Alfred Hitchcock 3 free essays

Free Essay 1
 



Alfred Hitchcock, Director

Alfred was the third and youngest child in the family. He might have gone on to follow in his father's footsteps as a grocer or develop a career of less notoriety except, perhaps, for a chilling incident in his early youth.  Alfred was just five years old the day he committed some misdeed that convinced his father he needed a lesson in discipline.  His father sent him down to see the chief of police, with a note about what should be done to teach Alfred the error of this ways.  The police chief promptly put him into a cell and slammed the door shut.  Later, Alfred recalled that "the sound and solidity of that closing cell door and the bolt" never left his memory.  He was really only abandoned behind bars for five minutes.  Upon his release, the officer made sure to impress him with the chilling words "that's what we do to naughty boys".   (Shepler, August 15, 1999)

Alfred's fear of authority and punishment was reinforced during his years at the Jesuit school, St. Ignatius College.  At that time, corporal punishment was meted out by ritual beatings on the hands with a hard rubber strap.  Alfred Hitchcock would later recall that those incidents felt to him much like "going to the gallows."  Punishment, and terror of it being unfairly administered by the police to someone undeserving would later emerge in Hitchcock's movies, particularly "The Thirty-Nine Steps", "I confess", "The Wrong Man" and "North by Northwest".

Every director makes the choices of what to emphasize and what to play down in a given screenplay.  Hitchcock, throughout his career, always chose to highlight irony, surprises, moral ambiguity, and the uncertainties of life.  I will attempt to illustrate what I think are Hitchcock's best attributes and supreme techniques as a director; specifically his use of camera angles, sound and ability to use the audience's imagination.

Hitchcock possessed a deliberate directorial style and vast technical knowledge.  The director was known for his meticulous planning of every shot - before filming, he would sketch each scene with a list of every possible camera angle.  Hitchcock used a full array of cinematic techniques in addition to montage to manipulate his audience, including unusual camera angles and carefully placed sound effects.  He meticulously planned each shot in his films and treated the actor as just another object on the set, leaving the impression that nothing on the screen had arrived there by chance.

Indeed, what makes many of Alfred Hitchcock's movies so compelling is his focus on ordinary people being drawn into extraordinary and frightening events.  There are no great beasts or extraterrestrial beings.  The monsters may well be the neighbors across the way, as in "Rear Window," or inside the psychotic mind of an otherwise likeable young man, namely Norman Bates in "Psycho".  Espionage, terrorism and military sabotage, genuine fears during the years leading up to World War II and throughout the Cold War, formed the basis for "North by Northwest," "Secret Agent" and "Saboteur".

A technique that Hitchcock used to build suspense was to get the audience in on the real danger early in the movies, but leave the characters in the dark.  In "Sabotage," he has a delivery boy carrying a package that contains a bomb set to go off at 1:45pm.  The audience knows this but the delivery boy only knows he's been told to deliver the package to an address in London by 1:30.  As he dawdles down the street, distracted by this and that, tension builds as the clocks keep ticking off the minutes.  Finally, he boards a bus to make up time.

When moviegoers refer to Alfred Hitchcock's style, they are usually thinking of his camera work and editing.  Hitchcock's use of language, sound effects, and music is just as essential, distinctive, and masterly.  Hitchcock was an important pioneer of sound techniques: he experimented with expressionistic sound in "Blackmail" with the interior monologue in "Murder", with subliminal sound in "The Secret Agent" and with computer-generated effects in "The Birds".    Hitchcock has had an abiding interest in finding ways to incorporate music into the heart of his plot.  Indeed, music is an essential component of the story in over half of his sound films, and eight of his protagonists are musicians.  He thus can manipulate the audience's familiarity with and expectations about popular music as a way of defining character and controlling our responses without having to introduce any extraneous element.  During a Hitchcock film we are typically looking at one thing or person while listening to another.  By separating sound and image Hitchcock can thus achieve, denseness, tension and on occasion, irony.  In three films where Hitchcock eliminates scoring, for example, he uses sound effects to much the same atmospheric effect: wind in the "Jamaica Inn", waves in "Lifeboat", bird caws in "The Birds".  Indeed, in "The Birds" avian noises imitate the functions of music (instead of musical cues, bird cries maintain the tension), in Psycho music (screeching violins) imitates birds at various points.  Hitchcock's incorporation of musical ideas into the thematic conception of his films is yet another example of how he uses the traditional elements of the soundtrack in unorthodox ways.  (Weis, Elizabeth, 1982)

