TMI (Today’s Movie Info)
February: Director’s Month
ALFRED HITCHCOCK (1899-1980) directed more than 50 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He used very distinctive camera movement and pioneered a film editing style that created a new viewing experience. He was married to Alma Reville from 1926 until his death. She was his most valued behind-the-scenes collaborator on his films. If Alma didn’t like something, Hitch changed it. Hitchcock was nominated five times for a Best Director Oscar, but remarkably never won. In fact, the only two Oscars won for his films were: Best Actress for Joan Fontaine in Suspicion (1941), and Best Song for “Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que sera, sera)” from The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). One of his trademarks was a small cameo in most of his movies. He overcame the challenge of Lifeboat (1944), which is filmed entirely on a small boat. Watch closely and you’ll see Hitchcock in a newspaper advertisement for weight loss … he was both the “Before” and “After” picture. His classic films include: Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1941), Suspicion (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Strangers on a Train (1951), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), Vertigo (1958), North By Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963)
Movie Reviews from the Dark 