Hitchcock Truffaut
2019
with

Julia Ricci

Programmer, Heartland Film Festival; Filmstruck contributor

Hitchcock/Truffaut— The psychology of suspense

Alfred Hitchcock expert Julia Ricci explains how Hitchcock used the imagination and speculation of the audience to escalate the thrills of his films.

Historic Artcraft Theatre Franklin, IN

Film Synopsis

Filmmakers Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Wes Anderson, and others discuss the legacy of Alfred Hitchcock and the influential book "Hitchcock" by François Truffaut.

In 1962, French New Wave auteur François Truffaut, aided by translator Helen Scott, spent a week in Hollywood with his idol, Alfred Hitchcock, discussing the director’s rich and extensive body of work, including Psycho and Vertigo. The resulting 1966 book of interviews, Hitchcock, became a celebrated bible of cinema for generations of filmmakers.

Fifty years after its publication, Hitchcock/Truffaut brings this historic summit to life by combining rare original audio recordings and behind-the-scenes photos from the historic exchange. The film offers an eye-opening study of Hitchcock’s enduring genius and legacy, as the two men explore the technical, narrative, and aesthetic questions at the heart of his work. The documentary also includes new observations from such acclaimed filmmakers as Wes Anderson, Olivier Assayas, Peter Bogdanovich, David Fincher, Richard Linklater, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Schrader.

Banner image courtesy of HBO Films