Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

MisterWhiplash This was my introduction to Alfred Hitchcock, and it makes for a splendid introduction! This was shown on the Starz network around this time of release, and it was a good overview of Hitchcock's career. It may be somewhat standard in that it look at the major Hollywood films more than some of the British fare (that does get some spotlight, and there's actually more time spent on films you might not expect like Foreign Correspondent and Saboteur), and you get some expected talking heads like Brian De Palma (this was probably the first time I can remember seeing him interviewed) and Peter Bogdanovich (would any Hitchcock doc be complete without him, I'm not sure). But if you consider that someone like me, a young and aspiring movie buff in the 90's, could get a lot from it and realize how much there is to learn about Hitchcock, it's best recommended as a primer for people who want to learn more about his films and why he mattered so much and what an impact he made (i.e. the Psycho shower scene for audiences who were seeing it for the first time in theaters).

Robert J. Maxwell Ted Haimes put together this tribute to a fine film maker. It's narrated by Kevin Spacey, and there are interpolated comments from Alfred Hitchcock's stars, co-workers, relatives and friends like Janet Leigh, Norman Lloyd, Joseph Stefano, John Michael Hayes, and Peter Bogdanovich.The comments are brief and informative. Most of the screen time is given over to Hitchcock's home movies, still photos, and clips from his better-known movies.Among the subjects given more extensive treatment are "Rear Window," "The Birds," "Shadow of a Doubt," and examples of Hitchcock's skill as an entertainer and self promoter, especially his appearances on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Appearing on television, in the 1950s, was considered something of a demotion for a movie director. The guy must be in decline if he's desperate enough to appear on the small screen, right? Can you imagine something along the lines of "John Ford Presents"? And yet, for all the show biz elements of his television show, it worked. It was successful even though he only directed a dozen or so episodes, and even though the material for his irreverent framing announcements were written by someone else. By this time he was as much a public figure as his movies. He was recognizable and, probably more important to him, merchandisable. By selling himself he made Alfred Hitchcock the instrument for the sale of his products.What a complicated man he was. The movie soft pedals his human weaknesses and, since it's a paean to Hitch, he is presented as a genius in touch with our innermost fears. A genius, no doubt, and an artist. Also, in the end, an abject alcoholic, a stingy man ("mean" in Britain), uncomfortable with either expressing or accepting affection or dissent, and obsessed with lurid fantasies. I doubt that the documentary would have been a lesser piece if it had mentioned some of these devalued habits.But, perhaps, that's a different kind of documentary. This one is splendidly written. It doesn't talk down to the audience, doesn't treat them as children. Not once is Hitchcock referred to as "the master of suspense." Thank Bog. I don't know if we would want to change places with Hitchcock. He earned world-wide acclaim, but his tormented soul inhabited a most unprepossessing body with compulsive traits. At the same time, I'm sure he would happily have traded places with Cary Grant.

Petri Pelkonen This is a great documentary of a great man.It tells the story of Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), the master of suspense.It covers his career starting from the early stuff he made in The Great Britain and all of his classic movies we all know.Kevin Spacey is the narrator of Hitchcock: Shadow of a Genius (1999).There are many people talking about the master.There are cast and crew members such as Tippi Hedren, Joseph Stefano, Norman Lloyd, Robert F. Boyle, Teresa Wright and Janet Leigh.There are these film directors who admire the work of Hitch: Brian De Palma, Jonathan Demme, Curtis Hanson, Robert Altman, Ronald Neame, Peter Bognadovich, Wes Craven and Bryan Singer.There's also Hitchcock's only daughter, Patricia Hitchcock (b.1928) sharing her memories of her father.It's really fascinating to see all those home movies with the Hitchcock family.You really start liking the man.This is also a love story.The passion he had for his wife, Alma Reville, is really something.In the end, when Alfred receives the award, being really old, it's really touching to see him praising his wife, who's listening to her beloved husband on stage with tears in her eyes.He truly was a kind and loving man.A man who made terrific movies.After seeing this documentary you know everything you ever wanted to know about Alfred Hitchcock.This is a great documentary of a great man.

Swift-12 This film was re-monikered DIAL H FOR HITCHCOCK when I saw it recently on cable.We get it all here. Clips from the films. Commentary about his craft. Commentary about the personal impact he had on current film-makers. Personal insights from a few people who'd worked with Hitch. A brief biography blended in with a chronological survey of some of his career highlights. We also get Hitchcock himself; both in serious archival interview as well as entertaining appearances from his trailers and TV show intros. And montages. Glorious beautifully crafted montages. We get it all. Except for that compulsive-monster stuff you can only find in the tabloid-style book THE DARK SIDE OF GENIUS.I was very impressed by the montage sequences and how they artfully chose just the right images to blend with what the commentators were saying. It didn't hurt that Bernard Herrmann's score to VERTIGO was used, both for the long opening montage as well as the closing sequence.Commentators included several directors from today ... Wes Craven, Brian DePalma, Jonathan Demme, Robt Altman, Peter Bogdanovich.Would have been nice to get old footage of interviewed commentators from days of old ... folk that Hitchcock had worked with. The only ones left to interview were ... Norman Lloyd (the actor who took the plunge off the Statue of Liberty in SABOTEUR and whom collaborated closely on the 50's TV show ... he also had become a very close personal friend with Alfred and Alma)... Janet Leigh, who needs no introduction ... Tippi Hendren, ditto ... Teresa Wright, the nice young lady in SHADOW OF A DOUBT... and Joseph Stefano who wrote the screenplay to PSYCHO.Stefano's comments were very keen as he mused about where the hell such a civilized man as Hitchcock could have found the deep dark places of the human soul within himself to mine. His narration synched-up nicely with the montage, displaying short snippets of various characters in close-up, tortured souls, lonely souls ... as Stefano's comments were handed over to the voice track of Norman Bates: "we're all alone. Trapped like animals. In our own private cages."For Hitchcock aficionados, there might not be anything new to glean here. It covers old territory like explaining "The McGuffin" theory. But it doesn't go much into technical things like his montage-approach to editing ... or the pre-eminence of building a long anxious suspense sequence, compared to a brief sudden shock. (These kinds of things are covered more thoroughly in the 1970's docu series THE MEN WHO MADE THE MOVIES ... but when will we ever get treated to THAT again??) This is still a great retelling of his life and career in a fresh style, and a nice entertaining way to spend 90 minutes. In fact I got sucked into watching part of it a second time. But this (like Hitchcock's own work) is like a rollercoaster -- you can enjoy it over and over.