Hi-Def Hitchcock Fest Hits Wilmette Theatre

Imagine, your neighbor has been murdered, or at least that's what you suspect.

Though you didn't witness it and can't quite prove it to the police, you're certain it's true.

You can't help it, you have to prove it. But how?

This was the big question posed to Wilmette Theatre-goers Saturday night, as they sat intrigued, watching director Alfred Hitchcock's film Rear Window, the 1954 classic that has since turned audiences into amateur sleuths.

The film is one of six—including mind-benders Vertigo, The Trouble With Harry and Psycho—to play during the theater's 'Hi-Def Hitch Fest,' which began Sept. 16 and ends with two more showings Sept. 21.

Most of the fest is sponsored by Wilmette-based , while , also from Wilmette, fittingly sponsored The Birds.

More in film:

Shortly after the opening credits rolled, Patch sat down with Chad Byers, film buyer for the theater and a principal organizer of the festival. We asked, among other questions, why Hitchcock's films still draw mass appeal. Here's what Byers had to say:

Patch: Without knowing much about film, what do people love about Hitchcock's?

Chad Byers: They were and are like 'popcorn' films. You don't really need a film education [to understand]—a good movie is a good movie. You can enjoy it no matter what.

They're intelligently made, they have great acting and great dialogue, and...they're suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat movies.

Patch: Do think Hitchcock's films are a time capsule?

Byers: I think they're timeless, if anything. While the clothes may be from the period [the movie was filmed], along with the settings and the trappings. All those things are cyclical. You know, fashion comes around.

The mob [viewers] looks back now, and they're still good movies. Just like any other good movies, they're kind of timeless. The rest of that stuff is just window dressing, and you kind of forget that they're driving '60s cars or not using a cell phone, and you're just getting sucked into the world of the movie.

Patch: Are these the kind of films your theater would love to show more often?

Byers: Yeah, we'll definitely do this again. We've been wanting to do a Hitchcock film festival, especially in the fall. It just really seems like the time for it.

Patch: Why's that?

Byers: Hitchcock seems 'fall' to me. It's a vibe kind of answer. I really don't know why. Maybe it's because October is coming up—you know Halloween—not that [his] are all strictly horror films. It's just a good time for Hitchcock.

Patch: Who is the 'Hitchcock character,' and why does he throw them into peril?

Byers: To get good suspense, you have to put people in peril. He's known for [portraying] the everyman. These are regular people put in extraordinary situations. Even though James Stewart is a cop in Vertigo, it's still an out-of-the-ordinary situation.

I think that's what appeals to people: they're not war heroes or action heroes in [his] movies—they're everyday people.

Patch: How do you think Hitchcock contributed to film?

Byers: That's a big question. Obviously, he made a huge contribution to film. He [shot] movies that are well-made but unbelievable audience-pleasers—from technique to breaking convention.

Look at Psycho. He killed his leading lady within the first 25 minutes. No one was expecting that. He's rewriting the rules as he goes along.

Patch: What would you like future generations to take from his films?

Byers: All that really matters is that you make a good movie. If it's a good movie, it doesn't matter what it's about.

It can be a 'thrill-a-minute' movie, like Rear Window—which is one of my absolute favorites—but it's still meticulously well-made. Every shot matters.

If there is anything to take away from [movies], no one wants to sit and watch a three-hour-long movie that could have been an-hour-and-a-half-long. You can make a movie as long as you want, about whatever you want, but in order to make it good, you have to make everything count.

With Hitchcock films, every line of dialogue and every shot...count.

Get your tickets soon! Wednesday is the festival's finale, with showtimes for Rear Window at 4:30 p.m. and Vertigo at 7 p.m. For more information, call the Wilmette Theatre at 847-251-7424 or go online at its website.