Analysis Of Alfred Hitchcock 's ' The Birds ' ( 1963 ) And Psycho ' Essay

To quote irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet Oscar Wilde, “This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.” This is the attitude necessary for a viewer or reader to have while being trapped in a story like “The Birds”. Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds” better utilizes and creates suspense when compared to Daphne du Maurier’s short story “The Birds” because it uses slow movements in scenes, short shots of strange bird activity, and an increase of sound in suspenseful situations.

In Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, usually tame birds seem to attack people at random. These bird attacks cause fear in the town, but could the fear be causing the attacks? Sever emotional turmoil or desires of the characters in the movie are the cause of the bird attacks. Melanie, Mitch, and Lydia’s inner havoc is shown through the bird attacks.

After Melanie comes out of the school, we see her walk towards the playground and sit on the bench facing the viewers and having her back to the playground. Hitchcock uses a medium shot where we can see Melanie sitting in a vulnerable position and is oblivious to what is happening around her since she doesn’t see the birds coming. We can see that she is distressed and nervous as to when the birds will attack again but she knows that they will. Hitchcock shows us only one bird flying into the playground in this shot to putting us in the situation of not knowing how many birds are arriving behind her. This puts the viewer in a state of confusion if or when the birds will attack since they have witnessed many bird attacks prior to this scene giving them the idea that the birds may have stopped attacking but Hitchcock continues to bounce the viewer around in these chaotic and confusing attacks. The viewers are at this point of the film are completely confused to why the birds are attacking and whether if they will stop attacking. The attack of these birds are unknown to the viewer but they can imply it has something to do with Melanie arriving to Bodega Bay. We, the viewer, learn that Cathy Brenner, Mitch Brenner’s mother, is quite close to Mitch in a sexual way since we see them hugging and

Alfred Hitchcock has a very unique style of directing that he incorporates into many of his films. His style of editing, use of expressionism, and his techniques for creating suspense are amongst some of his many qualities that makes his films unique. The film Vertigo was a very technical film that displayed many different themes, and meanings. In Vertigo, Hitchcock dealt with themes like the fear of death, and the power of appearance. Alfred Hitchcock has a very distinct way of utilizing editing.

Hitchcock utilises birds and taxidermy, the visual motif of eyes, and camera angles to engage his audience and to create suspense.

Francois Truffaut, when referring to Hitchcock said that “he exercises such complete control over all the elements of his films and imprints his personal concepts at each step of the way, Hitchcock has a distinctive style of his own. He is undoubtedly one of the few film-makers on the horizon today whose screen signature can be identified as soon as the picture begins.” Many people have used Hitchcock as the ultimate example of an auteur as there are many common themes and techniques found amongst his films. Even between the two films “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Vertigo,” many commonalities occur.

Alfred Hitchcock also used cinematography in a uniquely stylizing way. Hitchcock not only uses the camera to create dramatic irony, but he also uses the camera to lie to the audience and create anxious suspense. For example, in his film Psycho, when Marion is in the shower Hitchcock frames the scenes very tightly. Marion is in a confined and very personal space. This makes her incredibly vulnerable. Then Hitchcock heightens the suspense by creating dramatic irony with the reveal of a shadowy figure closing in on Marion, unbeknownst to her. This creates a lot of anxiety for the audience, knowing the protagonist is vulnerable and in danger with no way of altering the inevitable. Hitchcock then manipulates the audience by “revealing” a brief silhouette of an old lady as our shower killer. Hitchcock uses this “reveal” to lie to the audience, he makes the audience think they have more inside knowledge confirming their already growing suspicions, when in reality the audience is misled entirely and the murderer was Norman all along. The way Hitchcock uses the camera to reveal both inside information and misleading information truly keeps the viewer engaged and not knowing what to believe until the truth is finally revealed. By using this unique technique of controlling the audience by only showing what he wants you to see, Hitchcock masterfully defies expectations and creates suspense.