When it comes to on-screen murder Hitchcock deliberately plays on the creativity of the audience's imagination and this can be seen in his attempts to partially conceal murders.  In "Blackmail" the murder takes place behind the curtains that surround Crewe's bed.  A more interesting case of concealment comes in the murder of Miriam in "Strangers on a Train".  When Miriam ditches her escorts in hope of talking to Bruno, he surprises her.  His hands swiftly find her throat.  Miriam's glasses fall off.  Hitchcock cuts to a close-up of the glasses.  Reflected in one of the lenses, we can make out two struggling figures.  Hitchcock denies us a clear view of what is happening as Bruno strangles Miriam.  The view in the glasses is distorted and provides a carnivalesque, fun-house perspective, yet we can tell that Bruno is completely overpowering her.  The murder is also hidden from us aurally by the jangle of the carnival organ.  The camera angle, the reflected, distorted image, the absence of editing, the absence of the sounds of the struggle, and the lighting all function to conceal the violence of the attack while simultaneously implying Bruno's strength and the inevitability of her death.  Cinematic concealment is used to multiply the power of the killer.  Hitchcock takes up the task of concealment again in Psycho.

Forty minutes into Psycho, Marion is murdered.  When Marion gets into the shower at the Bates Motel and the water starts to flow, we see she is cleansing herself.  She ahs decided to give back the money that she embezzled.  Everything has returned to normal until the bathroom door opens and a shadowy figure approaches the curtain.  When the figure throws open the curtain, we see a knife raised at shoulder height.  The first strike comes at forty seconds after the shower has been turned on.  Over the course of the next twenty seconds there are twenty-eight cuts.  There are no shots of the knife penetrating skin, there are no shots of open knife wounds, and finally, there are no shots of blood spurting.  Hitchcock manages to make twenty-eight cuts without once showing either a fatal blow or a fatal wound.  Hitchcock hides the actual violence by employing severe editing techniques.  The violence that takes place is put together by our imaginations, since it remains mostly hidden from our direct view.

Astoundingly, the man considered by many the finest director who ever lived never won an Oscar for Best Director.


Works Cited

"Hitchcock, Sir Alfred Joseph," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2002
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

© 1999 - 2002 by John E. Shepler. Linking to this article is welcome, but no online republication is permitted.  http://www.execpc.com/~shepler/

Weis, Elisabeth. The Silent Scream: Alfred Hitchcock's Sound Track. London: Associated University Press, 1982.



