Vanity Fair Takes on Hitchcock
Stars of the Present Recreate Films of the Past in Photo Tribute
In the March 2008 issue, "Vanity Fair" ambitiously honors Alfred Hitchcock with dazzling photos of today's hottest stars reenacting iconic scenes from his classic films.
There's no better way to usher in a new golden age of Hollywood than by paying tribute to the master of classic Hollywood. It is a safe assertion to say that Alfred Hitchcock has influenced more filmmakers than anyone else in the history of cinema. His pervasive presence is everywhere. He has even spawned his own adjective, "Hitchcockian," used primarily by people trying to sound cool and knowledgeable. Still, it has its legitimacy. Every now and then, a new generation needs to be reminded of or even introduced to Hitchcock and his genius. Vanity Fair's glorious photo-homage in their March 2008 issue does just the trick.
All the Stars Align
For the photographs, Vanity Fair enlisted everyone from veterans to actors at the peak of their careers to up-and-comers to reenact scenes from Hitchcock films. Most of these actors achieved career milestones in 2007. This illustrious list includes: Charlize Theron (Dial M for Murder), Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem (Rear Window), Naomi Watts (Marnie), Keira Knightley and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Rebecca), Emile Hirsch and James McAvoy (Strangers on a Train), Renée Zellweger (Vertigo), Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey, Jr. (To Catch a Thief), Jodie Foster (The Birds), Seth Rogen (North by Northwest), Marion Cotillard (Psycho), and Tang Wei, Josh Brolin, Casey Affleck, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Foster, Omar Metwally, and Julie Christie (Lifeboat). However, these pictures aren't just cute copies. On the sets, Vanity Fair painstakingly reproduced the moods, aesthetics, and often the shooting circumstances of these films down to the last detail. They got it absolutely right.
Great Talent, But Do They Cut It in Hitchcock's World?
The casting is interesting and inspired. Charlize Theron plays a potential murder victim after recently winning an Oscar for playing a murderer. There's no one better to fill Grace Kelly's designer shoes than Scarlett Johansson, and it's genius to put Javier Bardem in Jimmy Stewart's wheelchair of impotence after he just so astoundingly portrayed one of the most ferocious villains ever in No Country for Old Men. The Lifeboat group is as diverse as the bunch in the actual film. For people keeping score, Brolin, Affleck, and Foster all made it big this year in westerns. Special kudos to Eva Marie Saint, the only Hitchcock alum, for making a cameo.
Naomi Watts is the spitting image of Tippi Hedren, and Renée Zellweger pulsates with Kim Novak's breathless fear. Marion Cotillard, in what must have been a grueling shoot, is most impressive in the Psycho picture, which is actually comprised of nine small frames, giving a sense of the frantic editing. James McAvoy and Emile Hirsch make a formidable, and adorable, pair in the Strangers on a Train shot. Channeling the characters in Rebecca, Jennifer Jason Leigh is successfully creepy and Keira Knightley is the perfect mix of terror and confusion. As oddly hilarious as it sounds, Seth Rogen makes a surprisingly good Cary Grant. While Gwyneth Paltrow shines as Grace Kelly in the To Catch a Thief picture, Robert Downey, Jr. is a bland Cary Grant. Who knew Seth Rogen would be more convincing? Jodie Foster is a totally awkward misfire as Tippi Hedren in The Birds. Overall, the acting is exquisite.
The photos are breathtaking in their intricacy and Hitchcockian spirit. It's a tribute brimming with love, respect, and the mischief Hitchcock loved to create. Hitchcock would adore this spread, if for no other reason than it features some pretty stunning blondes. Somewhere, Alfred Hitchcock is winking.
