"Dial "H" For Hitchcock: The Genius Behind The Showman"

[CarlDenham]

 

Anyone ever see this documentary, narrated by Keven Spacey, when it aired on AMC back in 2000? I've looked everywhere I can to try and get some information on this, but alas, nothing. It's a pretty good doc' if you ask me. It's one of the reasons I'm such an Alfred Hitchcock nut, and my VHS copy is not going to last forever.

 

 

First off, has anyone seen it, and is it available for purchase?

 

 

[joefilmone]

Never heard of it- can it be better than Hitchcock episode from " The Men Who Made The Movies"

[fredbaetz]

I saw it a couple of times when it was on and found it quite well done with a loving look at the master. With interviews from Janet Leigh, Teresa Wright, Norman Lloyd, Teppi Hedren and his daughter Pat along with many others. Sadly this is not on dvd and it should be....

 

Edited by: fredbaetz on Jun 19, 2011 8:08 PM

[CarlDenham]

 

In response to 'joefilmone" it plays more like a complete retrospective of Hitchcock's life and his work. It shows how he got into the business, his relationship with David O. Selznick, it hilights many of Hitchcock's most important works and it includes interviews with people who knew him, ranging from old collaborators from his early silent days in England, to some of the more reverred directors of the last few decades that owe a great deal to the Master (Peter Bogdanovich, Brian Singer, Curtis Hanson, Brian DePalma, Johnathan Demme, Robert Altman and others). The documentary doesn't get too in-depth into Hitchcock's filmmaking techniques and philosophies, as does the "Men Who Made The Movies" piece. Where that one examines the man's artistry, this film celebrates his life, his career and his work.

 

 

 

 

 

I really hope this makes it to DVD someday. It originally aired back in 2000, as part of AMC's "Film Preservation Festival" salute to Alfred Hitchcock, which is where I first became obsessed with the man and his movies. I must say, that presentation by AMC, (back when it atleast rivaled TCM for authenticity), which ran for something like two whole weeks of non-stop Hitchcock movies (I damn-near watched all of them as soon I got hooked, which was pretty much from the first moment I sat down to watch it!) was one of the most significant movie-going experiences of my life, and one of the fondest " movie marathon memories" from my youth. "Dial 'H' For Hitchcock" is a perfect place to start for anyone who is interested in Alfred Hitchcock, because it covers alot of ground in a very diplomatic storytelling format.

 

 

[CarlDenham]

Has anybody else, any information, regarding this documentary? I really think it's one of the better profiles of a filmmakers entire body of work.

[faceinthecrowd]

Is the doc from "The Men Who Made the Movies" the one written by Richard Schickel and narrated by Cliff Robertson? If so, I can't imagine any better.

 

The last (or almost the last) line is:

 

"History has confirmed Hitchcock's dark vision. The only fantasy we have left is that he's just an entertainer."