78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene
IFC Midnight | Release Date: October 13, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyOct 13, 2017
In 1960 this was a shocking, sexually charged symphony of taboo-smashing terror. And thanks to the artistry of Alfred Hitchcock, it remains one today. Read full review
90
Village VoiceBilge EbiriOct 12, 2017
This doc could have been a mess, frankly. But Philippe has put the film together smartly, taking us from the general to the particular. Read full review
80
Total FilmKevin HarleyNov 13, 2017
Does for Norman’s place what Room 237 did for the Overlook: reopens old haunts for welcome re-investigation. Read full review
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNov 9, 2017
People had to see "Psycho." To this day, it stands as an Everest of big-screen suspense, having not just changed the way we watch movies, but also the way we make them. Read full review
80
EmpireDan JolinNov 6, 2017
Psycho’s accepted greatness means we can leave it on the shelf as we look for newer sensations. This prompts an urgent desire to revisit it. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranOct 19, 2017
Obsessive but accessible. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 13, 2017
It’s a film class, yes, but the most invigorating one you’ll take. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanOct 12, 2017
For a long time now, Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” has been two movies, and the hypnotic film-geek documentary 78/52 is an ingenious and irreverent master class in both of them. Read full review
80
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergOct 12, 2017
Even moviegoers who know “Psycho” backward and forward...are bound to learn something new from the movie, which addresses the shower scene from critical, historical, theoretical and technical angles, down to the blinding white of the bathroom tiles. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisOct 25, 2017
If you’re a movie geek and Hitchcock freak (guilty!) who can never get enough of this kind of stuff, 78/52 will rock your world. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 9, 2017
Philippe’s strongest work in 78/52 is the historical context, ranging from the images and roles of mothers in 1950s popular culture to a key handful of movies photographed in black and white (as was “Psycho,” partly to get the blood past the censors) released the previous year, 1959. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireOct 13, 2017
The word “genius” is heard more than once, and the more the film shows us, the less even hardened skeptics will be likely to demur. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzOct 12, 2017
Films about single film scenes, however, represent unexplored territory. Which is why 78/52 is such an enticing prospect – a deep dive into one of the most influential moments in cinema history: the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Read full review
75
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerOct 12, 2017
As many note throughout the doc, the best moments that film as a medium has to offer are found in the smallest details. And when you find something truly great, as with this scene, you can just keep looking and looking until you spiral into the same void on which the grisly sequence ends. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenOct 12, 2017
78/52 comes to life when riffing on the psychosexual perversity of Psycho, which changed cinema's relationship with sex and violence. Read full review
70
Screen DailyDavid D'ArcyOct 12, 2017
It’s a rare inside glimpse of how a cosmic moment is stitched together. Read full review
67
The Film StageTony HindsOct 18, 2017
Too often, we’re left with an arguably less-than-great artist (Eli Roth? Mick Garris?) in talking head form, blandly praising Hitchcock’s work. 78/52 is at its best when the shower is running and we’re engaged with the making of this notorious murder scene. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Oct 12, 2017
The film picks up when it gets down to shot-by-shot analysis, allowing editors and other interviewees to break down one of the most famous sequences in movie history. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyOct 12, 2017
A resourceful, if rather hyperbolic documentary that devotes 90 minutes to analyzing one of the most famous scenes in film history. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloOct 12, 2017
78/52 is at its best in cinema studies mode, examining specific compositional and editing choices made by Hitchcock and his collaborators. Read full review
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