Ti piace Hitchcock?

I had pretty high expectations from this movie as it is a tribute from the great Dario Argento to the great Alfred Hitchcock.Dario Argento is one of the living directors i have the greatest respect for, and one of my personal favorite directors of all-time, and there is probably no true cineaste around to doubt that Alfred Hitchcock is one of THE most influential and greatest directors in the history of motion pictures.

That being said, I was slightly disappointed with "Ti Piace Hitchcock?" aka "Do You Like Hitchcock?" of 2005. Not because it's not nearly as gory and brutal as Argento's ultra-violent masterpieces from the 70s and 80s - I expected it to be mild for Argento standards, since it's a made-for-TV tribute from a genius director, Dario Argento, to another genius director, Alfred Hitchcock, and this doesn't call for the extreme violence of films like Suspiria or Opera. What I did expect, however, was the suspense, that Argento usually delivers, and I was therefore a bit disappointed, as I found all the parts of the movie that were meant to surprise way too predictable. There is a lot of tension, and the movie highly entertains, no doubt about that but the plot-twists are quite lame and it is simply not nearly as suspenseful as we're used to from Argento, especially after he delivered another great and highly suspenseful Giallo, "Non Ho Sonno" aka "Sleepless" in 2001.

The performances are great, Elio Germano delivers a solid leading performances and all three leading actresses - Elisabetta Roncchetti, Christina Brondo and Chiara Conti are both sexy and excellent in their roles, especially Roncchetti is drop-dead gorgeous and delivers a great performance in a great femme-fatale role. The score by Pino Donaggio is very good, but then again it is not nearly as brilliant as the scores by Progressive Rock band Goblin and their genius keyboard-player/composer Claudio Simonetti.

Over-all, the movie delivers suspense, atmosphere and good entertainment. It is just not very good for what it is (or could have been), a Hitchcock-tribute from Argento. Argento fans like myself run risk of being a little disappointed, but it is definitely worth the time.

Most enjoyable and suspenseful tale, featuring in the main elements of 'Strangers On A Train' and 'Rear Window', but also making reference to many of Hitchcock's movies. Much fun can be had spotting all the amusing/effective references without the ongoing tale being spoiled. There are at least two excellent sequences, one involving a moped and the other a bath, but although the pace may be a little erratic, the dialogue rather strange and the dubbing diabolical, this is as much fun for us as it must have been for Mr Argento. I'm not one of those that will talk of a 'return to form' because I'm just happy to enjoy what I enjoy without harping back, but I don't think any fan of Argento or Hitchcock should miss this.

Make no mistake, this is a made-for-TV movie so don't expect the usual Argento-gore and a lot of stylized violence. If that's what you're looking for, look somewhere else!

It also shows sometimes that he is working in another medium (television), style-wise. But apart from that, this is a playful and lightweight homage to Alfred Hitchcock, that works fairly well within the constrains of the medium.

It has a sympathetic lead in Elio Germano (but the female are more formulaic) and most actors are a lot better that what is common in an Argento-movie. The beginning of the movie is very well set-up when you get a peak into several apartments a la "Rear window". The script is full of references to different Hitchcock-movies, but there are also nods towards Brian dePalma and...Dario Argento himself! There are scenes that seems to have been lifted more or less intact from his other creations like "Deep red", "Opera" and "Inferno". But this is not necessarily a negative thing since all this is mostly woven into the plot with a lot of skill. There is only one murder (but two death scenes), but it is quite violent and the scene leading up to it is very suspenseful. The final 10 minutes are also edge-of-your-seat material.

Also worth mentioning is the nice cinematography by Fasano (especially the shots at night are very nice to look at). And the score by Pino Dinaggio is absolutely top-notch! It's certainly a lot better than the anonymous music he put together for Dario in "Trauma" and might remind you of his work for Brian de Palma.

But some things don't work, for instance the scene where our "hero" breaks his leg. It is too drawn out even though it's suspenseful in the beginning. The pace flags occasionally and is generally erratic. And even if the climax is exciting, I cannot shake of a feeling that it could have been even better with a tighter script. It seems that Argento/Ferrini lost interest somehow in their intriguing little tale of terror. And finally, the usual quibble when it comes to an Argento film...the dubbing is sometimes truly bad, at best it's acceptable. And note that I saw the Italian version! God only knows why italians often prefer to dub instead of using the original sound?!

But all in all, a very decent outing by Mr Argento. It certainly doesn't top "Suspiria", "Inferno", "Deep red" or his other masterpieces (it doesn't even top the underrated "Trauma" which is resembles sometimes), but it is absolutely one of the best things he's done since "Opera".

One thing concerning this film should be made clear immediately, otherwise several Dario Argento fans will risk being disappointed: "Do you like Hitchcock" is a TV-movie and therefore not as outrageous and/or shocking as we expect Argento films to be! Don't prepare yourself to see another "Opera" or "Tenebre" in which repulsive gore will burst from the screen or demented giallo plot-twists stun you constantly! This is a decent, but overall ethically correct thriller, in which the master's touch is only detected in details and style aspects. This is by no means a bad film and please don't see this warning as sign not to watch it, but I only want to prevent that people will start making comments like "Dario Argento continues to lose his touch" etc... As stated above, "Do you like Hitchcock" is the first in a series of eight films produced by the Italian TV-station Rai Uno that are meant to bring the ultimate tribute to Alfred "Master of Suspense" Hitchcock. His classic titles will serve as pivot elements in newly written thrillers, of which only the pilot film is directed by Dario Argento. This general idea is terrific for a homage, I think, and admirers of classic cinema will certainly enjoy the blend of all these Hichcock highlights in modern settings.

Argento's film largely focuses on two Hitckcock milestones, namely "Strangers on a Train" and "Read Window". Giulio is a young film-student who occasionally watches his gorgeous neighbor girl across the street with binoculars. He witnesses how she and her mother regularly argue and when the mother is found murdered one morning, Giulio becomes obsessed by figuring out who did it. He discovers that the daughter recently made acquaintance with someone at the local videostore. Giulio begins to suspect that the two persons agreed to commit a murder for each other, just as it was the case in Hitchcocks's "Strangers on a Train". It's really nice to see how Argento blends all Hichcock references into one giant tribute. Aside from the two obvious titles, there are multiple other, smaller references towards Hitchock's oeuvre and, at times, you really do need to be a specialist to discover them all. The story is compelling enough to keep you interested and some really tense moments point out that Argento is still – and will always be – a powerful director. For example, there's a sequence in which the hero desperately tries to flee from the scene of a crime on a scooter, but secondary influences, like the rainy weather or technical difficulties, prevent him from getting away. Do not, repeat DO NOT, watch this film in case you're searching for nasty gore! The few murder scenes are, however, rather unsettling (and typically Argento!) but they surely can't live up to most of the director's previous work. "Do you like Hitchcock" is a worthwhile thriller and I personally rated it higher than Dario's last film, "the Card Player".

Argento's made-for-television "Ti piace Hitchcock?" is an entertaining giallo which pays tribute to the works of the old master.

A "Rear Window" for the noughties, Argento's offering delivers some great moments and there are fleeting glimpses of the genius behind such classics as "Deep Red" and "Tenebrae".

Elio Germano is excellent as the geeky voyeur who's nosiness leads him into no end of trouble. His performance is believable and his character is both likable and sympathetic.

While the violence has been toned down for this production, it's still a very watchable tale.