Alfred Hitchcock Essay

During Alfred Hitchcock’s British sound period, spanning from 1929-1939, his films were significantly influenced by three styles of filmmaking. These specific styles of film include, German Expressionism, Soviet Expressive Realism, and Hollywood Classical Realism. You are able to see evidence of all said influences in Hitchcock’s films from this time period, including but not limited to, Blackmail (1929), The 39 Steps (1935), and Sabotage (1936). German Expressionism can easily be defined as the

Vertigo, one of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films, was released in 1958. This film is a masterful example of the psychological thriller genre that Hitchcock is so well known for. Vertigo draws heavily on Freudian concepts of obsession, acrophobia, repression and melancholy. Highly symbolic dream sequences with cutting edge filming techniques provide the audience with a window into the psyche of the protagonist’s character. It is the first film to use the dolly zoom, which is a camera angle that

When looking inside the mind of a killer what do you expect to find? Alfred Hitchcock has directed a film that does not need to shock the viewer with mere jumps and shadows, but makes you question characters on a psychological level. Psycho, alludes to the fact that the main character will be or will be dealing with the films own deranged, crazed protagonist. Instead Hitchcock’s telling on Norman Bates as a type of Psycho was built and is something the audience was unprepared for. Main characters:

For every action a person takes, there is usually a purpose behind it. The riskier and more dangerous an action, the more motive that individual must have to continue. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film, Rear Window, is a riveting thriller that is based on Cornell Woolrich’s short story “It Had to be Murder”.  This film tells a narrative about an adventurous photographer, Jeffries played by James Stewart, who after breaking his leg is forced to remain shackled to a wheelchair within his home. To cope

Northwest,” by Alfred Hitchcock he shows how a film can have an influence on a historical event. Alfred Hitchcock was born August 13, 1899 and died April 29, 1980 being sometimes referred as “The Master of Suspense.” During Hitchcock’s career some major historical events took place, in which he used his films to reflect and sometimes respond to those events. Hitchcock’s films both reflected and sometimes also intervened in contemporary social and political events during his career. Alfred Hitchcock’s

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is a voyeuristic point-of-view (POV) style of filming. The point-of-view captures the intimate details of the neighbors lives through the view of Jimmy Stewarts character L. B. Jefferies (Jeff). Hitchcock set the tone for movies of the POV style. There are many films today that have used the same POV techniques, such as 2007’s Disturbia, directed by D.J. Caruso, who was inspired by Rear Window. Although the setting are different, Disturbia gives the audience the view

Like many of his films, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) is an intense study in the sometimes-jarring idiosyncrasies of its main character, L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart). Jeffries is an observer by nature, a professional photographer confined to his apartment by an injury, with only insurance company nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) for company. This limitation impels him to begin observing his neighbors, and he witnesses events that lead him to believe

psychological thriller film, Psycho, was directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960 changing many aspects in the world of the motion picture as we know it today. Through its unconventional and very daring way of showing the audience, female undergarments, scaring the audience into not wanting to shower for years with an onscreen murder seen as never seen before, and even with something seemingly prosaic by showing a flushing toilet. Hitchcock managed to captivate and scare people around the world, as

Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie (1964) depicts the psychological development of a young woman as she navigates a life of crime and familial melodrama, ultimately unlocking the suppressed memories that offer answers to her childhood traumas. The director utilizes evocative mise-en-scene, subjective point-of-view shots, and expressive lighting schemes in order to project the title character’s internal state onto the physical world of the film. In doing so, Hitchcock crafts a diegetic universe that reflects

It can be argued that utilization of suspense is the single most connecting element in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. ?Suspense is a dramaturgy technique that plays of the difference in knowledge between the audience and the characters on the screen? (Allen 32). Hoffman and Fahr define suspense as: ?Suspense can be conceptualized as an enjoyable experience between hope and fear that relies on certain cognitive mechanisms and often goes along with autonomic, physiological arousal? (2). It often revolves