Hitchcock/Truffaut

This documentary "Hitchcock/Truffaut" is interesting and informative for the way it details the way the master of suspense worked on his films as Hitch was an icon and inspiration to many as you and many others know his movies left a lasting impact! However many may not know that a 1966 book was published called "Hitchcock/Truffaut" it was a book on cinema and how that the work of Alfred had influenced French director and writer Truffaut. As during this film you the viewer get to hear the actual audio recordings of the interview for the book and see clips from many of Hitch's films and it gives in detail Alfred's background to the days even when he started in advertising. And it talks about how Alfred saw the world as a one world view director as often calling his actors and actresses cattle, clearly Alfred was demanding as discussed is how he shot his films with an emphasis on space and geography. And anyone who's watched a lot of Hitchcock movies know that his camera work was top notch the way he did scenes at angles the documentary talks of this also. Aside from the clips and talk of the impact of his movies other well known directors talk about how Alfred influenced their work as in the film Wes Anderson, David Fincher, and Richard Linklater to name a few give their take on Hitch. Overall good informative documentary that was an interesting look at the master of suspense.

Not the usual kind of biographical stuff about the celebrity's childhood and how he "rose to prominence" before he "fell from grace." In other words it's not an episode of "Biography." The object of attention is the book, "Cinema According to Hitchcock" by an admirer and fellow director Francois Truffaut, published in 1966.

The film is roughly (but only roughly) chronological and the biographical material is limited but covers both Hitchcock and his interviewer. What makes it more interesting than it might be is that Truffaut was about half Hitchcock's age. They came from different traditions -- Hitch from the silents, when everything needed to be spelled out visually, and Truffaut from the French "New Wave" cinema of the early 1960s, when the rules were thrown out the window.

Despite their different styles, they never clash. Truffaut is too good natured for that, and Hitch too distantly polite in his British way. Only once, in the book, not in the film, is there any sign of friction, when Truffaut suggests a different way Hitch might have handled a scene and he replies, "It seems you want me to write for an art house audience." Lots of excerpts from Hitch's movies and several from Truffaut's as well. A good deal of attention is paid to cinematic techniques -- the position of the camera, the lighting, the pattern of the images themselves. Some of the talking heads, and Hitchcock himself, come up with implications that to me seem questionable. I can't manage to convince myself that, while waiting for Kim Novack to emerge fully transformed from the bathroom, Jimmy Stewart is "getting an erection." In fact, I can't imagine Jimmy Stewart getting an erection at all.

I suspect the program might disappoint some viewers who don't want to listen to the interlocutors making polite jokes. (Twice, Hitch is about to tell an anecdote and asks for the recorder to be turned off.) Nothing in the movie is critical of either Truffaut or Hitchock, who became an alcoholic during his last years.

There are photos from the interview and excerpts from the recording, as well as a description of the surprising friendship that developed between the two. I thought it was all fascinating.

"Hitchcock/Truffaut" (2015 release; 80 min.) is a documentary based on the book of the same name, originally published in 1966. The book was essentially a transcript of a week-long interview/conversation between directors Alfred Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut. As the movie opens, we are given a quick historical context within which these conversations took place, and the various contemporaries (Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, David Lynch, etc.) provide their further perspectives. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see it for yourself.

Couple of comments: first and foremost, if you are a movie aficionado, you are in for a finger-lickin' good time, as two of the giants in movie history dissect Hitchcock's oeuvre in a manner that we have not seen before, and along the way we also get a fresh and better understanding of Truffaut's oeuvre. But let's be clear: this documentary is mostly about Hitchcock, and at times it feels that the book simply serves as an excuse to examine Hitchcock. But we admittedly also get a clear understanding as to why the book was much more than just a book for Truffaut and that it was as important as any film he made. While Hitchcock's entire career is looked at (including the very early days), the documentary spends more time on two Hitchcock films than any other: Vertigo and Psycho. We also get a clear understanding why Hitchcock claimed that "all actors are cattle", which makes the director of this documentary (the to me previously unknown Kent Jones) wonder how outspoken/strong-willed icons like Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman would have fared under Hitchcock. One of the best features of the documentary is that the audio tapes of the week-long conversation between Hitchcock and Truffaut have survived and are used heavily (along with still photographs from those sessions). It's like we're having a seat at the table along with these movie giants and the interpreter. I only wished that the movie lasted longer than its all-too-brief 80 min. running time.

