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Who doesn’t like Hitchcock? Stupid people, that’s who. If you are bipedal, and know how to chew your food so you don’t kill yourself while eating, chances are you are likely to recognize Hitchcock’s genius. If you don’t, click the back button, go to the IMDB, and get your ass to the video store. Alfred Hitchcock is  one of the best directors of all time, everyone else knows it but you, so go get yourself an education. And remember: the socks go on before the shoes.
For the rest of you, the titular question that this movie poses is something that you already mentally answered with either an agreeing “Yes” or with a snarky, “No, you dolt, I love Hitchcock.” But the real question you should ask yourself is, “Do you like Argento?” because if you like Hitchcock and Argento then you’re in for a wonderful treat.
Do You Like Hitchcock? is about a film student named Giulio (Elio Germano) who, despite being in the middle of writing a huge essay on German Expressionism, is an all-around geek who has interest in other films, notably those of Hitchcock (as his room décor can attest). Aside from films, Giulio also enjoys watching other things, mostly his neighbors. No one could blame him either, seeing as how the apartments across the street have a larger hot chick ratio than any college girls’ dormitory. After taking a trip to the local video store to pick up some DVDs for his paper, he has a run-in with Sasha (Elisabetta Rocchetti), one of the girls he’s been watching. This particularly hard-bodied lass is attempting to rent Strangers On A Train, and meets another attractive woman, Federica (Chiara Conti), attempting to rent the same film. (Note: This is not the wet dream I had last night. This is honest plot. In my dream the only way to settle this was by pillow fight, naturally.)
 Anyway, after the second girl arrives the next day to rent the film, Giulio’s voyeuristic instincts come into serious play when he decides that following her would be a good idea. It seems that the strange women have arranged a meeting. Stranger still, that same night Sasha’s mother is murdered. Becoming increasingly obsessed with the case, Giulio hypothesizes that Hitchcock has something to do with it since the events unfolding share similarities with how Strangers On A Train plays out. Never does he recognize how similar is own behavior is to that of James Stewart in Rear Window. Even his girlfriend fits the Grace Kelly role beautifully. Giulio determines that another murder is bound to happen, because that’s what happened in Strangers.
But Do You Like Hitchcock? goes beyond simple homage. It attempts to amalgamate the Hitchcock style of suspense, with the extremely sexy style of the Italian giallo genre. It’s an interesting experiment for a director known for some classic giallo films, and has always been heralded as “The Italian Hitchcock.” This works well in some ways, and not quite so good in others. For example, there is a great Hithcock-esque sequence where Giulio is crippled from a fall while watching one of the suspected women. His only means of escape is riding his moped out of danger’s way, but it keeps stalling out on him. The suspense and editing are done extremely well.
 On the flip side, though, the scenes that owe more to Argento’s giallo roots seem somewhat out of place. The excessive gore for example during Sasha’s mother’s murder seems needlessly over the top. Hitchcock simply had more of a cerebral technique dealing with death scenes. The implied death only seemed gruesome and it worked to make tight little thrillers. Giallo films typically aren’t the most intellectually challenging, relying more on style than substance. The over-the-top directing and effects are what you would watch these films for; the story is simply secondary to how it’s shown. The mix wasn’t as seamless as I would have liked it to be.
That doesn’t mean that Do You Like Hitchcock? isn’t worth watching, though. You do get a very fun murder mystery with some great suspenseful scenes, and you get the gorgeous Italian women that make with the nakedness that the Giallo genre is known for. The average viewer gets a whole lot of fun, and the Hitchcock aficionado will get the bonus of catching all of the references. It really is the best of both worlds, but the framework doesn’t really fit the picture.
 The DVD Presentation
Unfortunately, the presentation isn’t very good at all. The transfer is interlaced and the image is very soft. Being anamorphic is about all it has going for it. To make matters worse, the film is only presented in an English dub. It isn’t a particularly good sound mix either, with much of the dialog getting hidden behind sound effects and other muddled voices. No subtitles are available, which is par for the course with Anchor Bay. A huge disappointment.
And the Extras Are?
Do You Like Hitchcock?: Backstage – (6:24) A collection of different clips from when the film was being shot. There is no narration, and Dario and the cast and crew are all speaking Italian and there are no subtitles. This might make it difficult for some to watch, but what’s being said doesn’t matter so much as what is being done. It’s great to hear the actors’ true voices, but otherwise it really isn’t worth watching.
Dario Argento Bio – A fairly comprehensive text based bio on Argento chronicling his entire career. This might be an interesting read to anyone new to Argento, but most fans know all of this stuff already. This  same bio is also duplicated on the DVD for Masters Of Horror: Jenifer
Anchor Bay Trailer Gallery – Anchor Bay has always been kind to us Americans in supplying us with Argento on DVD. It’s only fitting, then, that this gallery gives us trailers for other Argento films (after the prerequisite Masters Of Horror series trailer (1:55), that is). Here we get Suspiria (1:10), Opera (1:49), The Card Player (1:56) and Trauma (2:04). I haven’t seen The Card Player yet, but the other three are bona fide horror classics, and if you haven’t seen them you should check out the awesome trailers.
The Bottom Line
Another really enjoyable film from Argento gets a really poor presentation in the U.S. I recommend every Argento fan (or Hitchcock fan, for that matter) check out this film. I can’t really recommend it as a purchase, though, since the DVD has so many flaws: poor presentation, lack of interesting extras, etc. Rent it, though. The film is definitely worth your time.
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