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 5 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, Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and his wife, Alma Reville (Dame Helen Mirren), are at the top of their creative game as filmmakers amidst disquieting insinuations about it being time to retire. To recapture his youth's artistic daring, Sir Alfred decides his next movie will adapt the lurid horror novel, "Psycho", over everyone's misgivings. Unfortunately, as Sir Alfred self-finances and labors on this movie, 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 Sir 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:

Good evening.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Romance

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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:

Hitchcock

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$287,715, 25 November 2012

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

This movie was shot in thirty-six days.

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Goofs

The film presents several erroneous facts about real life killer Ed Gein:

1. The film opens with Ed Gein killing his brother,Henry with a shovel in 1944; actually, the police investigated Henry Gein's death at the time and found no evidence of foul play- and the official coroner's report states that Henry Gein died of asphyxiation while fighting a fire on his property. While many authors have suggested that Ed murdered his brother (especially after the revelations of Ed's later activities) this has never been proven.

2. At one point, when talking to his secretary, Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) refers to Ed Gein as "the mass murderer from Wisconsin". In reality, there were only two confirmed murder victims of Ed Gein, which, although terrible, hardly constitutes a "mass".

Finally, in the same conversation, Hitchcock refers to Gein as "the boy who dug up his own mother". Although Ed Gein was a proven grave robber- which was and is a terrible crime- there is nothing in historical records of his crimes mentioning- or even suggesting- that he exhumed his own mother's remains.

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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 silhouette in a large empty movie theatre before walking out of the shot. This emulates Hitchcock's trademark cameo appearance in most of his films.

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Connections

Features The Heckle and Jeckle Show (1956)

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Soundtracks

Ain't That a Kick in the Head
Written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen
Performed by Dean Martin
Courtesy of Capitol records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Startling Surprise

The odds were against it, let's face it. Then after that TV film about the obsession of Hitch for Tippi Hedren, what was it called? something like "The Girl" Brrrr. I thought, what a pity. But then, I went to see it and I was not merely thoroughly entertained but delighted. Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren make a formidable pair. Mirren, in spite of her glamour, I've never seen Alma Reville, as glamorous, Mirren truly captures the essence of the woman and makes that marriage not just feasible but ideal in so many ways. The script, smart and witty and gives a glimpse into what might have really happened. Janet Leigh (a terrific Scarlett Johansson)thanking Hitch and kissing him on the cheek. Look at Hitch/Hopkins's face when that happens. A child. I believed it. So, considering the odds against it, a triumph.