Hitchcock...

[George Bellefontaine]

Ovation`s post on a Hitchcock classic reminded me of this movie on Hitchcock so I watched it last night.

This partial bio stars Anthony Hopkins as Hitch and Helen Mirren as his wife . It is based on a book that dealt with the making of Psycho. Also stars Scarlett Johnasson as Janet Leigh and Jessica Biel as Vera Miles. During the making of Psycho, a rift developed between Hitch and his wife who apparently always worked together on his film projects, and he appears to have suffered a melt down. The film also suggests that Hitch was a bit psycho himself. I don`t know about that, but his obsession with his blonde headed leading ladies is well documented and that was touched on here. I found the movie interesting but felt the makeup to make Hopkins look like Hitchcock was a bit on the macabre side. Perhaps this was done on purpose, I don`t know. Overall, it was okay but I`m not sure it was an accurate portrait of Hitch at that particular point in his life.

[aud19]

Hmm with Hopkins and Mirren starring and being about one of my (everyone's?) favourite all time directors (not to mention starring one of my favourite all time eye candy... mmm ScarJo :drool: ) I had high hopes for this one... Just a middling review from our resident expert has me a touch pre-disappointed

Perhaps going in with now lowered expectations will help...?

[George Bellefontaine]

I think you'll enjoy it, Jason. The things I pointed out were bothersome, but I still enjoyed the film.

[Ovation]

Hmm with Hopkins and Mirren starring and being about one of my (everyone's?) favourite all time directors (not to mention starring one of my favourite all time eye candy... mmm ScarJo :drool: ) I had high hopes for this one... Just a middling review from our resident expert has me a touch pre-disappointed

Perhaps going in with now lowered expectations will help...?

My expectations are never lowered :wink: where Scarlett Johansson is concerned. ;x(

[Chris D]

I'll second that. This will be an eventual rental for me.

[George Bellefontaine]

Scarlett portrays Janet Leigh and for guys my age, Janet, in her prime , was a favorite pinup, especially in the boobs department. Looks like Scarlett filled Janet's boo...uh, shoes pretty well. :W

[Ovation]

Umm. Shoes. Yeah. That's it. :wink: :B

[aud19]

Yeah...she sure does fill out a pair of...

...shoes:W

[aud19]

Well I watched it last night... it's certainly worth a rental due to the actors and subject matter involved (not to mention the previously stated ScarJo eye-candy) but it didn't strike any deep emotional chords like great movies do. It was entertaining and interesting enough to spend a couple hours on but I don't think i'd recommend a purchase.

[Chris D]

Rented it. Really liked it! Casting was great. I think Hopkins and Mirren could do just about anything together and hit a home run, and they do with this one too. Just about every other part was well played as well, all the way down to Ralph Macchio doing a bit part. ScarJo looks a lot like Janet Leigh, and I think the best part may have been the minor role (in this film) of the Anthony Perkins character. I didn't know a lot of these things about Psycho. :4: out of :5: for me.

[Ovation]

I thoroughly enjoyed it (knowing it wasn't attempting a strictly accurate recreation, I found it easy enough to accept the little asides). Helen Mirren is one of my top five favourite actresses (and still quite sexy--Scarlett wasn't the only one who got my attention). The guy doing Perkins was perfect--if they do a bio of Perkins, they need look no further for the actor. Also loved the bit with the censor in their first meeting (Kurtwood Smith was another perfect choice for that role.)

You weren't feeling misled by the title a little bit? (I kid, I kid)

[Chris D]

Yeah, I actually thought about that, Ovation, in comparison to me thing with Lincoln. To be fair, I do see how it can be advantageous to tell the story of a person in regards to one big project of theirs, if it encapsulates their personage. However, I think most people would agree that Lincoln was historically a person on a totally different level than Hitchcock, and this story takes place over far longer than just four months. But also, I felt that this movie really was the story of Hitchcock, set against the construct of the project he was working. (filming Psycho) Wheras with Lincoln, I really felt it was the opposite. But as always, I may be way off.

[wkhanna]

Just last evening The Wife & I took pause to relax with this movie, not expecting to exert high effort in its viewing. We both thoroughly enjoyed it, The wife maybe a bit more than I.

Hopkins was dead-on. As was Mirren. I appreciated how the genius figure was portrayed with such fragility & insecurity. & how oft the case is that reality spawns cliché, the adage of great women providing foundation & backbone to their men of greatness is deftly displayed by the film.

For me, the highlight was how Hitch (Perkins) reacted to the audience responding to the opening screening of his finished film.