for certain reasons . . . odd considering the book "Hitchcock and the Making of "Psycho"" which the movie is based on is largely about the making of the movie versus what the film eventually became more about.

The author of the book as well as having worked on the script, Stephen Rebello, had this to say...

"The book, "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of "Psycho,"" was largely dependent on what the people around Hitchcock told me at the time about the making of that film. I apologize for downplaying Alma in that book because I was under a misconception. I was under the impression that most people knew how important she was to every one of his films. With the film, I wanted to correct that. So it was a course-correction on my part. There was another reason. I saw, literally in the shadows of Hitchcock, Alma watching him. Being very gracious with the crowd but I saw an enormously sharp woman. I felt that if you blindfolded her, she would know what everyone in the room was wearing, what was wrong with what they were wearing, and how she would redress them. Just enormously smart, and bird-like. Intuitive. A very observant person. She was accustomed to, and maybe even more comfortable with, being in the shadows. Except in the editing room. Except on set. Where she knew her stuff. She had spent years in film before him. He was beholden to her. He was almost on bended knee, in a sense."

thefilmstage.com/features/interview-hitchcock-author-stephen-rebello-on-how-the-master-of-suspense-differs-from-modern-auteurs-more/

blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/5-things-about-the-making-of-psycho-that-you-wont-see-in-hitchcock

On a completely unrelated note, it's interesting you guys liked "Django Unchained" so much as it seems quite a few critics and Tarantino fans in general were somewhat disappointed by it or, at the very least, feel "Inglorious Basterds" is a much better movie.

[kingstownted]

Mar 4, 2013 5:09:50 GMT -5 jmodlinc said:

it's interesting you guys liked "Django Unchained" so much as it seems quite a few critics and Tarantino fans in general were somewhat disappointed by it or, at the very least, feel "Inglorious Basterds" is a much better movie.

Not sure what the opinions of other reviewers or fans have to do with anything. I'll stand by my gushing.

And while I'm at it, kudos for going on a posting tear. Whether we end up agreeing or disagreeing, always appreciate spurring on the discussion board.

[jmodlinc]

Mar 4, 2013 20:08:56 GMT -5 kingstownted said:

Mar 4, 2013 5:09:50 GMT -5 jmodlinc said:

it's interesting you guys liked "Django Unchained" so much as it seems quite a few critics and Tarantino fans in general were somewhat disappointed by it or, at the very least, feel "Inglorious Basterds" is a much better movie.

Not sure what the opinions of other reviewers or fans have to do with anything. I'll stand by my gushing.

And while I'm at it, kudos for going on a posting tear. Whether we end up agreeing or disagreeing, always appreciate spurring on the discussion board.

I don't think we're even necessarily disagreeing; just always curious to get your and the others' take on what's being said or going on in the larger pop culture landscape.

Thanks for that, K-Ted!

[Carmen]

I really loved these Hitchcock episodes, I hope there will be more. I wanted to ask about the interludes, are they taken from any particular documentary? I'd really like to watch it.