78/52 - Die letzten Geheimnisse von Psycho

A 91-minute analysis of the famous shower scene from Hitchcock's 'Psycho' and how it changed the course of cinema. The first of its kind, a feature length documentary on one scene. The film gets its name '78/52' from 52 shots in a 78 second sequence. It's very entertaining and incredibly rich with goodies you never considered went into the making of the famous scene. I loved the archival Hitchcock commentary they recovered. Though, as I personally feel the movie horror scene has drastically changed (you can decide for the better or for worse), to have young horror film makers (of some damn awful films) and irrelevant actors interviewed to share their thoughts in quite enthusiastic ways suggests that Hitchcock's achievement is less pioneering than the film makes it seem. That aside, I'm surprised they pulled it off, you can tell the director (who is obviously a massive Hitchcock nerd) adores the content and it really shows.

Let's say you don't have the time for a film class; do you have 1/2 hours to spend to learn a major chunk about film, let's say theme, editing, and auteurism? Then see 78/52, a superb analysis of Hitchcock's famous shower scene.

Wayne Miller, who knows more about Hitch than anyone else I know and regularly visits as guest host on It's Movie Time, gave it thumbs up with the observation that the doc was replete with facts and observations he didn't even know.

Here is a perfect example of the ideal educational mantra: to teach and delight.

This film was really, really interesting. It felt like listening to a very knowledgeable docent dissecting and explaining a famous painting. In this case it's filmmakers sharing their admiration for "the shower scene." They take it apart frame by frame and geek out over it and give their insights. There's plenty of "Psycho" trivia (casaba melons, really?) and listening to the recollections of Janet Leigh's body double is just straight-up cool. (Anthony Perkins dropped her head on the floor!) You also get to learn about some of the themes and subtle artistic touches Hitchcock used...like the story behind the painting hanging on Norman's wall, and the rain Marion drives through portending the water in the shower. If you're a fan of Hitchcock, DEFINITELY check this out.

As a Hitchcock fan, the premise of 78/52 really excited me. Like many cinephiles, I love Psycho...for its boldness, brilliant pacing and unforgettable performances.

One thing I enjoyed about 78/52 was the collective passion for the subject matter (the famous Psycho "shower scene"). The excitement from the filmmaker and interviewees was quite contagious; making the film very watchable from beginning to end.

I enjoyed the film's exploration of the shower scene's impact on cinema; specifically, its influence on Scorsese (and Raging Bull) as well as how the scene inspired an entire genre of subsequent 'slasher' films.

BUT...with that said, I struggled to find "new news". There is extensive research and discussion on Hitchcock and Psycho. A lot has already been explored. I found that 78/52 fell short of offering any fresh insight. Maybe it is because the documentary's interviews (mostly with with film editors) felt like a series of fanboys gushing over Hitchcock's brilliance. I found this to be quite tedious.

Lastly, I think the film needed to discuss Hitchcock's (unhealthy) relationship with women as an influence on his obsession with the shower scene. It is well-documented that Hitchcock subjected some of his actresses to forms of abuse (Tippi Hedren, Vera Miles). While Janet Leigh was always extremely professional/positive toward Hitchcock, I think the Psycho's shower scene desperately needs examination of Hitchcock, his own sexual obsessions with voyeurism and his general view of women.

If you're Hitchcock fan, I think you'll find 78/52 quite satisfying; even if it does fall a bit short of something new.

Can you kill the protagonist of the movie 40 minutes into the movie? ? Do you need 78 camera positions and 52 editing cuts to film a scene? ? Does it make sense that a knife is more important than who holds it? All these questions will have their answer in this good documentary dealing with an unprecedented look at the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psicosis (1960), being well directed made by Alexandre, O. Philippe.

"Psycho" was not only Hitchcock's most successful film, but it was a phenomenon in itself and the highlight of the film is , of course , the shower scene with 78 shots and 52 cuts that changed cinema forever. The film is a masterpiece of the horror genre and its immediate impact and future influence were enormous and cannot be overemphasized, showing in detail the shower scene, the "man behind the curtain", and the screen murder that profoundly changed the course of world cinema. It is the quintessential shock that created a true subgenre about psychopaths and that continues to this day. The shower image is one of the most studied, copied and analyzed sequences in the history of cinema and has obtained a notoriety that surpasses the film itself. Alfred Hitchcock took his time filming the most famous shower scene in cinema. It was made with 70 cameras to shot the 45 seconds of footage and the creepy sound effects were realized by stabbing a knife into a melon. The film lasts just over three minutes but forever changed the history of cinema, inaugurating the modern horror genre in which the bad guy is a human with deep and twisted secrets. The shower was never a safe place in horror movies. And of course, the well-known poster designer and credit titles author by Saul Bass, he's usual on Hitchcock films . Saul Bass was the author of the storyboard, and Hitch took advantage of it in the early sixties with a strange and violent film starring and with the emblematic music of Bernard Herrmann. Without forgetting the magnificent performance by Anthony Perkins in an immortal role as Norman Bates and sensational Janet Leigh with Oscar nomination included that was the only one in her long career. Inventive and superbly constructed plot , filled with delicious black humor by writer Joseph Stefano based on Robert Bloch's novel.

Directors Guillermo del Toro, Karyn Kusama, Richard Stanley, Scott Spiegel, Mick Garris, Eli Roth, Neil Marshall, and Peter Bognadovich; Editors such as Walter Murch, Bob Murawski ; actors such as Elijah Wood, Ileana Douglas, Janet Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh's daughter; writer Brian Easton Ellis and composer Danny Elffman dissect the iconic shower scene, showing its meaning and significance in a tribute to the film of the master's best-known thriller.

¨Psycho¨was directed with exquisite taste and intelligence by master Hitchcock who made an impeccable control of every scene and maneuvering your emotions , infusing with a deliciously macabre wit , it does ¨Psycho¨ far superior to the several movies what tried duplicate , or imitate it. Furthermore 78/52 (2017) also pays tribute to other Hitch films with scenes from Easy Virtue, Rebecca, suspicion, Notorious, Shadow of a Doubt, Foreign Correspondent, Lifeboat, The Rope, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, To Catch a Thief ,The Birds, Topaz , Frenzy and even the only non-thriller directed by Hitch: Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a film that is much loved by Guillermo del Toro .