In conjunction with the recent U.K. release of the film “Hitchcock” (starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren), The Space, an on-demand digital arts service developed by Arts Council England and the BBC, is offering a special treat for Hitch fans. The Space will air five short films that provide context to the master of suspense and his early work.
“The Pleasure Garden” (1925) was the first full film Hitchcock directed.
The set of short films, commissioned by the British Film Institute, includes:
Alfred Hitchcock from the archive
Hitchcock gives his insight into the workings of Hollywood, talking candidly about stars’ salaries and the difficulty of working with well-known actors.
Hitchcock at the picture palace
Historians Henry K. Miller and Matthew Sweet whisk viewers back to 1920s Britain – the era of the picture palace that saw the young Hitchcock learn his craft, refine his art and establish himself as an innovative, ambitious filmmaker.
Seeds of genius: “The Pleasure Garden”
Film historian Charles Barr and the BFI’s silent film curator Bryony Dixon explore Hitchcock’s distinctive style of visual storytelling, focusing on Hitchcock’s first full-length, finished film “The Pleasure Garden” (1925).
Restoring “The Pleasure Garden”
The unique story of how the BFI restored “The Pleasure Garden,” almost a century after it was made.
Scoring “The Pleasure Garden”
This short film follows composer Daniel Patrick Cohen’s journey to create a new score for this seminal Hitchcock work.
You can watch the films here.
From FNB readers