30 Comments

The interview sounds intriguing. Hitchcock was indeed a letch.

Excited for the new season of The Diplomat. Lidia Poet sounds interesting. Nice to see something worthwhile out of Italy.

Expand full comment

On subject of Italian shows on Netflix - Did you see “An Astrological Guide to Broken Hearts”? It’s a cute rom-com show about a woman dating her way through the stars ⭐️ in the astrological sense. Loved it and was such a good distraction

Expand full comment

That's sounds like a great show for a chill Sunday afternoon

Expand full comment

I read the Hitchcock/Truffaut book. Super interesting. Hitchcock was a fascinating, complicated character.

Expand full comment

Indeed. I like the rapport between the two. Also, Truffaut died young and shortly after Hitchcock of a brain tumor.

Expand full comment

Grace Kelly’s bravery in Rear Window FTW

Expand full comment

Good call!

Expand full comment

I don't do horror shows, but I've heard about Grotesquerie. And my Dad was watching "The Birds" one evening and while I didn't watch the whole thing, I watched it from the School Scene (where they were trying to get all the kids safely out of the school) until the end.

When you said, "It’s worth mentioning that there are zero women directors of film production professionals, at all interviewed. I found this lack of perspective troubling and limiting," I was thinking that maybe they weren't interviewed because they weren't affected (or as affected) as the male directors were. Just curious, but what were you wanting to know from their perspective?

Side note: I totally agree with you about the first rule Fight Club. LOL Also, is that Sean Connery in that first b/w photo? I feel like I would know his profile and that "James Bond" hair anywhere. LOL

Expand full comment

Does your dad have anyone to talk about “Grotesquerie” with? I’m feeling that pain if not.

Expand full comment

No, he doesn't really watch TV Shows much anymore. He used to watch Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica back in the day, but he mostly just watches movies now on HBO, Max and a couple of other streaming services.

Expand full comment

Thx for commenting!

I guess my biggest concern with missing out on female directors who may or may not have been influenced by Hitchcock or at least harbored opinions about his work is that women directors often have different sensibilities and approaches to storytelling in cinema and that this lens is equally as warranted and needed. I was thinking about how “Shadow is a Doubt” specifically is very forward in its representation of the female Charlie character and how this film as a whole is so much more interesting from a story and acting perspective than his 50s and 60s stuff. Yet the men focused on the film with Kim

Novak- vertigo because of all the psychological sexual stuff. The movies that were chosen to be discussed were at the discretion of those directors and if women were in the mix it might have given way to fresh perspectives on other “favorites”

Expand full comment

Came here running after finishing the first season of Grotesquerie.. I'm appalled! You?

Expand full comment

Yay! My fellow watcher. So I’m not appalled. Did I want to have answers?? Yes!

Expand full comment

I'm afraid that in Ryan Murphy's fashion, he built this amazing thing and at the end, we won't get any answers and it will get unhinged.. I hear rumblings of a second season... lets see.

Expand full comment

Yeah and just the focus on the entire last episode being completely random IMHO and taking a diversion - made me angry but also can respect the choice 😂

Expand full comment

I think I need a break from Ryan Murphy for a while before I can dive into something like Grotesquerie, even if it does sound intriguing.

As for the question regarding my favourite Hitchcock film it is hard to pin down honestly. If I had to pick I would probably say The Birds. It feels like a precursor to so many disaster movies, which are my guilty pleasure, where we get the romantic plot at the centre which grounds the calamity around it which has been the formula of so many blockbusters such as Twister, Titanic, Dante’s Peak, etc. I have not seen it in a while but I remember Suzanne Pleshette’s performance standing out in The Birds where she sort of warns Tippi Hedren about Rod Taylor.

I found Hitchcock’s description in your post where he described his remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much very interesting. While there is no doubt that the 1956 film is better from a technical standpoint I found the 1934 film far superior mainly due to the incredibly foreboding performance by Peter Lorre.

Expand full comment

I don't think you're the only one needing a Murphy break. I get it. The actor who plays the priest is also in the Menendez brothers Murphy show on Netflix, btw. Interesting that "The Birds" is your top Hitchcock film. They talk about it at length in the doc, including the decision to film the "disaster" scene with the fire from up above giving it as Scorcese says, "an apocalyptic feel" - I guess filming a scene from up above in general tends to convey a holy, omniscient sense about things. I think for Hitchcock, it was more about the details of the goings-on distracting from the greater story - it was unnecessary. I love Peter Lorre!

Expand full comment

I'm intrigued by Gotesquerie. I might give it a try! Is Kelce good in it? Its always funny to see people from other worlds make a jump to acting.

Expand full comment

He’s not bad! Good on him for trying, it’s a good debut

Expand full comment

Ha! That interview with James Cleverly on The Diplomat!! It kind of reminds me of when I’m writing fiction, I get frustrated when the storyline won’t fit the research 100%. Or if it isn’t exactly how something would happen in real life. It’s good to know that big shows like The Diplomat don’t always get it 100% true to life either.

Expand full comment

Right? You want authenticity I think but there’s the narrative compromise.

Expand full comment

Also because I grew up in East Africa, I went to an International School and a lot of friends ended up being children of diplomats. Now while watching the show, I keep wondering, are THESE the kinds of things their parents did for work 😅😅

Expand full comment

Lesley Manville just SHATTERS my heart in "Another Year". I feel like that her performance in that movie echoes in my head every week.

Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com

Expand full comment

Must watch! It’s on Max. Thx for reco.

Expand full comment

It's very depressing kitchen-sink British realism, but with some light bits. Manville is a supporting role, but also central to the narrative. A tough watch, but she's brilliant in it, and heartbreaking.

Expand full comment

She shatters the heart in “Disclaimer” too even with a smaller supporting role. In “Moonflower Murders,” and “Magpie Mystery” she proves she has the acting chops and then some to lead a show and be our emotional center. The “kitchen sink realism” (as you brilliantly coin it) is her strong suit but mixed with a grace and compassion generally that made her irresistible

Expand full comment

Hitchcock/Truffaut and Shadow of a Doubt are great films! Highly recommended! Not sure whether it seems worth watching Groutesquerie based on your review though. I've been passing on a lot Ryan Murphy's work in recent years.

Expand full comment

I hear ya on Ryan Murphy but I will say “Grotesquerie” caught my attention and absorbed my thoughts. 💭 Maybe give it an episode!

Expand full comment

It seems that Kanopy has different listings in different countries. I can't access Hitchcock/Truffaut, unfortunately.

Expand full comment

Same.

Expand full comment