"Hitchcock/Truffaut" opened this weekend without any fanfare or advertising at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. I figured this will not be playing very long, so I went to see it right away. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great. Given the lack of any marketing for the movie, this didn't come as a surprise. That said, if you love movies and want to get new insights on Hitchcock and Truffaut, you simply cannot go wrong with this, be it in the theater, on Amazon Instant Video, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Hitchcock/Truffaut" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The only section missing in the film is a discussion of the MUSIC in Hitchcock films especially the work and career of BERNARD HERMANN! Neither director touched on the scores for VERTIGO, PSYCHO, or THE BRIDE WORE BLACK. Others like WAXMAN and TIOMPKIN were also neglected! Soundtracks are an integral part of both director's work! Shame on you! Also there was no discussion of the score for TORN CURTAIN! Why no Hermann score and a substitute for one by by John Barry? You can write an entire book on film noir music or THE SOUNDS OF DARKNESS. Think about PSYCHO and the "shower scene" without music. It loses its chilling effect. What about James Stewart hanging from a roof gutter in VERTIGO? And that haunting "love theme" in VERTIGO, when Stewart is following Kim Novak in his car and the crescendo of waves breaking against the shore when they finally embrace? I can cite many more moments where music was crucial to a scene in Hitchcock's work, too many to enumerate here. I just had wished the directors and filmmakers would have discussed this important phase of both director's work.

Dr. Ronald Schwartz at www.noir1937@aol.com Manhattan

Director Kent Jones invites the greatest directors of our time to share their thoughts on the enduring legacy and influence that the genius of the master of suspense Hitchcock has left on them. This wonderful and magical documentary, is a must-see for any film school in the world, features archival material from throughout Hitchs' career and the opinions of some of the greatest directors of our time. It is being presented in the Official Section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Half a century after the publication of "Cinema According to Hitchcock," the book about the long interview that French director Francois Truffaut conducted with Hitchcock emerge this documentary/homage that was well written and directed by Kent Jones, it reexamines the vast filmography and legacy of one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century through his own voice. Questions about Hitchcock's films and life will be answered in this good documentary. Some of his films were undisputed masterpieces and their past or immediate impact and future influence on filmmakers were and will be enormous and cannot be underestimated.

Based on the original recordings of this meeting-used to produce the mythical book Hitchcock/Truffaut-this film illustrates the greatest cinema lesson of all time and plummets us into the world of the creator of a number of masterpieces. In 1962 Hitchcock and Truffaut locked themselves away in Hollywood for a week to excavate the secrets behind the mise-en-scène in cinema of Psycho, The Birds, and especially Vertigo with James Stewart and Kim Novak. Hitchcock's incredibly modern art is elucidated and explained by today's leading filmmakers: Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Arnaud Desplechin, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Wes Anderson, James Gray, Olivier Assayas, Richard Linklater, Peter Bogdanovich and Paul Schrader.

Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015) pays tribute to Hitch's films with scenes from 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, North by Northwest, To Catch a Thief, The Birds, Topaz, Torn Curtain, Frenzy . And of course, his two most praised films: ¨Vertigo¨ and "Psycho" was not only Hitchcock's most successful film, 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. There's an unprecedented look at the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), a tribute to the film of the master's best-known thriller.

2022 marked the centenary of Hitchcock's first feature film. A century later he remains one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Explore the work and personality of the British director who managed to fascinate the public with films such as ¨Rear Window¨, Vertigo¨, ¨North by Northwest¨ or ¨Psycho¨. A cinematographic essay that analyzes Hitch's public personality, and delves deeply into his works, including the lesser-known ones and those from his silent era. As a fictional Alfred Hitchcock narrates an explanation of some of the lesser known cinematic techniques he used in his movies, richly illustrated with clips from his entire 50-year career. Depicting Hitch's early British period when he directed silent films such as the successful ¨The lodger¨ (1926) , ¨The ring¨(1927) , ¨Easy virtue¨ (1927) , ¨The Manxman¨(29) ; being ¨Blackmail¨(29) made as a silent , this was reworked to become a talkie . Following sound movies and early talkies as ¨June and the Paycock¨(30) , ¨Skin Game¨(31) , ¨Rich and strange¨(32) , ¨Number 17¨(32) , ¨The man who knew too much¨(34) , ¨The 39 steps¨ (35) , ¨The secret agent¨(36) , ¨Blackmail¨(36) , ¨The lady vanishes¨(38) . After ¨39 Steps¨ and ¨Jamaica Inn¨, Hitch was encouraged to go to America and quickly filmed his first work in Hollywood hired by the great producer David O'Selznick to shoot ¨Rebecca¨ and after ¨Suspicion¨, ¨Notorious¨ and ¨Spellbound¨. Because Hitch felt controlled by O'Selznick, he founded his own company Trasatlantic along with Sidney Bernstein with which he produced ¨Rope¨ and the flop ¨Under Capricorn¨. At the same time, there is a brief examination of Francois Truffaut's career running parallel to his master Hitchcock, including some images from his best-known films such as The 400 Blows, The Mississippi Mermaid, Fahrenheit 451 or Jules and Jim

Director Kent Jones, approaches the iconic British author with a radical new approach: through of his own voice. As Hitch rewatches his films, we embark on an odyssey through a vast career: his vivid silent films and the legendary films of the 50s and 60s and the subsequent ones. Although Hitch was nominated for an Oscar 5 times, he never won the Academy Award for Best Director, however he finally won the honorary Oscar and was lovingly honored by the American Film Institute with the attendance of the greatest Hollywood stars of the past and present. Others documentary film in similar style are: 78/52 (2017) by Alexandre O. Philippe, I Am Alfred Hitchcock (2021) and My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock(2022) by Mark Cousins.