Hitchcock/Truffaut

Dir: Kent Jones

2015

****

In 1966 François Truffaut published Hitchcock/Truffaut, a book based on the work of his idol Alfred Hitchcock, following a six day interview he agreed to that took place at universal pictures offices four years earlier. The book is a must for all cinephiles and hopeful film makers alike, it is up there with Adventures In The Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood by William Goldman, Kazan on Directing by Elia Kazan and Making Movies by Sidney Lumet, In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch and On Directing Film by David Mamet. So what exactly is the purpose of Kent Jones' film I wondered? Well, firstly Jones' passion is clear, here he allows other great directors to discuss how the book effected them and how it influenced their great works. Directors such as Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Richard Linklater, Arnaud Desplechin and Olivier Assayas explain how this in depth interview, with accompanied stills, really did get to the heart of what makes a great story. It is also a historical piece that you can't truly understand just by reading. The book was almost 50 years old at the time this documentary was made, both Hitchcock and Truffaut are long gone but their techniques are still regarded the best, even though the two directors couldn't be more different. It was a fascinating discussion between the old school and the new wave. I say old school, what I mean is that Hitchcock practically invented modern cinema and gave it a clear structure, there were rules. Truffaut came at film making from a different angle, he even let actors have an opinion on the characters they played. Personally, I think the two men discovered what makes the perfect balance in their discussion and it can be seen in the book. However, thanks to Jones' documentary and the advantage of time, we see the bigger picture. To see the moving pictures as seen in the book gives Truffaut's words a little more clarity and to hear of the two director’s correspondence and friendship that followed the completion of the book is quite a treat that we can learn from further. It certainly made me want to re-watch many of my favourite Hitchcock films and then try to see more influences he may have had in Truffaut's films after 1966. Jones' piece, much like his 2010 film A Letter to Elia, has a certain resonance about it and I suspect it will be a rare example of a documentary that requires repeat viewing to discover more each visit.