With the success of the EVIL DEAD remake I wonder if young
movie goers will understand the shock and outrage that came about with the
initial release of Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO. In 1960 this film stunned
audiences around the world with what was then extreme footage. Compared to
today's films it was nothing but that's the thing about classic films. To watch
them and to get out of them what the film maker intended you have to place
yourself back at that time rather than view it from today's standards.
But apparently there was plenty going on behind the scenes
with the creation of PSYCHO as well and that is the story behind the new DVD
release HITCHCOCK. Not only that the film is also a love story of a great
director and the woman that helped him reach the pinnacle of his career. The
two themes work side by side to tell an interesting story that holds your
interest from start to finish.
The film opens with Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) looking for
a new project having just finished with the release of NORTH BY NORTHWEST to
rather tame reviews. His wife Alma (Helen Mirren) is trying to get him to work
with an old friend, Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston), who has a new book in the
making. But Hitchcock is searching for something no one expects, no one has
seen. Eventually he comes across something other studios are bypassing, a
popular book called PSYCHO.
Based on the true life story of Ed Gein, a small town man
who seemed rather easygoing but who was cannibalizing corpses and using body
parts to decorate his home, Hitchcock sees something unique here. The problem
is no studio will back the picture with the funds necessary to make it.
Discussing this at home Hitchcock and Alma decide to make the picture using
their own funds. If the film is a success they can thumb their noses at the
studio heads. If it fails, they lose all.
The production story told here revolves around Hitchcock's
obsession with the blonde haired beauties that always took center stage in his
films. While he never touched, he often found himself entranced by their beauty
to the extent that he often times ignored the one woman who supported him from
the start of his career to its end.
On the love story side we are witness to Alma's seemingly
friendly interest in Whitfield. Working together in his secret beach house
their efforts are truly platonic. Problems arise when Hitchcock finds Alma
spending more time working there than on his project. His suspicions increase
the more she's away to the point he actually becomes jealous, much the same
feelings Alma has as he ogles the blondes in his films. Beneath the anger both
have about their particular situations there is a deep love that lasted until
their deaths.
The film is an interesting look behind the scenes of what became
the biggest hit that Hitchcock had in his long career, a success he never
exceeded. The main thing that makes it work is the performances by both lead
actors here. Mirren offers a woman who loves her husband deeply yet feels
ignored both by him and those who don't realize just how much she contributed
to his success and she does it in both subtle and non-subtle ways. Hopkins
turns in another outstanding performance as well. Where he could have simply
done a caricature of Hitchcock he instead gives us the nuances that the man was
known for but also displays the complexity and insecurity behind the genius
that was there.
The movie was released but sparingly so to theaters and has
received little push on the DVD market as well. That's sad because my guess is
there are few young people today who know exactly who Hitchcock was and the
amazing films he made. Ask and if you're lucky they may know PSYCHO but not the
other films he is known for. This movie would make a great starting point to
get them interested in the man and his films. It's entertaining and informative
and leaves you wanting more.
Click here to order.
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