Alfred Hitchcock

Toby Jones to Play Alfred Hitchcock Opposite Sienna Miller as Tippi Hedren in BBC2 Drama THE GIRL

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: December 6th, 2011 at 11:00 am

Toby Jones should’ve received more praise for his turn as Truman Capote in the film Infamous, but Philip Seymour Hoffman and the superior film Capote just got more traction and attention when awards season came around. However, now Jones will get a chance to shine for BBC2 as the UK network has announced the actor will play iconic filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock in a TV film called The Girl. Rather than being a standard biopic, the film will focus on the director’s “obsessive relationship” with his The Birds star Tippi Hedren, who will be played by Sienna Miller (The Factory Girl). Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane) will direct the film from writer Gwyneth Hughes which also features the acting talents of Imelda Staunton (Another Year) and Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey) with Hitchcock biographer Donald Spoto also working on the film for authenticity and accuracy. More after the jump.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE ESSENTIALS COLLECTION DVD Review

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 27th, 2011 at 6:00 am

The first Alfred Hitchcock film I ever saw was Psycho. Teenage me scoffed at the notion that a black and white movie that was made during the Eisenhower era could be as scream-inducing as “real scary movies” like A Nightmare on Elm Street or Leprechaun (that little green guy scared the hell out of me). Of course, I quickly realized that my initial impression of the film was 100% wrong. Not only was Psycho genuinely frightening, it’s also an exquisite piece of filmmaking. Even a layman like me knew I wasn’t just seeing a bunch of scenes that were randomly cut together; it was the first time I realized that there’s a true art to good filmmaking.

Hitchcock had a knack for telling incredibly rich and layered stories that appealed to both the wide masses and the deeper-thinking cinephiles. Now, arguably five of his best films have been remastered and boxed together in one glorious package that includes Psycho, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Vertigo, and The Birds. Hit the jump for our review of Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection on DVD.

DVD Deal: ALFRED HITCHCOCK – THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 23rd, 2011 at 7:30 am

Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day is Alfred Hitchcock – The Masterpiece Collection.  Included in the box set are 14 classic Hitchock films for $52.49 (almost 60% off). Included are:

Saboteur (1942), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Rope (1948), Rear Window (1954), The Trouble With Harry (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963), Marnie (1964), Torn Curtain (1966), Topaz (1969), Frenzy (1972), Family Plot (1976)

While I always recommend Blu-ray over DVD, if you’ve never seen any of these classic films, this box set is an awesome way to start. Hit the jump for more details.  Amazon’s Gold Box Deal’s are only for one day and you get free shipping when you spend over $25 dollars.

Thirty Minutes of Alfred Hitchcock’s Earliest Surviving Film, THE WHITE SHADOW, Discovered

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 3rd, 2011 at 8:38 am

Thirty minutes (the first three reels of six) from Alfred Hitchcock’s The White Shadow have been discovered in a New Zealand vault.  The silent feature is the earliest surviving film of the legendary director and is described as an “atmospheric melodrama starring Betty Compson in a dual role as twin sisters, one angelic and the other being ‘without a soul.’”  Hitchock served as assistant director on the film to Graham Cutts and he also served as the art director, editor, and writer.  The White Shadow was previously thought to be lost due to nitrate degeneration.

The film was one of 75 uncovered last year remote storage vault held by the New Zealand Film Archive and saved by Kiwi projectionist and film enthusiast Jack Murtagh who passed away in 1989.  You may recall that one of the movies previously uncovered was the John Ford silent film Upstream (1927), another picture previously considered lost.  Variety reports that a restored print of The White Shadow reels will also be presented to the British Film Institute for its Hitchcock rescue project.  It’s wonderful that these early films have survived, are being restored, and I’m excited to hear what other gems they’ll uncover.

Anthony Hopkins in Talks to Play Alfred Hitchcock

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 21st, 2011 at 5:50 pm

Sir Anthony Hopkins may soon make a turn as the Master of Suspense, Sir Alfred Hitchcock.  The Oscar-winner is currently in negotiations with Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Pictures to star in the film adaptation of Stephen Rebello’s book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho.  Momentum on the film is certainly gaining as, only two days ago, we reported that Anvil! The Story of Anvil director Sacha Gervasi was in talks to direct the pic and rewrite John McLaughlin’s (Black Swan) script.

