Hitchcock

Greetings again from the darkness. Here goes: John J McLaughlin wrote this "Hitchcock" screenplay based on Stephen Rebello's book "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho", which was based on the filming of the Psycho screenplay from Joseph Stefano, which was loosely based on Robert Bloch's book, which was based on the real life crimes of Ed Gein. Whew!

It's kind of interesting that Alfred Hitchcock is hot again. His Vertigo recently displaced Citizen Kane as the all-time greatest film. HBO is still running their recent production of "The Girl", which is based on Hitchcock's making of "The Birds" and his unhealthy connection to Tippi Hedren. And now, we get this Hollywood production, supposedly based on the master of suspense. I saw supposedly, because this film plays like it was written by the heirs of Alma Reville, Hitch's long time wife and collaborator. We all knew she worked on his films and contributed ideas, but the film wants you to believe she was the real genius behind the public genius.

The movie is entitled "Hitchcock" and is based on the making of "Psycho", but in fact, it's more the story of Alma and her husband. While there is nothing wrong with that story ... in fact, it is quite interesting and entertaining ... it's just kind of false advertising.

Helen Mirren portrays Alma, and instead of the mousy woman who usually faded into the background, we see a fairly strong and talented woman who goes toe-to-toe with Hitch in her best scene. Sir Anthony Hopkins dons some facial appliances and a fat suit and does a solid job of capturing the odd, creepy, leering, disturbed, insecure genius we recognize as Alfred Hitchcock. He comes across as louder and more in-motion than what we have previously seen. And while director Sacha Gervasi makes it clear that Hitch is not a "normal" guy, he doesn't dwell too much on the blond fixations.

The emphasis on the skills and importance of Alma would be fine were it not so exaggerated. Surely every great director and writer and artist has a muse and/or support system; and, there is no question Alma was a very talented lady, but her strength here bordered on distracting to the overall picture. Especially needless was the storyline of Alma being attracted to screenwriter Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston), who wrote "Strangers on a Train" for Hitchcock.

The Hitchcock humor is allowed to shine through and his battles with Paramount Studio head Barney Balaban (Richard Portnow) and the censorship board (Kurtwood Smith) are excellent. Hopkins finds the humanity under the fat suit and is especially good in his work with Scarlett Johansson (as Janet Leigh) and Jessica Biel (as Vera Miles). I also got a kick out of James D'Arcy as the affected Anthony Perkins and all his quirky mannerisms.

Though this barely qualifies as a story on the making of Psycho, it was chilling to watch the addition of Bernard Herrmann's iconic score added to the shower scene. In fact, Danny Elfman does a nice job of subtly adding a Herrmann-type score to this film. I'm not sure if the film will play well with real Hitchcock aficionados, but if you can forgive the Alma slant, it's actually quite interesting and entertaining and kind of a sweet film at its core.

A love story between influential filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and wife Alma Reville (Alma Reville) during the filming of Psycho (1960) in 1959 . As Alfred decides his next film will adapt the lurid horror novel, Psycho by Robert Bloch , but the novel's inspiration haunts his dreams , including the series killer Ed Gein (Michael Wincott) , then Alma finally loses patience .

The film mainly deals with filming ¨Psycho¨ , Hithcock masterpiece and his most accomplished and perfect movie . Psycho was not only Hitchcock's biggest successful movie,but was a phenomenon in its own right , the picture is a magnum opus of the terror genre and its immediate impact and its future influence was enormous and cannot be over emphasised . It also concerns on the relationship between Hitch and his wife Alma Reville , perfectly played by Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren respectively . Helen Mirren had met the real Alfred Hitchcock when he approached her for a part as a murder victim in his penultimate film, Frenzi (1972) ; Mirren turned down the role, a decision she later regretted. Although many reviewers criticized the film for inventing an intimate relationship between Alma Reville and Whitfield Cook, the facts are documented by more than one Hitchcock scholar, as exemplified by Patrick McGilligan in his biography of Alfred Hitchcock. There are developed various scenes about ¨Psycho ¨shooting as when Marion (Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh) leaves her fiancée and heads with her car toward California , when is caught in a storm she leaves the highway and enter to Bates hotel . The hotel with twelve rooms (and 12 showers) is managed by a strange young named Norman (James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins) who seems to be submitted by his overbearing mother . The shower images are well recreated , these scenes are one of the most studied ,copied and analysed sequences in cinema history and has obtained a notoriety what exceeds of the movie itself. The character of Ed Gein was included in the original screenplay. In subsequent drafts, the role of Gein was either eliminated completely or reduced in importance. Terrific acting by Anthony Hopkins as Hitch and sensitive performance by Mirren as Alma , in fact , this movie is a perceptive homage to a great screenwriter , and Hitch's supporter , Alma Reville . The movie has a fine support cast playing notorious characters who had an important role on Hitch films such as Jessica Biel as Vera Miles , Toni Collette as Peggy Robertson , Michael Stuhlbarg as Lew Wasserman , Ralph Macchio as screen writer Joseph Stefano , Wallace Langham as Saul Bass , Paul Schackman as Bernard Herrmann and Spencer Garrett as George Tomasini . Nice production design , as scenes set in Alfred Hitchcock's Paramount suite of offices were filmed in Hitchcock's actual office on that studio's lot.

