Aside from a handful of chin-stroking French intellectuals, 50 years ago most people dismissed Alfred Hitchcock as a mere entertainer. This beautifully crafted documentary celebrates the 1966 book that did much to change this perception and elevate the Master of Suspense to his present critical eminence.
Hitchcock/Truffaut was the product of a series of wide-ranging interviews conducted over eight days in 1962 between the 63-year-old Hitchcock and 30-year-old Nouvelle Vague filmmaker François Truffaut. And the book’s exploration of the artistry of Hitchcock’s films and some of their recurring themes and symbols proved revelatory.
Critic, programmer and documentary maker Kent Jones got hold of the original audio tapes and gives us extracts from the sessions in this hugely engaging documentary, accompanied by photographs taken at the time and some of the stills from Hitchcock’s films that were lavishly reproduced in the book. There are plenty of clips from the films, of course, and Jones also discusses the book’s far-reaching influence with ten contemporary filmmakers, including David Fincher, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Olivier Assayas and Martin Scorsese.
Certificate 12A. Runtime 80 mins. Director Kent Jones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JuhPG-YA40
