What makes My Name is Alfred Hitchcock a unique retrospective film is we’re hearing it from the horse’s mouth (sort of). One of cinema’s most iconic and influential directors offers a fresh new perspective on his life, career and approach to his craft. Surely a legend of Hitch’s stature still has something relevant to share. Who cares if the man’s been dead for 45 years?
Director Mark Cousins doesn’t let such a minor technicality deter him from letting Hitch have his say, not when he’s got narrator Alistair McGowan doing a spot-on impression of him. So it really isn’t Hitch we’re listening to, nor are these his actual words. Cousins, whose career mostly consists of documentaries, wrote the screenplay, which he claims is based on what the real Alfred Hitchcock has said and done during his life…
…meaning this isn’t a documentary in the purist sense, which is fine because don’t we have enough of those already? Instead, its subject is the film’s somewhat reliable narrator. Jovial, a tad arrogant and sometimes pretty funny, Hitch frequently breaks the fourth wall and engages the audience directly while discussing what makes him tick (both personally and professionally).
If our narrator is to be fully trusted, we learn more about the man behind the movies than the movies themselves, which is okay because most reading this probably know everything about Vertigo anyway. Besides, this Hitchcock certainly knows how to tell a good story and, as one-sided conversations go, he’s very engaging.
EXTRA KIBBLES
CINEMA Q&A WITH CHUCK ROSE - Rose interviews director Mark Cousins.
ALISTAIR McGOWAN’S VOICE TEST - Audio only.
GRAPHICS ANIMATION TESTS
INTRODUCTIONS - Director Mak Cousins introduces three of Hitch’s classics, Notorious, Rope & Saboteur.
TRAILER & ALTERNATE TRAILER - The latter is narrated by director Mark Cousins.
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