Analysis Of Alfred Hitchcock And Christopher Nolan

In the film industry, there are directors who merely take someone else’s vision and express it in their own way on film, then there are those who take their own visions and use any means necessary to express their visions on film. The latter of these two types of directors are called auteurs. Not only do auteurs write the scripts from elements that they know and love in life, but they direct, produce, and sometimes act in their films as well. Three prime examples of these auteurs are: Kevin Smith, Spike Lee and Alfred Hitchcock.

Anyone who is even vaguely aware with film usually has a favorite director. Why? What distinguishes one director from another? A director is “the person who determines and realizes on the screen an artistic vision of the screenplay; casts the actors and directs their performances; works closely with production design in creating the look of the film…and in most cases, supervises all postproduction activity, especially editing” (Barsam and Monahan 496). Clearly, the director of a film is lead visionary in how the film is made. But what makes some directors truly memorable and instantly recognizable? Those directors take advantage of all different kinds creative possibilities and signatures to become the true “author” of the film, also known

Am I really awake typing a paper for philosophy? Did I just watch the Hitchcock film Shadow of a Doubt or did the “not so supremely good God” plant a reel of thoughts in my head (Descartes16)? That would be ironic since the themes of the film are based upon human understanding of doubt, dreams, good, evil, ignorance and knowledge. The film portrays a neat staircase that leads into the house of an all American family and a rickety set of stairs off the side of the house that are private and used for escape. After watching the deep hidden meanings and symbolism in the film, one could perceive the image of the parallel staircases like a metaphor for the human mind. This would bring the audience into a deeper place, dark,

As one of the most widely acclaimed and influential directors of the postwar era, Stanley Kubrick enjoyed a reputation and a standing unique among the filmmakers of his day. He had a brilliant career with relatively few films. An outsider, he worked beyond the confines of Hollywood, which he disliked, maintaining complete control of his projects and making movies according to his own ideas and time constraints. To him, filmmaking was a form of art and unlike Hollywood, not a business.

“A true film auteur is someone who brings something genuinely personal to his subject, instead of producing something tasteful, accurate but lifeless rendering of the original material,” a quote by Francois Truffaut. Auteur Theory was bold and risky for Francois Truffaut and Orson Welles to carry out throughout their film, but doing so led to having a wider audience and creating impressive memorial films. This New Wave of cinema had inspired many film makers to go outside the box and has led to the creation of idolizing films. An example would be Tim Burton, who has created many loved fantasy films from his unique out-there approach to directing. Auteur Theory has really shown us the importance of creating subjects of work that really reflect

drives from the city to her lover and, on the way, stops at the Bates

Hitchcock also uses this symbol in the story to create a suspenseful

Hitchcock’s thought about America according to David Lehman was “passionate, scary, fond, funny, and profound” (1). When we think of Hitchcock’s America in films certain emblematic moments rush to our mind: the shower scene, the breaking of merry-go-round at the Magic Isle amusement park, the crop-duster sequence, the menacing image of the birds on the telephone wire, the wheelchair bound photographer, the clash of the cymbals and the Mount Rushmore sequence. In the mythic landscape of Hitchcock’s America, the murderous and the perilous co-exists with the homely and the domestic. People are not what they claim to be in their charming facade (Lehman 5). Murders happen for the usual reasons-greed, ambition, jealousy, the desire to be rid

Donning the garb of a historian he could depict its crucial moments it sailed through. Thus he was able to encapsulate the cold war atmosphere prevalent in America through such films like Rear Window, Strangers on a Train and North by Norwest. Here we find the director’s cinematic screen as a site where various fears, suspicion and surveillance gets enacted through its characters like L.B Jeffries, Guy Haines, Bruno Anthony and Roger O.Thornhill. It was extremely difficult in the 1950s to procure a standpoint outside the paradigm of neatly arrayed binary opposition: United States/Soviet Union, East/West, capitalism/consumerism, freedom/tyranny, good/evil. If we take this as a cue for analyzing Hitchcock films in the fifties, it seems to