Free Essay 2





Alfred Hitchcock, also known as "Master of Suspense," was a director who loves to manipulate the audience through his films.  As a director, he always stayed in touch with his childish fears.  Ever since his father taught him a lesson about what happens to "naughty boys," he always feared police. Hitchcock recalled that "the sound of that closing cell door and the bolt" never left his memory.  Director of such works as Psycho and Dial "M" for Murder, Hitchcock told his stories through suspense.
In the documentary, "Film on Film," Hitchcock lets us know his secrets in successfully making a great film. In all of his films, the Hitchcock villain is a person you'd never suspect. The most everyday character is really the murderer.  In Hitchcock's eyes, no one is ever truly innocent.  Everyone in his films is guilty of something.  For example, in Dial M for Murder, Margot is not really the innocent victim because she was cheating on her husband.  The second technique Hitchcock uses is to have places familiar to the audience as settings for danger.  He sometimes uses landmarks to show complete order and have disorder happen there.  Other times he uses places that everyday people go to.  For example, in Psycho, danger happened in a hotel that the audience is familiar with as a place where you can safely rest.  This is to allow the audience to think that danger can happen anywhere and that it can happen to anyone. Another technique that Hitchcock used to build suspense was to let the audience know more about the plot than characters.  This is to leave the audience helpless when they know that something is going to happen. This is known as the bomb theory.  But must not happen with the bomb theory is that the bomb must not go off.  This is so that it won't ruin the suspense from the audience.
Psycho is one of the most famous and well-known films in the history of American cinema.  It was shot in black in white even though the technology of color movies was around. For many reasons it was a great achievement. The film tricked the audience into believing it was telling one story, then shifted to tell another by killing off its leading lady halfway through the film.  He did it perfectly without disappointing or losing its audience. A strange figure enters and repeatedly stabs Marion with a knife to shrieking music.  The music adds a lot of tension and suspense to the audience.  This adds tension and also keeps the audience in suspense because the audience knows that something will happen in that part.  The audience is then terrified and wants to know more. Another scene that was brilliant was when the detective is stabbed at the top of the stairs and he falls down. That placement of the camera makes u feel like you are falling with him.  Suspense in Psycho arises from wondering who is going to be killed next.  Alfred Hitchcock gives an image that Norman Bates' mother is alive.  He does this by describing Norman Bates as being controlled by his mother.  He does not tell the truth about the mother being dead, but does not lie either.  Norman's mother is dead, but is alive in the mind of Norman.  The audience thinks that the mother is alive and they think she can be the killer in the film. This makes the audience want to see what really happens in the film.
Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder is another example of pure and classic Hitchcock film. Hitchcock proves in this version that you don't need fancy clothes and pretty sets to make a film that keeps you in suspense the whole time. What you do need is good actors, a well-planned plot, and a little case of attempted murder. One difference between it and most typical mysteries is that we explore a perfect crime knowing ahead of time what the plan is.  We watch in suspense to see if it is actually going to work and then in dread that it actually might. Hitchcock seems to be the only director who can make you feel more sorry for the conniving killer than the intended victim. He's so clever and charming, you almost wish he's get away with it. Hitchcock makes you root for the creep, which isn't easy to pull off.  During the scene where Tony propositions the would-be murderer in their apartment, the entire scene is shot from the ceiling.  The whole time it looked like you were watching the scene through a security surveillance camera.  The next remarkable point in this movie is the way Hitchcock achieved the creation of a sort of involvement between murderer, victim and viewer. The viewer is turned into the murderer as he expects almost frantically Wendice's telephone call. When Tony was late in phoning his wife and the murderer looked as if he might walk out of the apartment without killing Margot. The audience as well as Tony was hoping he'd hang on for another few minutes. Another point is when the murderer is waiting for the right moment to strangle his "victim." It makes the audiences "feel" Margot's surprise and desperation as well as the murderer's brutal attack on her as it happens.
In conclusion, Hitchcock was a director who planned each of his shots with great care and detail.  His artistry in lighting, camera angle, etc. makes filming a form of art.


