Iconic Techniques Of Alfred Hitchcock

Premeditated cameo appearances. These characteristics depict every Alfred Hitchcock film ever produced. Known for his unique style of psychologically disturbing thrillers, with a tendency to engage his audience in voyeurism, he quickly became a household name after the release of his first sound film in 1929. Hitchcock’s career only gained velocity from there; producing a myriad of successful films in his fifty year span of filmmaking. Arguably the most notable came in 1958, Vertigo; a film chock full of dynamic characters, impressive visual effects, and most importantly, overlooked motifs of self identity, external

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

Throughout the film industry, Alfred Hitchcock has directed many films filled with suspense that puts the viewer in confusion on what is going to happen next. Alfred Hitchcock is known as the ‘Master of Suspense’ because of his filming techniques which made his films stand out compared to other horror films during his period. One of his classic scenes, where Hitchcock used several of his filming techniques, is the playground scene in the film The Birds. The playground scene is characterized by various of camera shots, sound, and mise-en-scene. Hitchcock used these techniques to create the idea of dramatic irony to add fear and confusion for the viewers.

The Hitchcock film titled ‘The Birds’ is set in Bodega Bay, California. For no apparent reason, as soon as a woman arrives in the area, birds have been attacking the residents, and causing death and destruction. In one scene, where Melanie Daniels (portrayed by Tippi Hedren) is stuck inside a house alongside Mitch Brenner (portrayed by Rod Taylor), and his mother Lydia, and his younger sister Cathy, trying to protect themselves from another relentless wave of bird attacks.

Psychologists have suggested the idea that correlation does not imply causation. In The Birds, viewers find themselves unable to identify the purpose or the cause for the birds’ attacks. Hitchcock does not want us to know the answers either, since Hitchcock marvels at his ability to make viewers question his films and struggle at truly enjoying without fully understanding them. Although this essay cannot find a cause for the attacks in the town or to the characters that seem to be innocent like the children and the old man in the farm, it should shed some light on the correlation between the timing of the attacks near the Brenner family and Melanie and their internal struggle. The symbolism of the caged birds versus the free birds, the Jocasta complex Lydia struggles with, and the imagery of the light versus darkness when the birds attack represent the journey Mitch and Melanie face in trying to be together.

This essay is a comparison between the short story, “The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1952, and the 1963 film, The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock. The story, in brief, was about a man named Nat, and his family. They lived on a farm and had to protect themselves in their house when the bird population spontaneously attacks. Although du Maurier’s story and Hitchcock’s film portray the same major conflict and theme, the other major story elements are very different.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is a uniquely captivating film that is an exemplary style of cinematic craftsmanship. Reaching into the minds of the characters, as well as the audience, Alfred Hitchcock is the master at utilizing the juxtaposition of images to bring us into the minds of the characters. In Rear Window, the story is so distinctively executed that it allows us to relate to our own curiosities, question our identities, and ponder our closest relationships. What is happening on the screen is merely a projection of our own anxieties, our own existence, and our self-ambiguity as portrayed by the characters in this wonderful film.

“Birds bring beauty into the world,” Mrs, Bundy tells a distraught Melanie Daniels. But do they? In the film,”The Birds,” directed by Albert Hitchcock, Melanie Daniels chase's lawyer Mitch Brenner to the small town of Bodega Bay, gifting him a pair of lovebirds for his sister. Melanie however, gets caught up in the rampant bird problem that plagues the town when she arrives. Hitchcock creates suspense in the movie by using the element of dramatic irony, in order to instill a sense of helplessness into the audience as they watch disaster unfold before the characters of the picture.

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).

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,

From the beginning of the film, the score was a peaceful piano piece that went along with the scenery. It was gentle and non-threatening. There is a flute, or other woodwind, that joins the piano, and this is when a car is seen driving by. Later strings join the ensemble and the music all continues to be soft. This reassured me that the movie would not be dark or overwhelming. The theme music and film’s focus on

The music played in the background of the film is generally very peaceful. The sounds are diegetic,

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

In Rear Window, by Alfred Hitchcock, Jeff, a photographer in New York City, breaks his leg while trying to take a photo at an auto race and gets stuck in his apartment until his leg heals. To pass the time, Jeff spies on his neighbors with his photo lenses. However, while in the process of spying on his neighbors, the Thorwalds, he suspects that a gruesome murder may have taken place in the household. In Rear Window, Hitchcock creates a suspenseful tone by utilizing five cinematic terms: sound effects, zoom shot, reaction shot, symbol, and point-of-view.

In The Uncanny, Freud discusses the different definitions and claims that various theorists have made regarding the feeling of uncanny. He defines the different factors that provoke the uncanny in humans and demonstrates how these factors elicit that strange and seemingly inexplicable feeling. Similarly, in Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock, adopts the various factors that cause the uncanny to alter Scottie’s identity and beliefs. Ultimately, when Scottie is transformed from a rational being to a psychotic obsessive, it serves to indicate the severity of Scottie’s mental instability and his detachment from reality.