MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK: A Legend Resurrected

MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK (Blu-ray)

2022 / 120 min

From Cohen Media Group

Review by Princess Pepper😺

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).

The film is made up of five “chapters”...Escape, Desire, Loneliness, Time, Fulfillment and Height. Hitch states these are recurring themes throughout his body of work (and life). His observations are supported by a huge collection of clips from his films, both classic and obscure, dating all the way back to the silent era. Hitchcock himself is occasionally depicted through vintage photographs, some enhanced through subtle animated touches. 

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.