Hitchcock (2012)

A love story between influential filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho (1960) in 1959.

Director:

Sacha Gervasi

Writers:

John J. McLaughlin (screenplay), Stephen Rebello (book)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Alfred Hitchcock
Helen Mirren	...	Alma Reville
Scarlett Johansson	...	Janet Leigh
Danny Huston	...	Whitfield Cook
Toni Collette	...	Peggy Robertson
Michael Stuhlbarg	...	Lew Wasserman
Michael Wincott	...	Ed Gein
Jessica Biel	...	Vera Miles
James D'Arcy	...	Anthony Perkins
Richard Portnow	...	Barney Balaban
Kurtwood Smith	...	Geoffrey Shurlock
Ralph Macchio	...	Joseph Stefano
Kai Lennox	...	Hilton Green
Tara Summers	...	Rita Riggs
Wallace Langham	...	Saul Bass

Storyline

In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma, are at the top of their creative game as filmmakers amid disquieting insinuations about it being time to retire. To recapture his youth's artistic daring, Alfred decides his next film will adapt the lurid horror novel, Psycho, over everyone's misgivings. Unfortunately, as Alfred self-finances and labors on this film, Alma finally loses patience with his roving eye and controlling habits with his actresses. When an ambitious friend lures her to collaborate on a work of their own, the resulting marital tension colors Alfred's work even as the novel's inspiration haunts his dreams.

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Plot Keywords:

surname as title | reference to princess grace of monaco | no opening credits | one word title | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

Good evening.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hitchcock, el maestro del suspenso

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$287,715 (USA) (21 November 2012)

Gross:

$6,002,708 (USA) (8 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Cold Spring Pictures, Montecito Picture Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The revised screenplay contained a large number of scenes for the characters of Janet Leigh, Vera Miles and Anthony Perkins. They were never filmed.

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Goofs

When Alma and Whit are driving up the Pacific Coast Highway, the double centerline is yellow. In 1960, it would have been white.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Henry Gein: It's lucky it didn't reach the house.
Ed Gein: Yeah.
Henry Gein: You know, there's gonna be a lot more jobs at that factory in Milwaukee come June. I could put in a word.
Ed Gein: You can't leave us, Henry. She needs us both.
Henry Gein: Can you stop being a mama's boy for one second? I'm not trying to hurt you, but Jesus, you gotta live your own life sometime. That woman can take care of her own god...
[Ed hits Henry with a shovel]
Alfred Hitchcock: Good evening. Well, brother has been killing brother since Cain and Abel, yet even I didn't ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits, there is a brief shot of Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock standing in profile in a large empty movie theatre.

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Connections

References Cinderfella (1960)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major 'Eroica' Op. 55: Scherzo Allegro Vivace
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation & Point Classics
Arranged by Jim Long

User Reviews

Finding the intersection between romance, comedy and horror in a Hitchcock biopic

"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.