Colorful as well as evocative cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth . Lively and atmospheric musical score by Danny Elffmann . The picture was well directed by Sacha Gervasi ; it was shot in 36 days with exquisite taste and intelligence by the master Hitchcock who makes an impeccable control of every scene and maneuvers your emotions, infusing with a deliciously wit and ironic

The REAL Hitchcock buffs will be disappointed, in that this movie does not delve deeply into the mind of this brilliant, creative filmmaker. It deals with the superficialities of his existence, and not the big issues of, for example, what propelled his interest in the Wisconsin serial murderer Ed Gein? Was this interest tied to his pursuit of his 'blonde girls?' The dark side of his personality was shown through his hallucinatory 'relationship' to Mr. Gein--who pops up occasionally--and could be considered a clever device; I thought it a cop-out.

As another reviewer on this board wrote, the most enjoyable parts of the movie revolved around the casting, writing, filming and editing of "Psycho." Jessica Biel and Scarlet Johanssen were adequate, if not inspired; Helen Mirren was the movie's anchor, while Anthony Hopkins seemed to be trying too hard, and I was always conscious of him 'acting.'

BUT, as noted earlier, it moves along and is enjoyable. Just don't expect too much.

A snapshot of Hitchcock's life and the lead up, shooting and release of Psycho.

A perfect blend of entertainment, surprisingly emotional and a delight to watch. No doubt artistic licence is used but John J. McLaughlin's script based on Stephen Rebello's book manages to mix and balance the story elements perfectly without becoming the 'making of Psycho' which remains as a backdrop. It ultimately focuses on Hitchcock's intriguing relationships with his wife, cast and crew. There's some genuine laugh-out moments and heartfelt scenes. The surreal moments including Ed Gein subtly played by Michael Wincott injects an edginess to the proceedings and gives an insight into his psyche.

Any reservations of Anthony Hopkins' casting are dispelled within a few minutes, he is absolutely superb with the make up equally as effective. Helen Mirren as Alma is on fine form giving both a powerful and touching performance. Without nitpicking on Scarlett Johansson's facial indifference to Leigh and James D'Arcy's to Anthony Perkins they capture the persona wonderfully as too does Jessica Biel as Vera Miles respectively. Notable is Toni Collette as Peggy Robertson and from Danny Huston as Whitfield Cook to Kurtwood Smith Geoffrey Shurlock there is a fine supporting cast.

Fittingly book-ended with Hopkins as Hitch breaking the fourth wall in 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' style you can't help but smile. As satisfying as Hitchcock is it still leaves you wanting more.

"Hitchcock" is a mix between a Hitchcockian thriller, a comedy, a biopic, and a romantic drama. And I'm pretty sure that explains the negative reactions to the film. I agree that it's a strange mix but it works with what they are going for. Wanting to focus on the marriage between Alma Reville and Alfred Hitchcock, a romantic biopic can be dry, so staying true to the spirit of the legendary director, the film throws in some wry humour and frames it all with the tone of a thriller.

It's 1950 and Alfred Hitchcock wants to make "Pyscho". Studios are wary, his wife is losing patience, and the battle to get it made could be worse than the subject matter. His long-time actress, Vera Miles (Jessica Biel), is being relegated to supporting status and isn't happy about the lack of respect from Hitchcock. Meanwhile, Hitchcock is ready to cast his new film and is going to turn Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johnasson) into a star. One would assume his wife would feel maligned from that, but she's off trying to forge her own career with screenwriter Whitfield Cook who Hitchcock thinks is a hack.

The film's main purpose appears to just be entertaining. Which is all good, but the rather poor reception is because it could have used some depth into the interesting inner-workings of Hitchcock. At times it comes off as a superficial caricature but the man was a legend because there was so much more to him. Anthony Hopkins appeared to be exactly like Hitchcock both physically and linguistically. He got his sly and comedic mannerisms and phrasing perfect. Which fits the entertaining and humorous frame for the picture.

Personally, I think director Sacha Gervasi used the right cues to make it feel like a Hitchcockian thriller. Throwing in references of his desire for the gruesome, throwing in references to "The Birds", and making us think there might be a wicked twist coming. The twist is just that "Hitchock" could be just a comedy — the material is ripe for that.