78/52
The screeching strings, the plunging knife, the slow zoom out from a lifeless eyeball: in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho changed film history forever with its taboo-shattering shower scene. With 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits over the course of 3 minutes, Psycho redefined screen violence, set the stage for decades of slasher films to come, and introduced a new element of danger to the movie-going experience.
Aided by a roster of filmmakers, critics, and fans — including Guillermo del Toro, Bret Easton Ellis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eli Roth, Danny Elfman, and Peter Bogdanovich — director Alexandre O. Philippe pulls back the curtain on the making and influence of this cinematic game-changer, breaking it down frame by frame, and unpacking Hitchcock’s dense web of allusions and double meanings. The result is an enthralling piece of cinematic detective work that’s pure nirvana for film buffs.
NEW YORK TIMES Critic’s Pick
“A landmark documentary. Exceptional and provocative.”
Leonard Maltin
“No analysis of Hitchcock, not even Robin Wood’s, has probed this deeply into the spiritual effect of the shower scene’s every shot.”
VARIETY | Owen Gleiberman
“Philippe’s tribute to Hollywood’s most famous stabbing is an archival feast.”
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL | David D’Arcy
“Psycho’s accepted greatness means we can leave it on the shelf as we look for newer sensations. This prompts an urgent desire to revisit it.”
EMPIRE MAGAZINE | Dan Jolin
“A gloriously nerdy deep-dive. Hypnotic.”
THE VILLAGE VOICE | Bilge Ebiri
“Obsessive but accessible, the deepest dive imaginable into one of the most celebrated scenes in movie history, 78/52 looks at a brief three minutes of cinema the way it’s never been looked at before.”
LOS ANGELES TIMES | Kenneth Turan
“Essential viewing, even if you have to watch through your fingers.”
TORONTO STAR | Peter Howell
Festivals
78/52 has screened at the following festivals:
Sundance Film Festival
BFI London Film Festival
Hong Kong International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
FilmFest Gent
E Tudo Verdade
Hot Docs
Filmfest München
Jerusalem International Film Festival
Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival
New Horizons International Film Festival
Sydney International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
Deauville International Film Festival
Guadalajara International Film Festival
Viennale
Sitges International Film Festival
Mar del Plata International Film Festival
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival
DOXA
Gérardmer Fantastic Film Festival
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival
BiFan
Fribourg International Film Festival
Imagine Film Festival
Doc/Edge Film Festival
Night Visions
Morbido
Fantastic Zagreb
Fantastic Fest
Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival
South Arts – Southern Circuit