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HITCHCOCKMovie Reviews
Drama about director Alfred Hitchcock and his relationship with his wife, Alma, during the making of the movie 'Psycho'. Cast:Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, James D'Arcy, Ralph Macchio, Michael Stuhlbarg, Danny Huston, Judith Hoag, Michael Wincott, Kurtwood Smith, Richard Portnow, John Rothman, Tara SummersDirector:Sacha GervasiRelease Date:November 23, 2012DVD Release:March 12, 2013From:Fox SearchlightRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 38 min
MARCH 12, 2013
Hitchcock, Good (Not Great) Reviews, Mixed National
Hitchcock played in national release to good not great reviews. Reviews were mixed. • Mick LaSalle wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "...brisk and entertaining and it does right by Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville... worth watching." • And Joe Williams wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "...an amusing lark, but the clumsy way it dissects the director is for the birds." More Reviews Below...
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a feel-good frolic, which is fine for anyone who prefers their Hitchcock history tidied up... Impersonating an icon is risky business."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 847 words, 11/20/12
David Germain, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...puts a featherlight yet entertaining touch on the behind-the-scenes struggle to make the mother of all slasher films.... always aims to please, and for the most part, it does."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 713 words, 11/20/12
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The set details fascinate... Alas, the melodrama with Hitchcock's underappreciated wife sucks the cheeky fun out of the film."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 123 words, 11/22/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "...an exuberant film about moviemaking... serves up a slice of cinema history so compelling it nails a reality beyond the details."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 11/23/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "...hugely entertaining... a movie that offers a sparkling and unexpectedly poignant look at how to sustain a career and a marriage."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 355 words, 11/23/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Sacha Gervasi can't seem to decide whether this is a historical biopic, a love story, an homage to a brilliant director or a story of the making of 'Psycho.' "(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 535 words, 11/23/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Given the focus of this film, much depends on the character of Alma Reville, and Helen Mirren is warm and effective in the role; her intelligence crackles."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 825 words, 11/23/12
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: POOR(cg) "...both tedious and kind of fascinating... the makers of the film contrive a lot of claptrap that they leaven, if that's the right word, with unpleasant fact-based material..."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 870 words, 11/18/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "...we get a fly-on-the-wall perspective of how 'Psycho' was made... it's Hopkins' impersonation of the larger-than-life title figure that holds the movie together."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 921 words, 11/20/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "It's fluff.... while its dim fantasies about Hitchcock and the association of genius with psychosis can be written off as silly, they also smack of spiteful jealousy."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 740 words, 11/23/12
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Hopkins and Mirren are wonderful. He makes this part his own with the sort of showy enthusiasm that has defined his most iconic performances... Mirren nails it."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 377 words, 11/23/12
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "Its protagonists turn out to be not especially interesting and the audience is not presented any convincing reason to care about what happens in their lives."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 635 words, 11/23/12
Kyle Smith, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "A pillowy and endearing Anthony Hopkins has a lot of fun (and is a bit of a ham) in the title role. 'You may call me 'Hitch,' hold the 'cock,'?' he enjoys telling starlets."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 674 words, 11/21/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Given the focus of this film, much depends on the character of Alma Reville, and Helen Mirren is warm and effective in the role; her intelligence crackles."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 825 words, 11/23/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...unspools at that deliciously silly juncture where biography meets fallacy. Translation: Any director who could crank out 'Psycho' must be a crackpot himself."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 704 words, 11/23/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "Someday, someone may make a great movie about Hitchcock. This ain't it. In fact, the only way this could have been worse is if it had been a musical."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 11/22/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Hopkins and Mirren rise above the cinema-history caricatures to invest Alfred and Alma's relationship with real depth and poignancy."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 11/30/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "Mirren is pleasant as Alma, but the film is unable to convey why she felt such loyalty to a charming but coldblooded control freak."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 447 words, 11/30/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: MODERATE(cg) "...the movie decides to merely make things up, and get things wrong. Some of these are minor points, annoying chiefly to film buffs..."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 687 words, 11/23/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...brisk and entertaining and it does right by Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville, who was an integral part of his creative process.... worth watching."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 69 words, 11/21/12
