78/52 | Dissecting the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

By Jason Best
( What's on TV )
published

78_52 Alfred Hitchcock Janet Leigh Psycho
(Image credit: The 61st BFI London Film Festiva)

78/52 Alfred Hitchcock Janet Leigh Psycho

This fascinating documentary breaks down the 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits that went into creating what is possibly the most famous and influential 3-minute sequence in horror movie history, if not cinema itself– the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. No matter how many times you’ve seen Janet Leigh’s luckless Marion fall victim in this 1960 classic, you’ll discover fresh nuances and perspectives  in 78/52 as a series of talking heads – including filmmakers Guillermo del Toro, Eli Roth and Peter Bogdanovich, and Leigh’s daughter Jamie Lee Curtis and body double Marli Renfro – help director Alexandre O Philippe dissect the scene, shot by shot, frame by frame, stab by stab.

Certificate 15. Runtime92 mins. Director Alexandre O Philippe

78/52 is available on DVD from Dogwoof.

Extras

  • Director Alexandre O. Philippe in conversation with Danny Leigh
  • Extended interviews with Guillermo del Toro and Walter Murch
  • Melon featurette
  • Recording the 78/52 score
  • Psycho intro by Alexandre and Ben Mankiewicz (courtesy Turner Classic Movies, Inc.)
  • Theatrical Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nHPX3Emup4

Jason Best
Jason Best

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.