He Is Alfred Hitchcock

Monday is about movies. And TV. Today, the great Alfred Hitchcock.

I can’t remember when I first heard about Alfred Hitchcock but I seem to recall a book of stories connected to him on the shelf at my grandfather’s house. Pop was really into movies. And TV. He was one of those guys that just retired and sat in a chair. That’s how I knew him. A guy who sat on his butt and watched the box. He would sometimes take me to the movies in the holidays, usually they were inappropriate films – slightly too old for me – and when we stayed with him and Grandma, he’d always be watched Tales Of The Unexpected or Hammer House of Horror, or something like that. And he’d let us stay up and watch it too.

So I think I learned about Hitchcock from him – and in that way that happens when you’re young, I associated my Pop with Alfred Hitchcock; decided they looked similar, sounded similar; two old guys, white-haired and/or balding, you know…

I do know that the first Hitchcock film I saw was The Birds. And it was terrifying. A classic from the Sunday Night Horrors. As profound in my life as when I saw the first Planet of the Apes, or when my Pop took me to see Battletruck.

Some films just stick with you.

It was a while after that I saw Psycho – and I didn’t get it’s full magic on a first watch, but I definitely was caught up in the suspense.

Hitchcock’s full range is extraordinary, and I’ve started collecting up his films on DVD – rewatching some of my favourites, diving in to see the very early ones including silent movies, and the volumes of his TV show too.

I’ve got my work cut out for me becoming a Hitchcock completist. But it’s a goal.

One thing that pleased me very much, recently, was watching what I call a “starter kit” documentary, I Am Alfred Hitchcock. Wisely, this doesn’t try to cut new ground, but it puts the work on display and allows you to dive right in. I was already exploring Hitchcock anew before seeing this. But the documentary really put his work front and centre and got me to thinking all about my grandfather and my movie-watching relationship with him, and also about some of Hitch’s wonderful films.

For now, at least, my favourite is Rope. This 1948 crime-thriller is taut and smart. And I have always loved it. But maybe that will change as I hit into a few more of the films. I’m excited to have a summer of Hitchcock. Well, it’ll likely roll through into next winter of course…

Anyway, I’d recommend the I Am Alfred Hitchcock doco very much. It’s been smartly made.

There are so many Hitchcock docos already, and books, and ways to learn about the man and his films – for a start, the movies are still available and the best of them remain tremendous. His TV show is being released in DVD boxsets, and there have been biopics too. Alfred Hitchcock remains one of the names associated with screen terror, a horror practitioner and pioneer who extended out beyond the genre, even dabbling in comedy, but mostly working in tight drama/thriller confines.

So what more might you need to know about him?

Well, I Am Alfred Hitchcock recognises that even if you haven’t watched a doco about Big Al already, and even if you haven’t seen any of the films you still know the name. It moves swiftly through his life and movies, tying the two together, showing how one influenced the other, and, wisely, it focuses on showing clips from this extraordinary films.

A younger generation of contemporary filmmakers (Edgar Wright, Eli Roth) speak with rightful reverence about the horror master, revelling in his innovations and all the while there’s not a talking head in sight, we actually get to see the action unfolding as its being breathlessly re-described.

This is the perfect film treatment for (re) introducing Hitchcock in 2022.

You’ll hear also from the Scorseses and Spielbergs of the film world. And you’ll get plenty of classic moments from Psycho, Marnie, Rope, The Birds, Vertigo and Rear Window. And that is just for starters.

It’s constantly amazing to me to watch the way Hitchcock framed the world, the fun he had within his persona, the way he created a role for the Director-as-Film Frontperson, paving the way for the auteur heroes of the 70s by moving the energy away from producers. So to have another look at this magic is something I was always going to sign up for, but this documentary is smart and sharp and never outstays its welcome; it knows when it is circling back over well-trodden ground and it is less concerned with trying to break a new story and more focussed on a perfect tribute within a tight timeframe.

It’s basically a starter-kit. And it knows that.

Was Hitchcock of importance to you? Or have you never understood the fuss?

What’s your favourite Alfred Hitchcock film?