In 1962, Francois Truffaut persuaded Alfred Hitchcock to sit with him for a week-long interview in which the iconic British director would share with his younger French admirer the secrets of his filmmaking process.
Truffaut then published a fascinating and accessible book (called Hitchcock/Truffaut) based on the transcripts of this meeting. Long viewed as a bible of cinema (it contains some truly remarkable insights), the book not only became a reference for future filmmakers but it also cememented the director’s role as artist.
In 2016, director Kent Jones released his documentary film (also called Hitchcock/Truffaut) about the meeting. The film explores the impact that the book has had and interviews ten directors: Martin Scorsese, Arnaud Desplechin, David Fincher, Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson, James Gray, Olivier Assayas, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Peter Bogdanovich and Paul Schrader.
These interviews are absolutely fascinating (I dare you not to geek out!). Meanwhile, the documentary also includes some incredible original sound recordings of Hitchcock and Truffaut’s conversations. Finally, Jones adds clips from some of Hitchcock’s classic movies.
Whether you (like me) have read and loved the source material or whether you are coming to this story for the first time, Hitchcock/Truffaut is an utterly compelling cinematic journey. Through his use of audio, interviews and film clips, Jones brings this wonderful book to life.
Filmmaking Documentary Recommendations
Hitchcock/Truffaut is part of the filmmaking sub-genre of Documentary 7.
If you enjoyed this movie, I would also recommend:
Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
I would also like to include the following honourable mentions: Lost In La Mancha, Cameraperson, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story Of Cannon Films, Best Worst Movie and The Kid Stays In The Picture.
Do you have any filmmaking documentaries that you would like to recommend? If so, do let us know in the comments section below or over on Twitter. You can find me @500DaysOfFilm.