As for Hitch and Tippi… supposedly he directed her in MARNIE through intermediaries, since they weren’t on speaking terms. Weirdly, the movie is still pretty great, I think one of his most underappreciated films. Which may just suggest Hitch wasn’t exaggerating about how little he liked (or cared about) directing actors. I love in Trouffout’s interview, Hitch mentions that if he made PSYCHO at the end of his career, he would have made the opening sequence a topless scene ‘not for any purient reasons, of course — just because I’d be interested in the interaction between the breast and his chest’. Riiiiiight.

speaking of tippi hedren and hitchcock, i second recommending MARNIE to anyone who hasn’t seen it. her performance in that and THE BIRDS are really good, and similarly to perkins in PSYCHO feel really contemporary compared to other acting of the era.

but that’s one of the (many) great things about hitchcock. his movies seem so much more contemporary than other movies of the era. their tone is so non-condescending, and despite the censorship of the times they seem so unapologetically ADULT. the very first shot of PSYCHO has the camera zooming into a hotel window where janet leigh, still in her bra, is just finishing up a secret twist with her boyfriend, who, if i’m not mistaken, is still married to someone else. in other movies of the era, these characters would instantly be coded as BAD, but in hitchcock they are just normal, sympathetic adults. and in all his movies the characters are flawed in a way that seems realistic and his movies are not judgemental about them. billy wilder’s movies also have a similar contemporary feel and adult sensibility, though obviously not as dark.

Loudabagel – I thought that was Melanie Griffith? Also allegedly, Hitchcock tried to put his moves on her mother Tippi Hedren. Too bad Tippi wasn’t into fat bald old British guys.

Nice review and nice insights. But as a whole, it seemed like a different writing style and a different mood. Not sure if that was intentional or something I am making up as I write this. I read your review this morning and somehow or another, it stuck in my brain, not for the insights, but for the tone. Anyway, seemed a little different.

As for Hitchcock and Jareth mentioning Dreyer’s Vampyr. A lot of similarities. That shot in Vampyr where the shadows match up perfectly with the real life. Classic. Same thing goes for Hitchcock. His ideas may not always be the most novel, but his execution is flawless. With regards to Psycho, the shot where he does the overhead at the top of the stairs and into the wall above the doorway, holy shit. Flawless. That is the language of film which few have ever mastered. Hell, most have never came close.

Hitchcock remains the consummate master of suspense. Vertigo is definitely one of the most mesmerizing examples. But for a non-crazy sort of film, watch Notorious to watch the sheer fucking brilliance of making the most mundane suspenseful. Of course, Rebecca may be one of the first great “Haunted House” films that wasn’t a haunted house film.

Oh, the joys that Hitchcock hath wrought.