i luv cinema

Home Archives for alfred hitchcock

By 11 Comments

New “Hitchcock” Stills

Check out these photos for the upcoming film, Hitchcock.
Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh

 

James D’Arcy as Anthony Perkins

 

Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock

 

Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins as Alma and Alfred Hitchcock

 

HITCHCOCK is a love story about one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century, Alfred Hitchcock and his wife and partner Alma Reville. The film takes place during the making of Hitchcock’s seminal movie Psycho.

Directed by: Sacha Gervasi
Screenplay by: John J. McLaughlin
Based on the book: Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello
Produced by: Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock, Joe Medjuck, Tom Thayer, Alan Barnette
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Jessica Biel, Michael Stuhlbarg, James D’Arcy, Michael Wincott, Richard Portnow, Kurtwood Smith

 

 

By 4 Comments

Footsteps in the Fog: Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco

Several years back, I reflected on a trip to San Francisco with an On Location feature. In this piece, I briefly mentioned the subject of this post, the book Footsteps in the Fog: Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco written by Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal (published in 2002). Now, after having just returned from the Bay Area, I decided to revisit this book in greater detail.

Fort Point, Golden Gate Bridge (Location from Vertigo [1958]) – San Francisco, CA
It is apparent from the very beginning that this is not just some book without any ties to its principal subject. With a foreword written Hitchcock’s daughter, Patricia Hitchcock O’Connell. Now I am not one who usually combs over the foreword of a book, but this one is well worth the extra few minutes to whet your appetite for what awaits in the subsequent pages.

This personal touch assures the reader that the family has given authors their blessings with the project. To enhance this personal quality, Ms. Hitchcock O’Connell has shared some of her personal collection of family photos. It provides a truly unique insight.

On the set of “Shadow of a Doubt” (1943) – Santa Rosa, CA

Part tour guide book, part on-location set map and part movie outline and summary, this book closely examines the three Hitchcock features closest associated with The Master of Suspense: Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo, and The Birds. As a bonus, there is also a section in the book that looks at the role the Bay Area has (even if on its periphery) in some of Hitch’s other works, such as Psycho, Suspicion and Rebecca (see below).

 

What I Learned

While I kind of knew about the Shadow of a Doubt-Hitchcock connection with the San Fran area, what I did not know is that this appreciation for the region predates this film and went back a couple of years to his first film shot in the United States, Rebecca. According to the book, he formed a close friendship with star Joan Fontaine’s parents (who lived in Saratoga, California). In fact, some of the exterior shots used in Rebecca doubled for Monte Carlo and the Cornwall in England, respectively.

Bodega Bay Church, as seen in “The Birds” (1963)

On the Down Side …

If there is one complaint I would lodge against this book is that none of the fantastic photos are in color! Black and white is fine for films shot as such, for the films such as The Birds and Vertigo I would have liked to see the bold, rich colors in photographic form.

My last gripe has nothing to do with the book at all but rather with my sadness that many of the locations that featured in the book no longer exist (like the famous Ernie’s restaurant).

 

Overall this is a fun interesting book that I gladly recommend for people who to visit real movie locations. It is fascinating.

By 16 Comments

Peck and Hitchcock: A Retrospective

I have been graciously invited by Ruth at Flixchatter to participate in her celebration of what would have been Gregory Peck’s 96th birthday. Be sure to check out her piece Beauty is Forever: Happy Birthday, Mr. Gregory Peck!

Also make sure to visit her site to read the posts from the others who have contributed to this celebration!

Here, below, is my celebratory entry:

As many fans of Alfred Hitchcock know, whether in front of or behind the camera, once Hitch found someone he liked, they usually became a constant collaborator.

When it came to music, there was Bernard Herrmann.

When it came to continuity and editing, his wife, Alma Reville.

In the area of writing, there was John Michael Hayes.

And then there were the ‘icy blondes’ of course – Ingrid Bergman, Tippi Hedren and Grace Kelly, to name a few.

As far as leading men are concerned, there was James Stewart, Cary Grant, and our birthday boy, Mr. Gregory Peck, who starred in two of Hitchcock’s films: the 1945 classic Spellbound and 1947’s The Paradine Case.

For my money, Spellbound is the far superior film; in this film, Hitchcock utilizes Peck’s dignified everyman status to great effect. He plays Dr. Edwardes, a young doctor on assignment to a mental institution. But soon we discover that all is not what it appears. Hitchcock uses this as an opportunity to delve into the complexities of the human mind (the subject of psychoanalysis being of great interest to Hitchcock). His co-star in the film is Ingrid Bergman playing Dr. Petersen, who helps Dr. Edwardes (and the audience) unravel the mystery at the center of the story.

A highlight of the film is the infamous dream sequence, with elements conceived and designed by the famous surrealist Salavdor Dalí.

At the time of its release, Spellbound was a runaway critical and commercial hit.

 

Unfortunately, Peck and Hitchcock’s second collaboration received mixed reviews and was not generally as well received. The Paradine Case is the seventh and final film that Hitchcock directed for producer David O. Selznick.

It is a courtroom drama in which we see Peck’s character, barrister Anthony Keene fall in love with his client, the beautiful and mysterious Madame Paradine (played by actress Alida Valli). She is on trial for the murder of her husband.

Often seen as one of the “Hitchcock films one ought to not bother watching” it is an effectively made film that shows what lengths the protagonist will go to let this woman he is so drawn to escape a murder charge – Keene puts his reputation, career and marriage at stake.

One reason I feel many dismiss The Paradine Case is that it does not have the characteristic ‘Hitchcockian’ levels of intrigue and suspense that audiences were getting used to from the director by now. I suspect that if any other director’s name appeared at the opening credits, the reception would have been a bit more forgiving. That said, if you are looking for a film in the vein of Spellbound or Notorious (1946), this is not the film.

 

Fast-forward 16 years after The Paradine Case wrapped and take a look at the photo below; Peck and Hitchcock are posed together on the set of Hitch’s latest production, The Birds (1963). While I did not find much in my research that indicated a particularly strong life-long friendship between the two, this photograph is a testament (in my eyes at least) of a partnership that produced a mutual respect between the men.

 

totalfilm600movieblogs