Hitchcock (2012)

A snapshot of Hitchcock's life and the lead up, shooting and release of Psycho.

A perfect blend of entertainment, surprisingly emotional and a delight to watch. No doubt artistic licence is used but John J. McLaughlin's script based on Stephen Rebello's book manages to mix and balance the story elements perfectly without becoming the 'making of Psycho' which remains as a backdrop. It ultimately focuses on Hitchcock's intriguing relationships with his wife, cast and crew. There's some genuine laugh-out moments and heartfelt scenes. The surreal moments including Ed Gein subtly played by Michael Wincott injects an edginess to the proceedings and gives an insight into his psyche.

Any reservations of Anthony Hopkins' casting are dispelled within a few minutes, he is absolutely superb with the make up equally as effective. Helen Mirren as Alma is on fine form giving both a powerful and touching performance. Without nitpicking on Scarlett Johansson's facial indifference to Leigh and James D'Arcy's to Anthony Perkins they capture the persona wonderfully as too does Jessica Biel as Vera Miles respectively. Notable is Toni Collette as Peggy Robertson and from Danny Huston as Whitfield Cook to Kurtwood Smith Geoffrey Shurlock there is a fine supporting cast.

Fittingly book-ended with Hopkins as Hitch breaking the fourth wall in 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' style you can't help but smile. As satisfying as Hitchcock is it still leaves you wanting more.

Fmovies: A narrowed down film, myopic and predictable.

It is a film that deals with how Alfred Hitchcock made the thriller called 'Psycho'. It is good nonetheless but never becomes great.

Are there any moments of greatness at least? Absolutely not. It comes across as a fictionalized documentary more than a fascinating drama. Having said that, the performance by Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock is worth appreciating. Other performances are good enough too.

What failed me was the script that kept many things obvious. There was no guile, secrecy or a metaphor in any of the scenes. The screenplay followed a well-documented path. Yes, for few instances it gets into the psyche of Hitchcock and tries to interpret some actions but they come very much late in the film.

Overall, I must say the viewing of this film was daunting more than being insightful for me. The actual interviews of Hitchcock himself are more interesting than this film.

It's a 2/5 for showing few days of an illustrious career and personality.

When I first saw the preview for Hitchcock, I knew it would be right up my alley. I mean its about Alfred Hitchcock and what he went through to produce easily one of the greatest horror films of all time. And to top it all off Anthony Hopkins Plays Hitch himself, and when it comes to Hopkins, he brings his A-game to every single role. This movie blew me away, the acting is spot on, the cinematography is excellent, almost shot like an early horror movie in my opinion, lighting is precise and the music fits the mood and the story perfectly. I don't remember the last time I had so much fun watching a movie. Watch this one, its a gem!

Hitchcock fmovies. While I enjoy watching historical biopics, I don't like the ones that mess with the facts, especially when the subject matter is a favourite of mine. Hitchcock has long been a favourite director, so I awaited with interest this film which depicts him as he devises and shoots the legendary PSYCHO.

Unfortunately, what Hollywood ultimately delivers is nothing more than an exercise in feminist revisionism, and that's all down to Helen Mirren who play Hitch's wife. Apparently, Mirren refused the role at first as it lacked 'meat' and 'importance'; thus, a number of spurious - and ludicrous - angles were added to the movie to better accommodate her. According to this film, Hitch's wife directed part of the movie, inspired her husband, and came up with the best ideas, all of which is complete nonsense of course and a bit of an insult to the great director himself.

Aside from that, the film isn't bad, so it's a pity that the huge flaws stopped me from enjoying it (it's more fantasy than realist). Anthony Hopkins is a nice fit for Hitchcock, but I found his prosthetics to be too distracting and unrealistic (and, after all, there's only one Hitch). The supporting cast is better, with Scarlett Johansson (as Janet Leigh), Michael Wincott (as Ed Gein), Kurtwood Smith (as a censor) and Michael Stuhlbarg (as an executive) really standing out.

Episodic and mostly forgettable, purports to tell the story of the making of Alfred Hitchcock's infamous movie, Psycho, and the inspiration leading up to it- but it fritters away most of its run-time on petty day-to-day bickering between Hitch and wife/ co-screenwriter Alma.

Her implied, potential affair was given up to nearly twenty minutes screen time. This affected the making of Psycho how?

A couple of the jokes made me and the rest of the audience laugh, but far too many of film's jokes spring not from the making of Psycho, but from the makers of this film having fun with Hitchcock's legacy, in a winking-at-the-camera/ breaking-the-fourth-wall type of way. Perfect example is the reference to The Birds in the closing scene.

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.