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Frenzy on BBC 2 02/01/2015 at 0:05
stripedcat
Posts: 6,689 Forum Member
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Seeing as how BBC 2 are showing a lot of Hitchcock films at the moment, I thought that I would mention this one. It's quite interesting, as it sees Hitch back in the UK. It's also much more explicit - being his only film to gain an "18"! - and has mild swearing. It does sort of take some cues from "Peeping Tom" in its aesthetic feel. A good cast as well - Anna Massey, Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Alec McCowen, Vivien Merchant, Billie Whitelaw, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Bernard Cribbins, Jean Marsh and Clive Swift). The amazing stairwell scene and also the potato truck one - add to the film's appeal.
It's great that Hitchcock made this - and it also had to compete with some heavy hitting films of that year - Cabaret, The Godfather, Deliverance, Sleuth, etc. It showed that Hitch still had some movie making magic left. Especially, after the disappointing Torn Curtain and Topaz.
It's also great that it has a script by Anthony Shaffer(Sleuth and The Wicker Man).
If you have a strong stomach - then I'm sure you'll appreciate Frenzy.
It's great that Hitchcock made this - and it also had to compete with some heavy hitting films of that year - Cabaret, The Godfather, Deliverance, Sleuth, etc. It showed that Hitch still had some movie making magic left. Especially, after the disappointing Torn Curtain and Topaz.
It's also great that it has a script by Anthony Shaffer(Sleuth and The Wicker Man).
If you have a strong stomach - then I'm sure you'll appreciate Frenzy.
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Yeah Barry Foster is great. Much more interesting than Jon Finch.
So little out on the internet about it, can only find a few YouTube video really (snippets of a making of, the darkly funny Hitch trailer, a few modern reviews etc).
Shame its pretty much a forgotten movie. I only really heard of it about ten years ago.
Brilliant moments through out the movie, visually and sound wise; extremely 70s London setting and "ideas", but in a very interesting way.
Funny too, those dinners.
Yeah, there's lots of stuff about the film that makes it standout - it's his only film to get an 18 certificate, the very violent subject matter, the use of humour, Hitchcock returning to the UK, the 1970s London setting(noticed the pre-decimalisation prices), the British character actors used in this film, the superb tracking shot sequence on the stairway, etc.
If you are interested - there is a book released a few years ago called "Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy - The Last Masterpiece". I got it for Xmas a while ago - I still haven't gotten around to reading all of it. It does go into depth about the making of the film.
The "continuous" shot down the stairs and outside as Forster does his worst again is prime time Hitch (just a pity the disguised edit is apparent enough (that's the sort of thing modern digital editing should fix).
Oh and the opening scene is darkly hilarious.
Parts of it are truly shocking and disturbing, but it remains Barry Foster's finest hour. In Peter Ackroyd's new book about Hitchcock, he states Michael Caine was offered the role but turned it down because it was too nasty. Apparently Hitchcock never spoke to Caine again, even when they were in the same restaurant.