Sir Alfred Hitchcock was a “Metteur en scene” or an “auteur”, based on two of his films; Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963). In other words, I’ll be evaluating whether he was a unique and outstanding filmmaker or if he was just like any other regular filmmaker. I’ll begin by giving a little background information about Alfred Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock was giving birth to in Leytonstone, Essex in England in the year 1899 and passed away in the year 1980. Hitchcock during his lifetime, was a director, producer and screenwriter. In fifty years, he directed fifty-three feature films of which twenty-three were in the British period and…
Hitchcock created a space in the American film industry resorting to the advertisement that ruled the decade. People easily recognised Hitchcock as he was a familiar figure in the anthology TV mystery series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” (1955) that he hosted on CBS network. The show opened with a theme music a snippet from Charles Francois Gounod’s “Funeral March of a Marionette” accompanied by line drawing of a man in profile immediately identifying the show. The logo became very famous.…
Suspense in the eyes of the viewer Scene analysis Thesis: In my chosen scene the director, Alfred Hitchcock, expresses Norman’s personality as a predator, in a way that gives the viewer feelings of suspense and insecurity. Chosen Scene: Conversation between Marion and Norman during Marion’s meal. “We all go a little mad sometimes” https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nv88ASiLmgk The first argument backing up my thesis involves examining the Cinematography within the scene.…
The relationship between the audience and director is one of the most important in the film business. This essay makes reference to the director Alfred Hitchcock, and his ability to shift his filmmaking process between his films Rear Window (1954) and Psycho (1960), with specific emphasis on themes, mise en scene and sound, to meet the demands of his audience. By applying the lens of Lehman and Luhr’s article on auteurship in film, “Authorship: The Searchers and Jungle Fever”, this essay will…
“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock is known for being the “master of suspense”. Born on Aug. 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, England, Hitchcock was one of three children. It is said that he had a lonely childhood due to obesity, which left him isolate and sheltered away from others. His parents had unusual methods of discipline; and often times sent him to the local jail for the police to lock him up for misbehaving, and afterwards would…
Over the course of this class we’ve covered a vast amount of information on the history of photography, film and art, from 1839 to the present, all interesting. But what fascinated me the most, was when we covered Alfred Hitchcock, discussing his movie “Psycho” and “North by Northwest”. Although as a graduate student I was given the opportunity to do my final paper on any topic, but I just had to do mine on the “Master of Suspense”, Sir Alfred Hitchcock. Since I was a kid, we use to watch Alfred…
Listening Contours (2nd ed.). Rost, Michael. 1981. Tucson, Arizona: Lingual House Publishing Company One of the most famous movie directors of all time was Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock is most famous for his mystery movies. When Alfred Hitchcock died in 1980, he had made over 50 complete movies. Alfred Hitchcock was born in London in 1899. He was the youngest of three children. Hitchcock was a very shy boy and he went to very strict schools. Hitchcock studied to be an engineer, but he was…
different pieces of work from North America to Britain films. There were many upcoming directors that fell into the auteur category. Yet, one of the most profound auteurs, in my opinion, would be Alfred Hitchcock.…
Alfred Hitchcock’s famous films Psycho and The Birds both portray women in a uniquely comparable way as each of these two films centre around the journey of a woman. His famous 1960 film, Psycho, follows Marion Crane, a Phoenix secretary who stumbles across and seizes the opportunity to claim a large sum of cash to start a new life. His equally critiqued 1963 film, The Birds, focuses on wealthy business woman Melony Daniels, as she travels to the green retreat Bodega Bay in order to win over a…
In the first scene of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, it could be taken as a flirtatious-romance film; however in the opening title sequence of the film, an ominous tone is set—a more accurate portrayal of the film. The first shot after the opening sequence shows the main protagonist, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), at a street corner with the frame of the camera shooting the busy street scene and the skies above. While the sky is clear, it is only after when Melanie crosses the street that birds…