Hitchcock's Auteur Theory

it is the start of the story. The window fills the whole frame of the

Development of Suspense by Hitchcock in Psycho 'Psycho,' the somewhat infamous film by Alfred Hitchcock was produced in 1961, a time when the American censors, The Hays Office, still dominated the film industry with their strict rules and principles. It earned its notoriety by defying the traditional cinematic convections of that time and pushing the boundaries of what could be shown in mainstream cinema. The rules implemented by The Hays Office were far stricter than they are today, and Hitchcock uses all available means to reach and go slightly beyond the set limit. Using clever and different camera angles, he implies things that are not shown. He proves that innuendoes can portray the

Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980), the “Master of Suspense”, was a English film director, who was well known for his use of suspense and psychological elements to shock and surprise his audience. Hitchcock was known for his use of recurring themes, motifs and plot devices, such as the use of birds, hand motifs, the audience as a voyeur, mothers, blonde women, and sexuality. He was also very technical in his editing, using filming techniques such as deep focus, point of view, close up and wide, tracking shots. Montage was also a technique he used frequently in his films. He believed that by using visuals, he could convey thoughts and emotions just as well as dialogue could.

     Films that are classified as being in the film noir genre all share some basic characteristics. There is generally a voice-over throughout the film in order to guide the audience's perceptions. These movies also involve a crime and a detective who is trying to figure out the truth in the situation. This detective usually encounters a femme fatale who seduces him. However, the most distinctive feature of the film noir genre is the abundance of darkness.

When discussing American culture, the influence and interplay of film cannot be understated. We are a nation consumed with the media. Today, the movie business is one of the highest grossing businesses there is. We hold movie stars up as though they are super human. We closely watch their style, their dating lives, their party habits, and even their favorite restaurants, among many other things. We rely on movies to lift us up, teach us about other cultures and time periods, and even to teach us about our own culture. Often, movies reflect the time period they are filmed in and directly reflect the social tensions of that time and the film noir genre is no different. One of the most famous film noir movies out there, The Maltese Falcon,

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.

During the 1940’s, the idea of the auteur theory arose. It was crafted by Andre Bazin, who was a French film critic, and Roger Leenhardt, a filmmaker. They stated that a film should represent the directors vision. Another French film critic, Alexandre Astruc, enhanced the auteur theory by expressing that directors with their camera should be like writers with their pen. This would make a director’s films all have the same type of aspects. Once a director makes a number of films, a certain “finger print” can be seen throughout his creations.

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

The first half of this course focused on Alfred Hitchcock and how his techniques are now recognized as iconic. From class discussions and film screenings, it is clear that Hitchcock pays every attention to detail when he crafts a scene. Many Hitchcock films we have seen this semester highlight how he builds suspense through cinematic elements such as shadow, dialogue, and composition. While many of his suspenseful scenes stir feelings of intensity and uncertainty, Alfred Hitchcock builds a more romantic suspense in his 1955 film To Catch a Thief in the fireworks scene (1:06:35-1:11:00).

Film Noir was a result of it's time - The war had just ended and It was time where prohibition had influenced an abundance in crime and corruption. Film noir serves to highlight the darkest aspects of human beings. ‘Society is making the machinery of it's own destruction.

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

The term Auteur seems to bless a privileged group of filmmakers with an almost messiah-like legacy. Men such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and Fritz Lange are believed to inhabit the ranks of the cinematic elite, and not surprisingly most critics are more than willing to bestow upon them the title of Auteur. By regarding filmmaking as yet another form of art, Auteur theory stipulates that a film is the direct result of its director's genius. With the emerging prominence of auteur based criticism in the 1950?s, the role of the director became increasingly integral to a film's success. However most would argue that this form of criticism didn't reach its apex until 1960s, when Andrew Sarris released his

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.

In Strangers on a Train, Hitchcock uses a unique combination of continuity and narration in order to create a fluid story while also drawing the spectator in with suspenseful situations. The spectator becomes immersed in the story because of how well Hitchcock uses these techniques. The spectator is given all the information throughout the story, which helps Hitchcock create suspense because the spectator worries for the characters because they know the entire situation while the characters are still figuring everything out. With these techniques, Hitchcock tells a unique story while totally engaging the audience in the story.

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.