78/52: Hitchcock's Shower Scene
An unprecedented look at the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psychose (1960), the 'man behind the curtain', and the screen murder that profoundly changed the course of world cinema.
27 October 1918, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
12 March 1886, Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]
4 November 1919, The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
30 July 1939, Kingston, New York, USA
27 June 1975, Santa Monica, California, USA
9 April 1926, Chicago, Illinois, USA
21 December 1912, Dunkerque, Nord, France
December 29, 2017
78/52 is both a loving tribute to the work Hitchcock did as well as a sharp, enlightening lesson in what makes Psycho so special.
November 16, 2017
The calibre of interviewees and the level of their insights in Alexandre O. Philippe's film is on the distinctly variable side, closer to one of those I Love... nostalgia-fests that are used to pad out the television schedules than to something valuable.
October 19, 2017
Obsessive but accessible, the deepest dive imaginable into one of the most celebrated scenes in movie history, the documentary "78/52" looks at a brief three minutes of cinema the way it's never been looked at before.
November 07, 2017
A fascinating look at the most fascinating moment in what is arguably the most fascinating movie in the Hitchcock catalog.
October 13, 2017
Essential viewing, even if you have to watch through your fingers.
November 09, 2017
Hitchcock's shower scene may never leave the pop culture of fear it helped create.
October 13, 2017
78/52 is an orgy for movie obsessives. It makes you see the familiar with fresh eyes.
October 13, 2017
Alexandre O. Philippe's close reading of the Psycho shower scene is as refreshingly fun and perceptive as his documentary's name (referring to Alfred Hitchcock's 78 camera setups and 52 edits over three violent minutes) is eggheaded and clinical.
December 10, 2017
Who doesn't remember where he was when Leigh shed black bra and slip, unwrapped a bar of complimentary Bates Motel soap, and washed away her sins? ... Unfortunately doc's scholarship feels sketchy, arbitrary.
November 05, 2017
That a sequence depicting voyeurism should have drawn such myopic scrutiny is an irony not lost on the film-makers. The documentary's dedication reads: "To mother." Very droll.
November 16, 2017
Philippe's geekiness is infectious. His passion for film shines through most when he invites some of his interviewees-like horror nerd Elijah Wood and his friends-to watch the film on camera and comment on its foreshadowing and subtle motifs.
November 09, 2017
Call it a primer in film criticism and analysis, as well as a testament to Alfred Hitchcock's mastery of form...