Christopher Nolan is an auteur and postmodern filmmaker. He started off making low budget ‘indie’ films, his first being Doodlebug. He has now risen to being one of the biggest names in Hollywood and creating blockbusters that not only are visual masterpieces but thought provoking journeys. He respects film as an art form, thus allowing him to create some of the top ranked films this century and The Dark Night and Momento are even classed among the greatest films of all time. He has 122 major wins and 163 nominations, most notably three Oscars, three golden globes and three BAFTAS. His films have grossed a total of US$4.2 billion making him, not only one of the most visionary, but one of the most successful directors of all time. Many say “what he’s trying to be is some kind of modern Kubrick. I think he’d be better off being a modern Hitchcock ” I believe he is a mix of the two, both pleasing the general audience and those that are there for intellectual stimulation. After Doodlebug gained him critical attention he then moved on to a bigger project, Following. The films I will analyse are The Prestige and Interstellar, which are films filled with his trademark of non-linear storytelling, grand-camera angles and powerful diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.

Alfred Hitchcock’s attention to detail in his films is one of the many things that makes him one of the most recognized film auteurs of all time. He was very particular what about he wanted seen on screen and how he wanted to get those shots. From camera movements to the things found in the mise-en-scène, Hitchcock was very precise about every little thing that is seen in his on screen worlds. He would strategically place objects throughout the mise-en-scène and have characters wear certain clothing. By doing this, Hitchcock is able to let the audience know things about the characters and the plot without it having to be said on camera. Hitchcock once said that “If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on” (Tiffin). That’s why there’s no surprise that when Hitchcock finally made his first color film, he began to use color as another way of communicating with his audience.

Alfred Hitchcock is known as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Hitchcock directed over fifty films, many of which remain popular to this day, including his stunning works Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Psycho. Hitchcock’s use of suspense, psychological pressure, mystery, and wit intrigued the audiences of his day as well as audiences of the 21st century. These elements of Hitchcock’s films have also inspired the genre of horror films that many know well today. Alfred Hitchcock, known for the false accusations and incredible suspense in his movies, was an extremely successful director and influenced the movie industry with his unique form of film entertainment.

The Auteur Theory is a concept that is viewed as a major creative force in motion picture. It has allowed the directors to oversee all the audio and visual elements they used in their motion picture. Francois Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock are two well-known directors that use the Auteur Theory in their own unique way that makes each of their films very special. It can be seen the way Francois Truffaut wants us to be part of the film and experience what the characters are feeling and doing in 400 Blows. Though Alfred Hitchcock is seen as getting to the point and fast moving in Psycho.

Following the release of his movie, Inception, The Guardian ran an article comparing Christopher Nolan to famed Hollywood auteur, Stanley Kubrick. Most readers subsequently reacted negatively to the article’s central premise. However, The Guardian’s readers concurrently began pondering another question: is Christopher Nolan a modern Hollywood auteur? According to many scholastic sources, Nolan should not even be considered for auteur status. Most of these naysayers point out that six of his eight feature films have been remakes, adaptations, or film franchises. However, upon closer examination, Christopher Nolan expresses a level of artistic continuity and control throughout his body of work that qualifies him for auteur status. This consistency and control is apparent in the composition of his workshop and in his plot themes and mise-en-scene.

Alfred Hitchcock is widely considered one of the most essential directors of all time and has undeniably revolutionized the cinematic art form and horror genre movement. A key ingredient to his productions is the psychoanalysis of the movie’s villains and the deceivery at comes with deep psychosis. These elements are what have taken Hitchcock from a good director to a legend. Hitchcock layers his movies in ways in which every time one watches his films they can pick up on a new detail that deepens the meaning and effects of the storyline. This is exactly what he does in his 1960 film, Psycho. By layering Freudian psychoanalysis, creating a twist ending and suspense, and giving the villain of the story, Norman Bates, a deeply rich background story, Hitchcock creates phenomenon in the audience arguably scarier, then Norman’s murders. Through this use the psychoanalysis and backstory, the audience also feels sympathy for Norman. This duality is what makes Hitchcock a wonderful artist and Psycho, a piece of art.