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HITCHCOCK FILM REVIEW

Hitchcock film review gives a brief analysis of some of the classic hitchcock films that helped create the adjevtive 'Hitchcockian.' A brief synopsis, memorable moments, character analysis - read all of it here on hitchcock film review.

FRENZY - FILM REVIEWS

Read the reviewers of NYT analysing the film as it was released in the 70s.

THE PSYCHO (1960)

A macabre story of a young man – a hotel owner – who kills his mother at the age of 13 for her extra-marital affair, preserves her body, and then kills any young woman who enters his hotel. The ending is even more grotesque, the young man becoming a full-blown image of his mother, talking and behaving as her. The film is best remembered for the shower murder scene of actress Janet Leigh, for this was the first time that a bathroom scene had been used to show a chilling murder. The main actress is killed quite early in the film, and it is her sister and brother who discover the facts. The viewer is repeatedly misled as to the identity of the killer, or who the real protagonist of the film is. This film was not pure horror, and Hitchcock saw a comical side to it. Uses a lot of sound effects, especially the shrieking violins during the shower murder. The film deserves a watch just for the way the story has been told.

Read our review of the psycho shower scene.

THE BIRDS (1963)

A young couple, recently fallen in love, visit a small California island where the formerly docile birds become aggressive and start preying on humans. No amount of defense proves enough, and the entire community is made to flee in the end. No formal explanation is given for the odd behavior of the birds. Hitchcock plays on the fear factor again, using birds as a symbol. One reviewer at CNN thinks that there is a sexual connection in the film, the lead actress being shown as a lusty playgirl and after the main actor, and the whole film is about putting it down. No matter what, the scenes of masses of birds attacking adults and children with no stopping is the main draw of the film. Extremely watchable.

 

VERTIGO (1958)

The Sight and Sound Greatest films of all Time poll conducted every 10 years has consistently listed Vertigo since 1982. Starring James Stewart and Kim Novak, it is about a police detective who has a fear of heights asked to keep tabs on the main actress. He falls in love with her, and Hitchcock cleverly contrasts the fear of heights and falling with the fear of intimacy. He is not however able to save the target for his fear of heights. Years later he meets another girl that remind him of his previous obsession. The end is shocking – he discovers the foul play – it was all a ploy to make him believe that the wife whom he kept tabs on committed suicide. This film has been restored recently and is one of the masterpieces of Hitchcock for his technical shots of vertigo.


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