hitchcock Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm a huge fan of the "master of suspense," Alfred Hitchcock. He is an icon of modern cinema who directed so many fantastic films -- including classics like Strangers on a Train, The Birds, North by Northwest and Psycho. Most people probably know him best for those films. But he is also the director of a mysterious film known as Number 13 which is his first film, and was never finished.

No one really knows the exact reason for Number 13's unfinished state, but now, according to a story in Production Weekly, Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley has come aboard the new thriller Number Thirteen, which will attempt to shed some light on the mystery. Kingsley joins a cast which already includes Ewan McGregor, Emily Mortimer, and Dan Fogler, to tell the story of the mystery surrounding Hitchcock's unfinished film.

Chase Palmer makes his feature writing/directing debut on Number Thirteen, which in true Hitchcockian fashion, tells the story of the young Hitchcock (played by Fogler) who is caught up in a love triangle with two members of his Number Thirteen crew. Then, when his lead actor turns up dead, the editor of the film suspects the director and tries to unravel the mystery and bring the killer to justice.

Reading what I just wrote there and thinking about the film makes it sound pretty interesting. As a fan of the master, I have always wondered what did happen with his mysterious first film. Why was it never finished? It's the only one in his huge list of credits that was never completed. Was it something simple like lack of funds or "creative differences" which led to the film's unfinished state? Or, was it, perhaps, something more sinister, as this new film suggests? As a fan, I like to think it was the latter because it fits so much better with the legend that is Alfred Hitchcock. I just hope this new film comes close to living up to Hitchcock's legend when it hits theaters. Shooting on Number Thirteen is expected to start in February.

Are any other Hitchcock fans out there excited to see this film?

I'll just say it like I'm tearing off a bandage:

They'reremakingTheBirds.

Whew. Wait, put down your pitchforks for a second. Here's the scoop:

You know those gore-happy Platinum Dunes dudes? The ones who gave you The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Amityville Horror? And this October's Massacre prequel? And next year's Hitcher remake? Yeah, those guys. They're making a movie called The Birds.

But producer Brad Fuller is making one thing abundantly, thoroughly, and in all ways crystal clear: They'll be working from the original Daphne Du Maurier short story and NOT from the dazzlingly cool Alfred Hitchcock film. The thousands of tickets they'll inevitably sell thanks to the "non-connection" to the Hitchcock flick is, of course, just good fortune.

Mr. Fuller also announced that his Birds screenwriters have been chosen: the two knuckleheads who wrote freakin' Boogeyman.

The Night Listener is a Hitchcockian version of Shattered Glass, the story of what happens when sketchy journalism and mental instability collide. Robin Williams plays a pretentious NPR storyteller (think: Ira Glass of This American Life) who is introduced by telephone, by his publisher/agent, to a gifted young novelist named Pete.

Peter, played by Rory Culkin, has escaped a life of pornographic pedophilia imposed on him by his parents (in their basement studio), to complete the great American novel. However, he is now dying from AIDS (apparently from being raped by straight men during the making of pornos) and his dying wish is to have his story published. Given the recent "Frey" around fictionalized biographies, the story is timely.

Williams' character Gabriel, recently shaken by a breakup with his HIV-positive lover, develops a deep phone relationship with the budding novelist and his adoptive mother Donna, played by Toni Collette (who is also featured in the Sundance '06 selection Little Miss Sunshine).

As the story unfolds Gabriel starts to doubt the authenticity of Pete--and his mother's--claims. Gabriel is forced to look inward as well, knowing that he has taken many liberties in his storied, storytelling career. As you can guess, it's not enough for our protagonist to just wonder if he's being duped. Nope, he's got to hit the road and travel to Wisconsin to get to the bottom of this mystery. Cold landscapes, dank basements, dark shadows, and other creepy devices ensue.

At 90 minutes the film has a nice, suspenseful pace, and doesn't go for the cheap thrill. The tension is built while we try to understand the psychosis. Based on the book by Armistead Maupin, the story includes plenty of plot twists. Highly recommended for those who like intelligent thrillers--or Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Others on The Night Listener: Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter was intrigued by the film, which he says "bristles with intriguing thoughts about the realm of fiction, how one loves, [and] issues of identity...". Our own James Rocchi was also impressed, calling the film "a strand of story strung out into the dark, coaxing us along as it unravels and leading us to think about who we are." Variety's David Rooney, however, was less interested in a work he calls "tediously solemn," and totally lacking "tension or dramatic structure."

UPDATE: A couple of readers have asked if the "ned help" error was my typo, or the MovieFone bot's. I copied and pasted these conversations directly from my Adium logs - I don't know who Ned is, but I assure you, it's a botstake.

We've tried to give the MovieFone IM bot, our corporate daddy's attempt to place movie showtimes at our instant message-crazed fingertups, a fair shot. But today the robot basically accused me of being a sex offender, so I think all bets are now off.

Here's what happened: I was wondering if the Alfred Hitchcock retrospective at Film Forum was still underway. Because MovieFone ostensibly recognizes directors, I pulled up the bot and typed Alfred's name in. But the bot apparently thought I was being unsavory:

2:49:14 PM karinalongworth: alfred hitchcock
2:49:14 PM moviefone: That's rude. I'm here to help. Type, help if you ned it.

It went on from there. I then tried to find the series by film title:

2:50:11 PM karinalongworth: Psycho
2:50:12 PM moviefone: Excuse me?
2:50:17 PM karinalongworth: Psycho
2:50:17 PM moviefone: Pardon me? I tried to find movies and directors related to what you typed but didn't have any luck. Can you try again?

I bet you watch the shower scene in Psycho and think, "Oh, I could so have done that better."  Come on, admit it – the editing is just too damn fast sometimes. And that eyeball closeup? Just a bit too cute, don't you think? Plus, how many times do we have to see the damn chocolate syrup circling the drain? Come on, Hitch. Lighten up! (Or if you prefer, you can yell at Saul Bass, who storyboarded the scene.)

Now, finally, here's your chance to put your money where your mouth is:  Psycho Studio allows you to create your own version of the scene, and will save yours in a gallery, where it can be watched and admired by your fellow Hitchcock fans around the world.

The world would be a better place, I think, if all directors were required to have cameos in their own films. Michael Bay could blow himself up. Robert Altman could cop a feel of a young hottie. George Clooney could drift by with a glass of champagne, looking suave and sophisticated. Quentin Taratino could lie in the dirt, covered with blood (which, really, would be preferable to his "acting"). No one, however, could do a cameo like Hitchcock.  The man even snuck his image into Lifeboat, for God's sake-- and that took place on a tiny boat, in the middle of the ocean! The link below points to a wonderful gallery of stills that capture (nearly) each and every one of the master's sneak appearances.

I swear that just the other day I was thinking about all the old movies that are being remade, and I wondered if anymore Alfred Hitchcock movies (after Psycho and A Perfect Murder - based on Dial M For Murder - both in 1998) would be remade. Now comes news that Michael Bay's company is going to tackle Hitchcock's 1963 thriller The Birds. Hmm. Michael Bay and Alfred Hitchcock are not two people you usually see mentioned in the same sentence, and I truly hope they don't screw this up, by making the birds explode or by giving them stealth capability or lasers in their eyes. The Birds was truly terrifying to me as a kid. I watched it one Sunday afternoon then walked downtown alone and saw about 1000 birds in a tree above me. No other humans around, just me and these birds. Freaky.