Free Essay 3







Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most well known directors of all time, as he helped perfect the murder and mystery genre.  His started his directing career in1925 with "The Pleasure Garden" and ended in 1976 with the film "Family Plot", and set a standard for all other directors in the film industry. Many techniques used by Hitchcock, along with some of the storylines have become common standards for the films of today.  Most Americans know Hitchcock from several of his famous movies such as "Psycho" and "Vertigo", but it was in England years before that he developed into an amazing director and created films which set the tone for his later works.  It is very interesting to analyze some of his earlier works to see how he became such a prominent figure in modern History.
Hitchcock was raised in England where he lived with his parents.  He had a strong interest in filmmaking since he was young, and when a new Paramount studio opened where he lived, he rushed to get a job there.  They hired Hitchcock as a "Title designer" for silent films.  Basically, he would write out the words which are displayed after each shot in a particular film which helped move the story along during the silent film era. From there, he worked his way up to become an assistant director, and directed a small film which he was never finished, and was never released (Philips 22).  Hitchcock's first real debut as a director took place in 1925 when he released the film "The Pleasure Garden" (Giannetti 182).  Just a year later he released a film that really helped his career take off titled "The Lodger".  "The Lodger" is a model example of a typical Hitchcock plot.  The basic idea behind the plot is that an innocent man has been accused of a crime that he didn't commit, and through mystery, danger, and love he must find the real criminal (Philips 23).
It wasn't long before Hitchcock became known as the "Master of Suspense", which is a title he actually gave to himself.  The first talkie created by Hitchcock was the movie "Blackmail". The film, which was released in 1929, had originally supposed to be a silent film, and there are some people who think it should have stayed that way. nevertheless, it was a incredible breakthrough for both Hitchcock and the British film industry as it was their first film with sound (Giannetti 182).  However, there were a few problems that arose with the transition to sound.  A girl named Anna Ondra played the female character Alice, and had a thick Eastern accent which came to be impossible to interpret in the film.  This was obviously never a problem for her prior to "Blackmail" since she had only starred in silent films.  Hitchcock helped to fix this problem by getting someone to dub over her voice which turned out to be the perfect solution (Philips 23).  This film features a classic Hitchcock story where the character wants the police to understand what happened, but decide it isn't a good idea.  They figure that the police would never believe them anyway, so they're on their own (Philips 23).
Hitchcock loves to return to the same themes time and time again, but he somehow manages to never make the same movie twice.  Each movie has a certain characteristic that sets it apart from all the rest.  In "Blackmail" for example, the visuals and sounds set themselves apart, but do not detract from one another. Hitchcock managed to keep a strong emphasis on the visuals when incorporating sound into his films. The sound does not overwhelm in "Blackmail", so the viewer is still able to pay attention to the fine details.  For example, the image of hands continually reaching for Alice is as evident as it should be.  This also applies to the glove which is forgotten in the studio, the setting of the murder (Thomson 28).  The sound only works to improve on what is already there.
The film that really set off Hitchcock's career is the 1935 film "The 39 Steps", which was based off a book written by John Buchan.  "The 39 Steps" is a murder mystery with a little bit of espionage.  The story is about a man named Richard who is new to London.  After a fight breaks out at a nearby theater, Richard is approached by a girl in distress who pleads to go home with him. He agrees, and soon finds out that she is hiding from several men that are chasing her.  From then on he is involved in chases, confrontations, and romance (Philips 24). There were several changes in the story line that Hitchcock knew would work better on screen.  The Professor in the novel is unique because of his hooded eyes, not a missing finger as shown in the film.  Hitchcock thought a missing finger would be more dramatic to the film than someone with half shut eyes because it is much more noticeable, and has a stronger effect (Rose 10).
This film is one of the most popular early works of Hitchcock, because it derives Hitchcock's distinct and unique style of directing. A lot of the ideas from this film are reworked in later films such as "Saboteur", and "North by Northwest" (Giannetti 183). This film also displayed his talent as being able to make a novel's story line work in a movie with just a few adjustments. The length of Hitchcock's movies are important to him, he was once quoted as saying: "The length of the film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder", a standard all directors should work by in my opinion" (Anderson 56).  He was able to compress the novel to a length that would not only interest the audience but improve upon it as well.
Hitchcock also uses the technique of irony quite often which many viewers may not realize, but it is part of what makes him so great.  As mentioned in "The 39 Steps", Richard allows the women to go home with him, at which point she tries to explain to him what happened at the theatre.  Richard tells her that she shouldn't bother telling him because he's a nobody.  The real irony in this statement is that throughout the movie Richard goes on to pose as a milkman, a mechanic, a parade marcher, and a political speaker.  This strongly contradicts his statement because he is virtually everyone (Thomson 29).
"The 39 Steps" definitely had a large historical impact on movies.  After this movie came out almost every chase and spy thriller have copied its approach.  Directors discovered that movie-goers really enjoyed this type of film.  The movie gets the viewer so involved in the suspense, action, and romance they almost forget about the actual 39 Steps.  Even more amazing, the film contains minimal special effects, but it doesn't need them since the suspensful plot and the staging of the shots make the audience stay in their seats to find out what happens (Rose 101).
Hitchcock came to America in 1939 as an already very established filmmaker.  "Rebecca", released in 1940, was Hitchcock's first American film and was a huge success, winning best picture.  During this decade Hitchcock also created two other Masterpieces:  "Shadow of a Doubt in 1943, and "Notorious" in 1946.  It wasn't until the 1950s however, that Hitchcock really took off in the US and became a household name.  This era produced some of his best work such "Strangers on a Train" in 1951, "To Catch a Thief" in 1955, and "Vertigo" in 1958.  1960 is arguably the pinnacle of Hitchcock's career when he released the hit "Psycho", which generated over 18 times more money than was put into it.  His final work came in 1976 when he released "Family Plot", putting an end to one of the most amazing directing careers in the history of film (Giannetti 279-81).
There is no denying that Hitchcock enjoyed the majority of his success here in America, but he wouldn't have become the great director he was without his experience over in England.  It was there that he developed into an amazing director, and began to show the world some of the things he was capable of.  The consistency of quality plot lines and technical creativity earned him the recognition of being one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time.

Works Cited:

Anderson, Michael.  "Alfred Hitchcock".  New York Times.  2001, Vol. 153 Issue

52669, p56, 2p.  16 Nov 2003.  Academic Search Premier.

Giannetti, and Scott Eyman.  Flash-Back.  4th Ed.  New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 2001.

Phillips, Louis. "The Hitchcock Universe:  Thirty Nine Steps and then some".

Films in Review.  Mar/Apr95, Vol. 46 Issue 3/4, p22, 6p.  18 Nov 2003

Academic Search Premier.

