The people sitting around that table were the new generation of Croatian film critics, and the topic they discussed so vehemently was film. Their polemics at the Corso Cafe in Zagreb became legendary, not only for their passion and vigor, but also because they introduced new approaches in film thinking and analyzing.

Heavily influenced by André Bazin’s concept of auteur cinema, they appreciated both classic Hollywood directors and the leaders of cinematic modernism in Europe. Hrvoje Lisinski, Ante Peterlić, Petar Krelja, Branko Ivanda and Zoran Tadić were core members of the group, gathered around it’s founder, film critic Vladimir Vuković. The group became famous under two names. The first was Vladek’s Table, as a tribute to the central figure in their meetings (Vladek is a nickname for Vladimir). The other was The Hitchcockians, a slightly ironic remark by one of the casual guest’s of the table, Fadil Hadžić, commenting on their high appreciation of Hollywood genre film.

However, the affinity they felt toward the genre film didn’t soften their critiques toward Yugoslavian feature film, which often fell victim to some structural (economic and organization) changes in film industry which took place in the middle of the fifties. The key figure in film making business became the producer, and the only criteria for a film to be made was it’s possible success with the audience (and, of course, it’s ideological acceptability). After several commercial and artistic failures, as well as the new influence of contemporary European film, Yugoslavian (and Croatian) film became more open to artistic endeavours, which was supported by the Hitchcockians in the Polet magazine. The sixties was the time when the classics of Croatian modernism were made. Zvonimir Berković made Rondo (1966), Ante Babaja made The Birch Tree (1967), and Krsto Papić made Handcuffs (1970), while at the same time some of the Hitchcockians also had an opportunity to make the films of their own.

Branko Ivanda was the first to sit in the director’s chair while making his feature debut. The Gravitation or the Fantastic Youth of Josip Horvat, the Clerk (1968) is now hailed as one of the best examples of Croatian film modernism. Ante Peterlić’s Accidental Life wasn’t so lucky. After it’s premiere in 1969. it was dismissed by Croatian film public, while at the same time, the critics of Cahiers du cinéma urged their readers to see it in several consecutive issues. One could only guess why the story of two white collar friends and their everyday lives aroused such extreme reactions. One of the reasons could be that in the formal sense Accidental Life heavily relied on classics like John Ford and Howard Hawks and their „invisible direction“, while at the same time, it lacked typical plot structure and a hero-characterization of a classic Hollywood film. But, in spite of the initial failure, Accidental Life becomes more and more popular among the film critics today.

Peterlić’s co-scriptwriters Petar Krelja and Zoran Tadić soon became famous for their work in documentary films, but Tadić’s feature film debut became one of the most important films of Croatian cinema. The Rhythm of the Crime (1981) was the story of a guy who discovers the hidden regularity between crime acts in his town district. Tadić used the iconography and plot structure of film noir to make a film about social and existential problems of urban middle classes and he continued to do so in his subsequent films: The Third Key (1983), The Dream about the Rose (1986) and The Third Woman (1997, remake of Carol Reed’s The Third Man). The creative success of his films inspired some other directors to continue to explore the field of genre film (Branko Ivanda’s 1982 mystery Crime in the School, Dejan Šorak’s 1989 vampire-spoof Bloodsuckers, Živorad Tomić’s thrillers Kralj’s Endgame from 1987 and The Diploma for Death from 1989), but Tadić remained critically most successful.

Although Petar Krelja often mentions that most of the Hitchcockians wanted to direct films, some of them became more successful in other areas. Ante Peterlić became the founder of film studies in Croatia, and Vladimir Vuković became one of the most famous film critics. On the other hand, Petar Krelja and Zoran Tadić continued to to be active in film writing (essays, critiques) and directing, while Branko Ivanda continued his work on television. The diversity of their work proved that the often mentioned gap between film criticism and film direction doesn’t have to be so wide, and that it’s merging (whether on paper or on the set) can be creative and stimulative. In film writing the Hitchcockians encouraged analysis beyond the ideology of state authorities or the producer’s repertoire policy, while at the same time, they encouraged creativity and non-conformity within film directing. When behind the camera, their work proved to be innovative in terms of style, themes and sensibility, remaining an inspiration for future filmmakers, theoreticians and critics alike.

Mario Kozina

*** I would like to thank Nikica Gilić for directing me to some useful articles, as well as explaining the nuances between different authors and their poetics.