Table of Contents

78 52

This review was originally published as part of my coverage of Hot Docs 2017

The shower scene in ‘s Psycho is broken down and analyzed in . Created with 78 set-ups and 52 shots, the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho has become one of the most iconic sequences of film history. With its use of quick cuts and suggested nudity and violence, the scene broke many taboos from the time. Multiple individuals, ranging from editor Walter Murch to Elijah Wood, watch the shower scene and break down the individual moments that make it so iconic.

Director Alexandre O. Philippe (Doc of the Dead) has created a feature length homage to the shower scene of Psycho. This scene can be read in multiple ways, whether representing the female body under assault, punishment for misdeeds, or just plain old voyeurism. The film is built around interviews with a large group of filmmakers and experts, including body double Marli Renfro, filmmaker , and composer , who recreated Bernard Herrmann iconic music for Van Sant’s 1998 remake of Psycho.

As someone with a degree in film studies, who has written a number of sequence analysis essays, 78/52 is definitely a very enthralling look at the level of detail Alfred Hitchcock spent on creating the shower scene in Psycho. From foreshadowing the scene throughout the first act to choosing a very specific painting for the wall, every aspect of this sequence is broken down an analyzed. Some of the talking head, such as Walter Murch and Guillermo del Toro, makes some quite great observations, while others like are just being very geeky and gushing over certain shots. Altogether, 78/52 is a must watch for all film geeks.

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Screenings

Become a patron of SK on Movies to gain exclusive access to an interview with 78/52 filmmaker Alexandre Philippe, before its published publicly in the fall
This post was proofread by Grammarly 
78/52 (2017)
Runtime:91 minutes
Country:United States
Actors:
Self - Janet Leigh's Body Double
Self - Alfred Hitchcock's Granddaughter
Self - Producer, 'Hitchcock'
Self - Director, 'Hardware'
Self - Author, 'American Psycho'
Self - Writer, 'Saw' - 'Insidious'
Self - Director, 'The Invitation' - 'Jennifer's Body'
Self - Director, 'The Last Picture Show'
Writer:
(written by)
Plot:
An unprecedented look at the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), the "man behind the curtain", and the screen murder that profoundly changed the course of world cinema.

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