Kerry McGovern reviews ‘My Name is Alfred Hitchcock’ showing at the British Film Festival in November.

‘My Name is Alfred Hitchcock’ is a posthumous autobiography. Do you make films? Have you watched a Hitchcock film? Are you interested in a journey into the mind of Hitchcock? Do you want to be reminded of the many Hitchcock films, from his first German-British silent film ‘The Pleasure Garden’ in 1925, through the first British talkie ‘Blackmail’ in 1929, to ‘Young and Innocent’ 1937, ‘Strangers on a Train’ 1951,…and so many others?

This documentary is exactly what could satisfy you.

If you make movies now, can you imagine the journey Hitchcock travelled over six decades? And, from that time travel, think ahead to what might be in store for your career? From his first film, the silent ‘The Pleasure Garden’, a collaboration between a British and German team in 1925, to his last ‘The Family Plot’ in the USA in 1976? In between he created some of the best British films of the twentieth century, including the first British thriller and talkie ‘Blackmail’ in 1929.

But this film is about more than a list of his many films. While it refers to his well-known films ‘Rebecca’, ‘The 39 Steps’, ‘Rear Window’, ‘The Birds’ and ‘Psycho’ it digs deeper into his motivation in making films.

In a period when the computer is always right, this documentary reminds us of the many and complex motivations of humans. It shows us that visuals tell stories that avoid the need for dialogue. The gleam off a jewel here, the face in a shadow there, candles lit for two, a cornfield. Image after image is explained in a voice that mimics Hitchcock’s. It’s a masterful attempt to celebrate one who is celebrated as “the most important and influential filmmaker in the history of cinema”.

‘My Name is Alfred Hitchcock’ tells a story, based on six human experiences: escape, desire, loneliness, time, fulfillment and height. We are introduced to camera angles, how to create tension and suspense, light and how humans react to these. In one way, it’s a documentary that could only have been made after computers took over our daily lives. It reminds us of a time when humans reacted in unexpected ways, when we were encouraged to watch other people and to learn from them. Strangers on a train have “backstories” about which we are no longer curious. Opening a door can lead us into the unknown, a man can miss his wife when she dies as he stares at the empty chair.

Hitchcock the man and Hitchcock the director, the bit part actor, the editor are interwoven together in a long thread of a story told in Alistair McGowan’s voice, mimicking that of Hitchcock.

While Hitchcock became a US citizen in 1955, he was born in the flat above his grandfather’s grocery store outside London, and is claimed by the British. And the director, Mark Cousins, who was born in England, raised in Northern Ireland and lives in Scotland, has studied Hitchcock and used his techniques in his own movies. He’s imbued in the British film scene, being on the jury of the BFI London Film Festival, and is a patron of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

 Hence the inclusion of this documentary in the British Film Festival 2023.

If you are a Hitchcock aficionado, you’ll of course come to see this documentary. If you enjoy the results of the angles you get on your iPhone / Android and want some inspiration, this may be a documentary for you. If you are at the Queensland School of Film and Television, you’ll want to come. And if, like many, you have been affected by the shower scene in ‘Psycho’, it may help to learn how it was directed. Those who have avoided horror films completely, this is a safe way to learn a little about these famous films, without the emotional impact.

Preview

BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL

The 2023 Cunard British Film Festival presented by Palace will be in Brisbane’s Palace Cinemas from 2 – 29 November.

This year’s selection includes Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Spall, Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson in her final film.

Details here: www.britishfilmfestival.com.au