There are always sacrifices that have to be made during TIFF; sometimes you must forgo one movie to see another. Most of the time it's a roll the dice moment. And at the end of night 1 of the fest, after hearing the reactions to Michael Moore's new documentary "Where to Invade Next," I know that I made the wrong choice going for the British musical "London Road" instead. Damn the lure of Tom Hardy (who ended up only being in one scene of the movie and didn't come to the screening-AHHHHHHHHHH!). I done fucked up! (Though with Hardy's uneasy relationship with the press, maybe I'm glad I didn't hear him interviewed in person: see here).
But first, I want to talk about Kent Jones' amazing documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut.
This is an absolute must see for anyone who appreciates the mastery of Hitchcock and what he did (and continues to do for film). The film uses the seminal film text "Hitchcock/Truffaut" as a jumping off point. For those unfamiliar with it, it is a fantastic book put together by Truffaut, a French filmmaker who was very fond of Hitchcock, and began a long-distance friendship with him through letters, that eventually turned into an 8 day interview between the 2 men (the audio recordings are 27 hours) where they discussed each of Hitchcock's films and basically ruminated on the art of film. This interview makes up the text of the book, which also includes photos of the 2 directors from the 8 days, and many stills/story boards from Hitchcock's films. My brother gave me a copy of the book years ago, and it is excellent; a great book to have in your film library!
But first, I want to talk about Kent Jones' amazing documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut.
This is an absolute must see for anyone who appreciates the mastery of Hitchcock and what he did (and continues to do for film). The film uses the seminal film text "Hitchcock/Truffaut" as a jumping off point. For those unfamiliar with it, it is a fantastic book put together by Truffaut, a French filmmaker who was very fond of Hitchcock, and began a long-distance friendship with him through letters, that eventually turned into an 8 day interview between the 2 men (the audio recordings are 27 hours) where they discussed each of Hitchcock's films and basically ruminated on the art of film. This interview makes up the text of the book, which also includes photos of the 2 directors from the 8 days, and many stills/story boards from Hitchcock's films. My brother gave me a copy of the book years ago, and it is excellent; a great book to have in your film library!
The film interviews a few famous directors-David Fincher, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Marty Scorsese- on their thoughts about the beauty of Hitchcock's filmmaking. It's really quite illuminating to hear these directors speak about Hitchcock-in their comments you realize that 1. They are so observant of every detail of film (which makes sense, considering they're directors but regardless, it is impressive) and 2. Despite the fact that those speaking about him are some of the best film directors of today, their talent is nothing compared to the genius of Hitchcock.
Both my brother and I actually wished that the film had been longer (which isn't something either of us feel often at the end of a movie) and the only criticism I have is that the film focused too much on Vertigo (a film that although beautiful, kinda sucks as the plot and story makes no sense at all) and not enough on Hitchcock's better films, like Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest etc. But, that was the director's choice (and speaking with him afterwards, it was clear that he loves Vertigo). Regardless, definitely worth a watch when this comes out.
If you're interested in hearing the Q&A with the director, Kent Jones, listen below:
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