 |
| Alexandre Philippe's provocative documentary 78/52 (2017) explores Janet Leigh's last moments in Hitchcock's Psycho |
For a film that follows in depth a rather brief 52 second scene, Alexandre Philippe's
78/52 is one of the most fascinating investigations of cinema and the horror genre that you will ever see. Unlike the rather good
Room 237, which explores fans' obsessions surrounding Kubrick's
The Shining, Philippe's unpacking of the notorious shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's
Psycho properly pays homage to what might be considered
the most seminal film of the horror genre, and one of its most shocking murder set pieces. Setting the stage by shooting exteriors on the Bates Hotel and house set, the film leaves no aspect of this scene unturned, yet never feels boring, or "over-analyzing" as it unfolds.
 |
| Hitch believed that the Casaba melon was most analogous in sound to the flesh bag of the human body |
For horror geeks, the film provides a host of pleasures, as many luminaries of horror filmmaking (with only Karyn Kusama as the female representative of the genre) extol the virtues of
Psycho, citing its influences, and performing many feats of close textual analysis. Various Hitchcock experts (all guys) explain how
Psycho fits among Hitchcock's oeuvre. Film editor Walter Murch is one of the most exciting luminaries featured, and he gives you a real blow-by-blow sense of how innovative the film's editing was, while also paying proper respect to Saul Bass's involvement. Bernard Hermann's score is similarly unpacked and heralded as part of the scene's achievements, and there's a marvelous scene that explains how exactly the sound of a knife penetrating Marion's flesh came into being. What the film really emphasizes, without diminishing Hitchcock, is that this film, like many, was a collaborative effort by many outrageously talented people, and that its legacy lives on in both classic and contemporary horror works.
 |
| The guys from Spectrum wax on about their love of Psycho (particularly Anthony Perkins) |
While this film is ostensibly a "talking heads" documentary, it never feels stilted, dry, or stale, as the clips used to flesh out the conversations are well placed, gorgeous to look at, and often revelatory. I would have liked to see more women interviewed for this film (I counted seven total), and I found this dearth a sad commentary considering that two of the film's producers (present for the Q & A) are women. Nevertheless,
78/52, funded two years ago during Fantasia's own Frontiere's program, is so beautifully crafted, that I'm super excited for Philippe's next documentary project--an exploration of the infamous chestburster scene from Ridley Scott's
Alien. For lovers of
Psycho in particular, and cinema in general, this film is an absolute must-see!
