VOTD: 'The Ultimate Hitch Cookbook'

We feature director homages all the time here at /Film, but today's Video of the Day offers something a little different. Using bright, playful animation and a healthy serving of wit, "The Ultimate Hitch Cookbook" analyzes the work of director Alfred Hitchcock in culinary terms and lays out "recipes" for some of his most-loved classics. Now you, too, can whip up dishes like "Walk the Dog" ("the perfect meal for stakeouts or the Peeping Tom next door") or "The Perfect Kendall-Light Dinner" ("for homesick travellers"). Watch the short film after the jump.

[via Vulture]

"The Ultimate Hitch Cookbook" is the work of Felix Meyer, Pascal Monaco, and Torsten Strer, graduate students at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hannover, Germany. Peter Bennett provided the pitch-perfect vocals.

I really admire the detail that went into this project on every level — the filmmakers have clearly put as much thought into the writing as they have the animation. The short really rewards pausing and rewatching so that you can actually read some of the amusing copy. In the diagram dissecting Hitchcock's style, for example, "fear" is described as having a "firm, tense consistency" while humor is a "lean cut drawn through by fine strings of fat." It's clear that these folks have a genuine love for the director's work, and I like the way they've turned that affection into something unusual and fun.

If you enjoyed "The Ultimate Hitch Cookbook," it may be worth checking out some of the team's other work. One particularly entertaining video is "35mm," a two-minute animation which references the most recognizably iconic visuals of 35 different films and redoes them in a fun, minimalist style. Go ahead and see how many of the references you can catch.

Discuss: What do you think of the short? I was especially amused by the MacGuffin joke. What are your favorite Hitchcock films?