Eijo: Hitchcock’s Frenzy was on HBO the other day, so I taped it (erm, excuse me, DVR’d it) and gave it a watch. Hm… Well, look, the thing is I only made it about halfway through.

Here’s the problem: so there’s a rash of rape-murders happening in London and the main character Blaney (a shady fellow with a nasty temper and a lush porno mustache) seems like the prime suspect, but then we find out the murderer’s actually his friend Bob. We of course find out in the worst way imaginable — Bob corners Blaney’s ex-wife in her office and rapes her before strangling her to death with his necktie, all while repeating the word “lovely” in an evermore grotesque voice (a precursor to Blue Velvet’s Frank Booth?). Yeesh.

First, the scene was totally unnecessary, but also I couldn’t help noticing the visual & pacing parallels with Psycho’s classic shower scene. Add the derivative murder to the redux opening credit sequence (the helicopter shot Hitchcock wasn’t able to pull off for Psycho 12 years earlier) and Frenzy feels less like a unique movie experience and more like an attempt to one-up his better work in a much less, shall I say, artistic way. I never would’ve called Psycho subtle, but then I clapped eyes on the first half of Frenzy.

So here’s my question… Should I finish watching Frenzy? Is there anything worthwhile that happens, or is it just more re-hashing of earlier better works? This kinda stuff is not the way I want to remember ol’ Hitch.

The Schube: I didn’t care for that one either. I’ve got it on a VHS tape in the closet and doubt I’ll ever give it a second watch or pick it up on DVD. I can’t remember much about the rest of the movie, but am pretty sure you’re not gonna miss anything that’ll blow your skirt up.

I’m a huge fan of some of Hitch’s stuff, but I won’t hesitate to say that some of his movies continue to fall flat for me. I’ve never understood the praise some folks lavish on Vertigo, for example. Hated, hated, hated Topaz. Dude, I’d rather have to watch three Renee Zellweger movies and one Sarah Jessica Parker flick than to have to sit through Topaz ever again. Oh, and I picked up Spellbound a few months ago on DVD and still haven’t gotten around to watching the second half.

But then, of course, there’s the 39 Steps. Psycho. The Birds. North By Freakin Northwest, bro. I could go on. I mean, I’ve got a Hitchcock poster hanging over my typewriter, so there ya go. (Actually, it’s hanging over my computer, but the writer in me still feels compelled to think of it like a typewriter when I’m pounding the keys and not surfin’ the interwebs.)

I guess it just goes to prove that even creative geniuses can have their slip-ups now and again. We just gotta love ‘em anyway (i.e. Uncle Stevie’s Dreamcatcher and Gerald’s Game), or learn to forgive (i.e. M. Night Shyamalan’s Any Movie After The Village).

Eijo: Hahaa! Hey, wait. I enjoyed Spellbound quite a bit, actually. I just like the idea that the new fellow running the asylum is actually the craziest poop-house rat in the building. That’s the one where Salvador Dali did production design for the dream sequences, right? Ooh, that’s a classic.

But your point is well-taken. I’ve watched Vertigo three times and still don’t see what people like about it — as far as I’m concerned, the best part of the movie is the hip late-’50s poster.

And Topaz is no good? That’s coming up on HBO next week and I’ve got it set to record. Hmm, well I’m gonna take your advice and delete Frenzy. Watch Psycho again instead.

The Schube: Well, give Topaz a go and see what you think. It bored the kneecaps off me but also had way too much double-agent back-and-forth tomfoolery for me to keep up with, and I lost interest fast. You’re smarter than me so you’ll probably have no trouble keeping up with it.

I gotta finish watching Spellbound now that you’ve got me curious about the rest of it.

Hey, folks, what do you think?  What do you consider the most overhyped or under-appreciated Hitch films?