Web Joins Global Party for Hitchcock’s 100th

“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it,” Alfred Hitchcock once said of the essence of suspense. A master nerve-jangler, he considered “Psycho” to be “a big comedy.” And while Fellini called “The Birds” “a filmic poem,” most everyone agrees that Hitchcock (who celebrates--from beyond the grave--his 100th birthday Aug. 13) is a name synonymous with stylish suspense.

The Hitchcock Centennial will be celebrated throughout the world as well as on the World Wide Web next month. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present several events, including a birthday celebration in Hollywood on Aug. 13. And the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which has been showing all the Hitchcock films and exhibiting photographs and memorabilia, launches a Web site (https://www.moma.org/filmvideo/hitchcock/index.html) that includes a transcript of a 1939 lecture by Hitchcock plus stills and essays.

Also to commemorate Hitch, Amazon.com and the International Movie Database have built “The Hitchcock Century,” a Web site that counts down to the director’s birthday. It offers daily trivia questions and features a movie of the day. While the site provides a list of the most popular films by and books about Hitch (purchases are a mere click away!), it also offers articles and essays, such as one that observes Hitchcock’s witty dialogue and morose humor: “My mother--what is the phrase--isn’t quite herself today,” says Norman Bates, in a quip you might not catch till your second viewing of “Psycho.” Another essay looks at Hitchcockian film fare from “Gaslight” to “High Anxiety.”

Long before there was “Where’s Waldo?,” people could delight themselves by looking for the hidden Hitchcock. Take the Cameo Quiz at https://moviething.com/ cgi-bin/quiz/game.cgi?quiz= hitchcockcameo to ascertain in which films Hitch could be seen featured in a newspaper ad, a class photo, toting a cello, drinking champagne and throwing out trash.

For a fun flip through the posters from Hitchcock flicks--including French posters--check out https://matineetoday.com/pages/ hitch1.html or click on the poster directory from https://www. geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/ 6494/index.html.

The latter site features some choice tidbits, such as the factoid that in “Psycho,” the sound that the knife makes penetrating the flesh is actually the sound of a knife stabbing a casaba melon. For other Hitchcock trivia, go to the “did you know section” (https:// www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/ 6494/index.html).

This Web site also links to fan sites that celebrate individual films, such as the “Psycho” page at https://www.geocities.com/ Hollywood/1645/index.html, where you can hear the voice of Mother Bates.

For more Bates-mobilia, check out the Bates Motel Gift Shop, where you can purchase a “do not disturb” sign, ashtrays and towels from the notorious motel. The gift shop is part of Universal’s own Hitchcock site (https://www. hitchcock100.com/) that hypes the studio’s new Hitchcock attractions and sells videos and DVDs. The Web site does have some choice content, such as a shock wave game in which you are chased by Mrs. Bates, and a timeline of films from Hitchcock’s first silent (“The Pleasure Garden,” 1925) through 1975’s “Family Plot.”

While Universal and Amazon offer many ways to e-spend, a site called TV now will show you how much Hitchcock you can grab for free in the coming month. At https://www.tv-now.com/stars/ hitch.html, you can view August TV programming featuring the director and his films. Along with a slew of classics airing next month are some obscure films, such as 1939’s “Jamaica Inn.” Lots of opportunities to catch the “Alfred Hitchcock Hour” and “Hitchcock Presents” are to be found here as well as many upcoming specials on E! and AMC.

Other swell sites include the Master of Suspense WWW Page at https://nextdch.mty.itesm.mx /~plopezg/Kaplan/, featuring a filmography, a biography and a selection of the director’s wit and wisdom. Great links can be found at https://www.tdfilm.com/hitchcock/ hitchmain.html.

Finally, to check out a blip in movie history--the first (and, critics hope, last) shot-by-shot re-creation of a film, visit the Web site for Gus Van Sant’s “Psycho” at https://www.psychomovie.com/. From here, you can send retro postcards from the Bates Motel.

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Erika Milvy writes about arts, entertainment and popular culture from her home in San Francisco. She can be reached at erika@ well.com.