Alfred Hitchcock

Now that Barthes has tried to definitively exclaim that the author is dead, we examine other cinematic forms of authorship this week, notably through the practice of producers, studio executives, and commercial properties. Through the work of Matthew Bernstein, Thomas Schatz, and Timothy Corrigan we find arguments for sub-facets of authorial figures in cinema, but ultimately note that the auteur theory can only be applied to cinema directors. Matthew Bernstein states that rarely is there such a…

The world of film is a place where two senses collide—hearing and sight. Being able to watch characters maneuver through life as the story unfolds is just part of the experience. When sound is added to the mix, an entirely different dimension to the adventure is created. This feature is capable of propelling the viewer even deeper within the plot; it can stop a person in their tracks, preparing them for what is to come. Sound guides the viewer from one scene to the next and creates anticipation.…

The setting plays an extremely central role in that it sets up the tone for the story. The great detail Eggers provides really puts the audience in his eyes where we can see what he is seeing. The descriptive details made me feel like I was watching a movie with extravagant scenery rather than reading words on a white piece of paper. Eggers describes the company's building as, "30 feet high [that] shot through with California light . . . the front hall was as . . . tall as a cathedral." Every…

The Big Sleep is an film noir, which was pioneering in crime drama tropes and style. The film utilizes editing techniques and camera work to convey a intricate narrative. One of the most interesting scenes to me was in the opening of the film when Marlowe is talking to General Sternwood which really introduces the main character through his interactions with the old man. The scene also makes good use of the 180-degree rule, shot/reverse shot, and eyeline matching which makes the dialogue between…

The cinematography is one of the things that stands out most in the movie Vertigo. Not only is the vertigo effect (dolly zoom) fun and intriguing, but even from the beginning of the film, the shots really stand out and are very different from anything we’ve seen in Hitchcock’s earlier films. I liked watching the way the film transitioned from sepia to red and the various zooms to different parts of Madeleine’s face, then to the rotating symbols. All of this seemed very symbolic to me. The sepia…

The cinematic style of a director is his or her fingerprint. It is wholly unique to that specific director, and even the best attempts to mimic another director’s style are not entirely successful. The esteemed director Tim Burton uses his own unique style to enrich his films with meaning and complexity. However, his use of styles is not equal and balanced, for he draws heavily upon grayscale and dark imagery. He uses these colors as a polarizing agent to enhance the movement of the plot without…

Wells claimed that is only preparation for directing Citizen Kane was to watch John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939) forty times. Ford’s influence on the film is pronounced, but according to David Cook’s History of Narrative Film, it is equally clear that Welles was steeped in the major European traditions, especially those of German Expressionism and the Kammerspielfilm and French poetic realism. Kane’s narrative economy owes much to “the example of Ford, its visual texture is heavily indebted to the…

"The most important parts of a film are the mysterious parts - beyond the reach of reason and language" - Stanley Kubrick Kubricks distinguished movie making was made out of experimentation. Everything is centered around re-invention. It's hard to talk about Kubricks work without overly analysing it, but that should be done because he is one of the most celebrated directors of our time. His film making techniques are striking, but the most important things within his films are exploring the…

Hitchcock captures a montage at a medium shot of Devlin and Alicia deliberating how they will go through more searching of both her husband and his connections. Specifically, Alicia responded that she did not receive the key to the basement filled with wine. Devlin makes a suggestion to Alicia that she should encourage Sebastian to host a party as well as announce his new wife, in which he does. After Devlin gives Alicia this request, she leaves to complete this request, and a wide shot is being…

Joseph Sargent’s 1974 crime/drama/thriller film, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, centers on a heist of a New York subway cart and the race against time to catch the culprits and save the hostages. The dramatic aspect is embedded within the development of the colorful, diverse characters and their dissimilar reactions towards the crime situation. These character’s different personalities as well as their different agendas almost hinder the narrative of the film, but diegetic elements stop…