Bhopal: A five-day film festival ‘Ekagra’, concluded with movie ‘Frenzy’ at Bharat Bhawan on Wednesday. Based on work of famous English-American film director and producer Alfred Hitchcock, the fest was organised by Chhavi, a film wing of the Bhawan.
The movie is a 1972 British psychological horror-thriller film directed by Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer was based on novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern. It was the third and final film that Hitchcock made in Britain after he moved to Hollywood in 1939. The plot centres on a serial killer in contemporary London. In a very early scene there is dialogue that mentions two actual London serial murder cases: the Christie murders in the early 1950s, and the Jack the Ripper murders in 1888. Barry Foster has said in order to prepare for his role, he was asked by Hitchcock to study two books about Neville Heath, an English serial killer who would often pass himself off as an officer in RAF.
Sir Hitchcock is at times referred to as ‘The Master of Suspense’. He pioneered many elements of the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He had a successful career in British cinema with both silent films and early talkies and became renowned as England’s best director. Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939, and became a US citizen in 1955. He became a highly visible public figure through interviews, movie trailers, cameo appearances in his own films, and the ten years in which he hosted the television programme Hitchcock Presents (1955–1965). Hitchcock directed more than 50 feature films in a career spanning six decades and is often regarded as one of the most influential directors in cinematic history. He also fashioned for himself a recognisable directorial style.
