78/52: Hitchcock's Shower Scene (DVD)

78/52: Hitchcock's Shower SceneLabel: DogwoofDescription: In 78 setups and 52 cuts the deliriously choreographed two-minute shower sequence in Psycho ripped apart cinema s definition of horror. With a shocking combination of exploitation and high art Alfred Hitchcock upended his own acclaimed narrative structure by violently killing off a heroine a third of the way through his film without explanation justification or higher purpose. Psycho played out like a horrific prank forcing audiences to recognize that even the most banal domestic spaces were now fair game for unspeakable mayhem. With black-and-white film-geek reverence director Alexandre O. Philippe breaks down this most notorious and essential scene shot for shot enlisting the help of film buffs and filmmakers alike - including Guillermo del Toro Bret Easton Ellis Karyn Kusama Eli Roth and Peter Bogdanovich. 78/52 examines Janet Leigh s terrified facial expressions and the blink-and-you-miss-it camera work not just within the context of the film but also with an eye toward America s changing social mores - revealing how one bloody chaotic on-screen death killed off chaste cinema and eerily predicted a decade of unprecedented violence and upheaval.