Hitchcock/Truffaut

Hitchcock/Truffaut
by Bayard Lewis
4 out of 4 stars

In 1962 New Wave French filmmaker Francois Truffaut set out to interview Alfred Hitchcock about his creative process as a director. Until that time Hitchcock was viewed by many in the cinema world as a mere entertainer and not a serious creative artist.   Through their week long session, Hitchcock reveals insights into his process of crafting iconic images.

His first experiences as a filmmaker were during the era of silent pictures and the style of storytelling with facial expressions, symbolic objects, and careful sequencing would echo throughout his body of work.  Current master filmmakers David Fincher (The Social Network), Martin Scorcese, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Tokyo Sonata) and others recount their admiration for Hitchcock in his stylistic choices and ability to captivate audiences with minimal, but effective imagery.

This is a museum trip of sorts, a journey connecting decades old works to today’s cinematic geniuses that were irrefutably influenced by Hitchcockian elements. The ability to ‘contract or extend time’ was one of the primary techniques Hitchcock mastered to tell his stories. Many moments from “Vertigo”, “The Birds”, and “Psycho” explore the psychological subtext and possibly surprising religious themes that are woven throughout.  For any lovers of film history or the process of filmmaking, “Hitchcock/Truffaut” provides a steady stream of ‘ah ha’ moments and a deeper reflection on the emotional hooks within Hitchcock’s works that made them timeless.