78/52

An unprecedented look at the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960), the "man behind the curtain", and the screen murder that profoundly changed the course of world cinema.

While it might seem like quite a feat to devote 90 minutes of coverage to a one-minute segment of a film, this documentary pulls it off. By exploring every possible angle -- the sounds, the editing, the casting -- we see just how much went into getting the notorious shower scene just right. Most interesting is how many clues are in the film leading up to this moment that may not be obvious, but were sprinkled there by Hitchcock with a knowing wink.

"78/52" is playing on July 20, 2017 at the Fantasia International Film Festival. In this golden age of documentaries, this film still stands out as the cream of the crop.

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.

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.

78/52 (2017)

**** (out of 4)

The shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO lasted for less than a minute yet it took seven days to shoot. This wonderfully entertaining documentary takes a look at that minute worth of footage and breaks everything down from the score, to the edits, to the violence and certain things throughout the movie that foreshadows it.

78/52 is a highly entertaining documentary that fans of PSYCHO are going to really enjoy. A lot of documentaries (like the one on THE SHINING) are a bit far-fetched in their ideas but that's not the case here as everyone interviewed is basically a fan and we break the sequence down in so many ways that you'll be seeing things for the first time. I've seen this movie countless times in my life and yet I learned a few new things here.

The people interviewed include: Peter Bogdanovich, Jamie Lee Curtis, Guillermo del Toro, Alan Barnette, Justin Benson, Danny Elfman, Bret Easton Ellis, Jeffrey Ford, Mick Garris, Neil Marshall, Bob Murawski, Elijah Wood and Richard Stanley. We also get archival interviews with Alfred Hitchcock, Janet Leigh and Joseph Stefano. Also interviewed is Marli Renfro who was Leigh's body double during the shower sequence.

The documentary does a really great job at showing how marvelous the sequence was. We get to watch it slowed down as well as getting comments on various edits, why the edits were done and countless other stories. This documentary covers a lot of ground in its running time and there's really not a weak moment to be found. If you're a fan of PSYCHO then I'm sure you've seen other documentaries on the sequence but this one here takes it to a new level.

Of course, one of the biggest highlights is having Renfro discuss how she got the part, what Hitchcock was like and how the shooting of the scene went. She was certainly a major player in this sequence so it was great getting to hear from her and get her stories.

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.