Based on the 1966 book by François Truffaut, this French/American documentary explores the cinematic history of the genius Alfred Hitchcock.
This movie has fascinating footage which includes still photos with audio interviews (with the aid of a translator) between the directors; thoughtful interviews with contemporary directors from the U.S., France, and Japan; and deeper analyses of renowned films like "Vertigo" and "Psycho". (Sadly, my favourite Hitchcock film, "Rear Window", did not get such attention.)
It was also a delight to see visual footage of a very young Hitchcock directing silent films in the 1920s. It was also fun to notice, in other footage, that people used to dress up to go to the movies even until the early 1960s.
There is so much I should have loved about this movie. I believe that Hitchcock was a genius and I have great admiration for Truffaut as well - some of whose best films also get attention in this film. But for some unknown reason, I just cannot understand what was missing.
Usually, I get what I liked or didn't like in a movie. I can see what I liked in "Hitchcock/Truffaut" but I still don't see what I disliked. It's almost as much as a mystery to me as a Hitchcock movie itself. But at least there, the mystery is solved within a couple of hours.
It might have been the structure of the film or the high expectations. In any case, this is a movie I admired but only from a distance.
This movie has fascinating footage which includes still photos with audio interviews (with the aid of a translator) between the directors; thoughtful interviews with contemporary directors from the U.S., France, and Japan; and deeper analyses of renowned films like "Vertigo" and "Psycho". (Sadly, my favourite Hitchcock film, "Rear Window", did not get such attention.)
It was also a delight to see visual footage of a very young Hitchcock directing silent films in the 1920s. It was also fun to notice, in other footage, that people used to dress up to go to the movies even until the early 1960s.
There is so much I should have loved about this movie. I believe that Hitchcock was a genius and I have great admiration for Truffaut as well - some of whose best films also get attention in this film. But for some unknown reason, I just cannot understand what was missing.
Usually, I get what I liked or didn't like in a movie. I can see what I liked in "Hitchcock/Truffaut" but I still don't see what I disliked. It's almost as much as a mystery to me as a Hitchcock movie itself. But at least there, the mystery is solved within a couple of hours.
It might have been the structure of the film or the high expectations. In any case, this is a movie I admired but only from a distance.