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SFFILM Festival

78/52

Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe

USA | 91

8 Apr
Sat, Apr 8, 2017 at 10:00 pm PT

Description

Taking a deep dive into Hitchcock’s shower scene in Psycho (1960), director Alexandre O. Philippe marshals a splendid assemblage of commentators and footage to discuss its lasting effect. Beginning with Janet Leigh’s stand-in Marli Renfro and including directors (Peter Bogdanovich, Guillermo del Toro, Eli Roth), editors (Walter Murch), composers (Danny Elfman), and actors (Elijah Wood, Jamie Lee Curtis), 78/52 dissects the technical mastery of the sequence, some of its surprises and revelations, and why it continues to affect people to this day. Philippe also offers fascinating behind-the-scenes details, whether it’s a look at Saul Bass’s storyboards, how DP John Russell achieved certain camera angles, or the specific kind of fruit used to make those squishy stabbing sounds. Tribute is also paid to Bernard Hermann’s unforgettable arpeggios that punctuate the murder. One ingenious overarching conceit has Philippe putting many of his interviewees in a setting much like the Bates Motel with an old-fashioned television where they can watch and comment on poor Marion Crane’s demise. Between the wisdom, insight, and humor of those interviewed and the continued shock value of what happens in that motel bathtub, this film shows how 78 set-ups and 52 cuts can add up to what is arguably the most influential scene in cinema. —Rod Armstrong

Director Alexandre O. Philippe

Alexandre O. Philippe holds a degree in dramatic writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is creative director of Denver-based Cinema Vertige and Exhibit A Pictures. He has directed several other documentaries, including Doc of the Dead (2014), The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus (2012), and The People vs. George Lucas (2010). Reflecting on why he made a film about a single scene of a film he states, “It all stems from just an absolute passion for Hitchcock and his craft. His extraordinary mastery of the medium and attention to great detail … It’s just a perfect storm of absolute genius.”

Film Details

Language English

Year 2016

Runtime 91

Country USA

Director Alexandre O. Philippe

Producer Kerry Deignan Roy

Writer Alexandre O. Philippe

Editor Chad Herschberger

Cinematographer Robert Muratore

Music Jon Hegel