In the essay ‘“Oh, I see…’: The Birds and the Culmination of Hitchcock’s Hyper-Romantic Vision,” John McCombe attempts to connect The Birds to literary Romanticism. McCombe begins by citing a text from Robin Wood’s book Hitchcock’s Films Revisited. In the text, Wood discusses how Hitchcock controls the audience through editing and camera movement like a poet controls the reader through verse rhythms. To illustrate his point, Woods discusses how traumatic horror is conveyed in E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India and Hitchcock’s film. Woods conclude that it is better conveyed through visual images in Hitchcock’s film rather than through the text in the novel. Because of this, Hitchcock is considered to be more of a poet than a novelist.

Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) builds a distinct view of the world and how, in the director’s opinion, men and women fit in it. Through dialogue and mise-en-scene, Hitchcock’s always seems to be making a statement about how men and women should be viewed in his films. Rear Window pinpoints some recurring elements about men and women present in multiple Hitchcock films, where men are shown as damaged and needing help, while women are shown as care-givers. Men are always reluctant to take action, until the desire of the women to solve the mystery presses them into confrontation. Men think women are interested in money or status or success, while women are only interested in love. Love and marriage are also a recurring theme within Hitchcock’s works, and it can be explored through various lenses, but in this essay I will explore it through gender roles and voyeurism, specifically in Rear Window.

The Birds is considered one of Hitchcock’s most memorable films, and is known as a classic horror film because of the concept of birds randomly attacking people. The film centers on a man and a woman merging in with his family and only then do the birds start attacking and disrupting their already tense atmosphere as the feelings between the protagonists Melanie and Mitch begin to blossom. Hitchcock creates the birds as a metaphor for the emotional turmoil between the couple and the characters, as it allows them all to develop throughout the film.

Hitchcock also builds suspense in this film with the shots he uses. In the beginning when they are taking Thornhill to the big house Hitchcock uses a wide shot to show where he is going leading to more suspense. Hitchcock also uses some close ups to characters faces to show

Despite the lack of narration or dialogue, this scene is a highly effective introduction to the film’s protagonist and the setting in which the most of the action will take place. This highly choreographed long take discloses an impressive volume of narrative information using only visual cues; the audience is now conscious of their protagonist’s name, his broken leg, the vibrant neighborhood where he lives, and even the summer heat that envelops the scene. The expositional scene is an excellent example of Hitchcock’s ‘pure cinema’ because it immediately deepens the audience’s participation in the film and gives the film a tangible quality, as if the audience were physically standing in Jefferies’ apartment and surveying the setting.

Alfred Hitchcock is an auteur who made fifty-three feature length films in his career: all of which are thrilling and captivating. He garnered the title of the "Master of Suspense" because he took delight in frightening viewers (Lehman and Luhr 88). His legacy is still revered today because his works are both financially successful and artistically acclaimed (Sterritt 1). Like any artists who has produced an impressive amount of art, he has a number of distinctive styles and themes he uses in his films to make them engaging. Common technical and artistic Hithcockian signatures that prevailing in North by Northwest (1959) (hereafter referred to as North) and Psycho (1960) eliciting suspense and engagement with narrative include

When Hitchcock wishes to exemplify a particular trait within his character, or reveal the personality of a character, he does so with classy elegance. Such emphasis is laid onto few, yet vital shots, which can reveal a whole lot of information in a few shots. Instead of using a wide range of methods to convey the same information, why not simplify it, and convey the entire array of emotions in a single, unique visual. For example; to exemplify the personality traits of a lady, any other director of the time would have probably used a wide array of shots to convey the same information. However Hitchcock says a whole lot, without saying much.

Hitchcock controlled the rhythm and angels of camera of the movie very well and easily have the audience can’t help, but fall and care for the two lead actors. He used close shot when capturing the facial expression of the two actors. This can allow the audience to connect and know the feelings of the actors. And the two actors did amazing job to reach out to the audience. From their first meet, to the drunk driving, Hitchcock used so special angel technique to show us the actor’s point of view, which can help the audience to feel the same as the actors.