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...when Mirren's biting a piece of toast like she's chopping off its head, or Hopkins says 'Good eeeevening' in perfect Hitch cadence, the film delivers."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 506 words, 11/30/12
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...an entertaining faceoff between two potent, titanic talents.... There's fun to be had in the re-creation of indelible screen moments..."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 399 words, 12/07/12
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a movie as fun as it is flawed.... at its best when not taking its subject seriously, when you can detect Hopkins' tongue firmly jabbed into his phony cheeks."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 472 words, 12/06/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: MODERATE(cg) "There's not a whole lot of suspense to the film.... too much of the time this movie plays cute and comfortable. It simply lacks weight."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 295 words, 11/30/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: POOR(cg) "...spends too much time off the set of 'Psycho,' where the real story was, and focuses instead on incidental matters that feel like outtakes."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 497 words, 12/07/12
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: MODERATE(cg) "...the lingering spark between Hitch and Alma is by far the least interesting one this movie could have told -- and it's the one we're stuck with... dull..."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 11/27/12
Scott Tobias, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "...here was a man staking his reputation on a project of unprecedented audacity. What does it matter that it put a mild strain on his marriage?"(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 440 words, 11/22/12
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: VERY GOOD(cg) "...exploits the sensational effects of art, a representation of damaged psychology, even as it reminds you that what you're seeing is exactly that..."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 859 words, 11/21/12
Andrew Schenker, Slant: POOR(cg) "None of this is very convincing... This is how it happened folks, the film says -- and if it didn't unfold quite like this in real life, isn't it nicer to imagine that it did?"(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 593 words, 11/15/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "Someday, someone may make a great movie about Hitchcock. This ain't it. In fact, the only way this could have been worse is if it had been a musical."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 11/22/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...rings false from start to finish... a lifeless botch.... the writing, devoid of wit let alone wisdom, reduces its subject to a little cluster of behaviors..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 11/23/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "It's fluff.... while its dim fantasies about Hitchcock and the association of genius with psychosis can be written off as silly, they also smack of spiteful jealousy."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 740 words, 11/23/12
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "Its protagonists turn out to be not especially interesting and the audience is not presented any convincing reason to care about what happens in their lives."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 635 words, 11/23/12
Dana Stevens, Slate: MODERATE "...unambitious... if all you want is to while away the afternoon in the company of excellent actors in plummy period costume, it is not without its pleasures."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 905 words, 11/21/12
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: WEAK "...diverting but dramatically insipid.... an easily digestible menu of dishy one-liners and capable performances.... offers almost zero insight..."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 983 words, 11/02/12
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...absorbing and aptly droll despite a few dramatic ups and downs.... Hopkins' is a compelling performance... the film is undeniably lively and provocative."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,328 words, 11/02/12
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "Its protagonists turn out to be not especially interesting and the audience is not presented any convincing reason to care about what happens in their lives."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 635 words, 11/23/12
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "...intelligent, entertaining, if not particularly profound... we get a glimpse into the creative genius of the most famous and most influential filmmaker in history..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 828 words, 11/10/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "It's fluff.... while its dim fantasies about Hitchcock and the association of genius with psychosis can be written off as silly, they also smack of spiteful jealousy."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 740 words, 11/23/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...rings false from start to finish... a lifeless botch.... the writing, devoid of wit let alone wisdom, reduces its subject to a little cluster of behaviors..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 11/23/12
20.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Hitchcock's reviews are separated by an average 20.6 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Hitchcock (45 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Hitchcock's reviews cover 91.2% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 25,663 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 570 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 18.8 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Hitchcock's reviews on average broke 18.8 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Hitchcock's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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