This is not Hopkins’ first time courting the role, as Heat Vision points out, that the actor was attached to a previous iteration of the project with Ryan Murphy directing and Helen Mirren starring opposite Hopkins.  To learn more about the potential project, hit the jump for an overview of Rebello’s book/the film’s source material.

ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL Director Sacha Gervasi in Talks to Write/Direct Alfred Hitchcock Biopic

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 19th, 2011 at 9:37 pm

The man responsible for the excellent documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil may soon be directing his attention to the “Master of Suspense.”  According to 24 Frames, writer/director/producer Sacha Gervasi is currently in negotiations with Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Pictures to pen/direct an Alfred Hitchcock biopic.  Per the report, the film will be based on Stephen Rebello’s 1990 book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho which documents in acute detail the production of (spoiler alert) Hitchcock’s 1960 classic, Psycho.

While Gervasi’s is the newest name at the table, the perpetual “in development” Hitchcock biopic has seen earlier drafts penned by both Rebello and Black Swan co-scribe John McLaughlin.  For more on the project, hit the jump to check out a brief overview of Rebello’s book.

Cool 1950s Version of an INCEPTION Trailer

by Jason Barr    Posted: October 4th, 2010 at 5:50 pm

A very cool 1950s-esque version of an Inception trailer has appeared online.  Akin to trailers from Alfred Hitchcock classics such as Rear Window, the retrofitted promo is set in black and white and features prominent narration as well as on-screen superlatives which help sell the film as “Mind blowing!  Dazzling!  Complex!”

While it’s no surprise to most that, as a medium, film has undergone some changes over time, I rarely think of its evolution in terms of how it applies to the way pictures are marketed via their trailers.  For me, that oft-overlooked connection is what makes this throwback Inception trailer well worth your time.  To check out the trailer, as well as a 1954 trailer from Hitchcock’s Rear Window, hit the jump.

Dan Fogler Interview: The FANBOYS Star Goes Viral with M’LARKY

by Ron Messer    Posted: May 20th, 2010 at 3:00 pm

All cop shows have gun violence.  Most cop shows have beautiful women.  A good percentage also includes extremely broad performances.  But there’s only one cop show that has all three, plus a heavily medicated Police Lieutenant, Tony Hawk as an invisible character (he actually never appears) and video game sequences: M’Larky.

Collider caught up with Dan Fogler (Balls Of Fury and the upcoming Young Americans), who created the series with his co-star Josh Warren for Comedy Central’s Atom.com and Atom TV.  Hit the jump to see the first episode of M’Larky and for the interview’s full audio and transcript.

Will Smith to Produce and Star in a Remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s SUSPICION

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 26th, 2010 at 2:42 pm

Latino Review reports that Alfred Hitchock’s Suspicion is getting remade with Will Smith attached to star and produce.  I agree with scooper “Pinche Taco” when it comes to Hitchcock: he can be imitated, but never remade…-ed.  For those who don’t know, Hitchcock’s 1941 film starred Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine and was about a woman (Fontaine) who marries a man (Grant) whom she eventually suspects is trying to kill her.  Hitchcock’s film had a compromised ending where the studio demanded a “happy” conclusion.  While I’m not crazy about remaking any Hitchcock movie (Disturbia is the best yet simply because it’s not terrible), Suspicion is not among the director’s best and there’s room to do a fresh take (which would be a re-adaptation of the source material, Francis Iles’ 1932 novel Before the Fact).

Smith would play the Grant role and I support it simply because I want to see if he can play a bad guy.  He certainly has the charm the role requires, but he’s never played anything close to villain so I’d like to see him challenge himself as an actor in that respect.  As long as they don’t have Smith committing suicide via jellyfish, there’s hope.

Then again, Smith may do another movie instead.  He has plenty to choose from.  Hit the jump for just a few of the films he may do next.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: November 7th, 2009 at 10:02 am

Going back to the old masters, going back to the classics is always illuminating. Someone like Alfred Hitchcock knew how to frame a film. He knew where he was putting his camera, and why it was there. As in North by Northwest he achieved one of the great visual representations of sex. Cary Grant lifts Eva Marie Saint up to bed, and then a train enters a tunnel. Not exactly subtle, but undeniably brilliant. My review after the jump.

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