Rio You: Hitchcock Film Festival in Rio

A wave of terror has washed over the Centro Cultural Banco do Brazil (CCBB) recently Alfred Hitchcock’s film festival. Their tribute to the Master of Suspense, which began on June 1st and runs through until July 14th, will showcase a retrospective of his work and, much to the delight of film buffs and thrill seekers alike, will include 59 films, 127 television episodes, and 8,954 minutes of suspense.

All of Hitchcock’s classics will be featured, including famous titles such as Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, Rear Window, and North by Northwest.

Born in the late 1800’s, the British filmmaker had a modest upbringing. He worked as a draftsman and an advertising director at a cable company before dabbling in writing. He began publishing short stories in his company’s in-house publication and in 1920, landed a full time job as a title card designer in a film studio in London.

Hitchcock helped in title design, art direction, and writing until he got his first big break when a director fell ill and he was asked to complete his film. His career rose from title designer to director and producer in a span of only 5 years, and in the 1940’s he made the move to Hollywood.

A pioneer in the filmmaking world, he crafted haunting psychological thrillers and evocative mysteries. Although his films received fifty Oscar nominations in total, including five Best Director nods, Hitchcock himself won none. He died in his sleep in 1980 due to renal failure.

The CCBB tribute is fitting for Brazil. In 1945 Hitchcock directed and produced a thriller entitled Notorious, starring actors Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains. The plot centers around Bergman, an American woman sent to Brazil to infiltrate a gang of Nazis. While awaiting assignment in Rio, Bergman falls in love with Grant, an American government agent.

When asked why his films were so popular, Hitchcock declared that, “everybody likes to be scared.”