Hitchcock (2012)

The relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho (1960) in 1959 is explored.

Director:

Sacha Gervasi

Writers:

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

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 28 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
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 Reville, 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 (1960), 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:

year 1959 | los angeles california | studio executive | censorship board | talking to the camera | 

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Taglines:

Behind every Psycho is a great woman.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content and thematic material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho'

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$287,715, 23 November 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,008,677

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,570,541

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS Datasat Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Whitffield Cook actually collaborated on a screenplay with Alma, Stage Fright (1950), which marked the screen debut of Patricia Hitchcock, and was directed by Sir Alfred Hitchcock.

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Goofs

While Hitch is in the middle of a chapter of "Psycho", Alma takes the book from him. He takes it back but continues reading from the beginning of another chapter.

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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

As Hitch addresses his audience at the end of the picture, he tells us that he is bereft of ideas for his next picture... then a large, black bird lands on his shoulder.

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Connections

References Psycho (1960)

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Soundtracks

Kiss of Fire
Written by Lester Allen and Robert Hill
Performed by Georgia Gibbs
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

It keeps your interest, but not great cinema...

The REAL Hitchcock buffs will be disappointed, in that this movie does not delve deeply into the mind of this brilliant, creative filmmaker. It deals with the superficialities of his existence, and not the big issues of, for example, what propelled his interest in the Wisconsin serial murderer Ed Gein? Was this interest tied to his pursuit of his 'blonde girls?' The dark side of his personality was shown through his hallucinatory 'relationship' to Mr. Gein--who pops up occasionally--and could be considered a clever device; I thought it a cop-out.

As another reviewer on this board wrote, the most enjoyable parts of the movie revolved around the casting, writing, filming and editing of "Psycho." Jessica Biel and Scarlet Johanssen were adequate, if not inspired; Helen Mirren was the movie's anchor, while Anthony Hopkins seemed to be trying too hard, and I was always conscious of him 'acting.'

BUT, as noted earlier, it moves along and is enjoyable. Just don't expect too much.