Rose, Lloyd.  "Alfred Again".  Atlantic Monthly.   Oct 83, Vol. 252 Issue 4,

p100, 2p.  19 Nov 2003.  Academic Search Premier.

Thomson, David.  "Hitchcock".  Sight & Sound.  Jan 97, Vol. 7 Issue 1, p26, 4p, 6c.

16 Nov 2003.  Academic Search Premier

Alfred Hitchcock's Free Essays - 3 Essays



 Free Essay 1


Queen Victoria was still on the throne when Sir Alfred Hitchcock was born in London a hundred years ago this month. A massively fat man of relentlessly old-fashioned demeanor, schooled by Jesuits and formal to the point of paralysis, he spent his entire adult life working in a medium that barely existed in 1899, but has since come to be regarded as the very essence of modernity. From 1939 until his death in 1980, he lived in Hollywood, a city that inverts every value of the lost world into which he was born. He made movies about secret agents and serial killers, and peopled them with debonair gentlemen who slept with cool blondes, thereby amusing millions of unsuspecting filmgoers with his own hopeless fantasies; he longed to be the witty, unflappable Cary Grant of North by Northwest, but knew he was really the Jimmy Stewart of Vertigo, haunted and desperate.

Today, when the tempo of cultural change has accelerated beyond the wildest dreams of the maddest prophets, Hitchcock remains a fixed star of American popular culture, the only director of his generation whose name is still as familiar to ordinary moviegoers as it is to the film- studies cranks who churn out ponderous tomes with titles like Hitchcock as Activist: Politics and the War Films and Hitchcock's Bi-Textuality: Lacan, Feminisms, and Queer Theory. But it was not always so. Witness, for instance, this testy review of Secret Agent, his 1936 adaptation of Somerset Maugham's Ashenden:

His films consist of a series of small "amusing" melodramatic situations: the murderer's buttons dropped on the baccarat board; the strangled organist's hands prolonging the notes in the empty church; the fugitives hiding in the bell tower when the bell begins to swing. Very perfunctorily he builds up to these tricky situations (paying no attention on the way to inconsistencies, loose ends, psychological absurdities) and then drops them; they mean nothing: they lead to nothing.

This review, as it happens, was written by a novelist, Graham Greene, and it is interesting that he should point with distaste to the aspect of Hitchcock's work that is now most admired by critics: the fact that his movies deal primarily in images, not words. It isn't that his characters never say anything memorable. (Cary Grant, in North by Northwest: "Apparently the only performance that's going to satisfy you is when I play dead." James Mason: "Your very next role. You'll be quite convincing, I assure you.") But it is not what they say that we remember after the lights come up. An elegantly dressed man running through a deserted cornfield, chased by a renegade cropduster; a broken wine bottle that inexplicably proves to be filled with sand; the blankly staring eye of a woman lying dead in a running shower-such is the stuff of which a Hitchcock film is made, and next to it, everything else is window dressing.

Though only nine of his feature films were silent, Hitchcock was profoundly affected by the silent-film aesthetic, and spent the rest of his career trying to import it into the age of sound. It took him long enough-many of his pre-1950 films are quite talky-but by the time of Strangers on a Train, he had figured out how to structure his scripts so as to diminish sharply the importance of dialogue. Characteristic of Hitchcock is that so many of his strongest films pivot around a tiny plot twist, uninteresting in itself, that serves as a pretext to set the characters in motion, and even more so that those characters should not infrequently go through entire scenes without speaking a single word out loud. Typical, too, is the remark he made to Ernest Lehman, who wrote North by Northwest, midway through the shooting of that film:The audience is like a great organ that you and I are playing. At one moment we play this note on them and get this reaction, and then we play that chord and they react that way. And someday we won't even have to make a movie-there'll be electrodes implanted in their brains, and we'll just press different buttons and they'll go "ooooh" and "aaaah" and we'll frighten them, and make them laugh. Won't that be wonderful?

Hitchcock's image-oriented style cut against the grain of filmmaking in the '30s and '40s, which had been transformed almost beyond recognition by the coming of sound. It is no coincidence that radio, which flourished at the same time, made effective use of nearly every Hollywood star of the day; even Citizen Kane, a movie bristling with indelible images, was no less strongly influenced by Orson Welles's experience as a radio director. Small wonder that at a time when scripts were still known as "photoplays," Hitchcock's emphasis on the visual should have caused his work to be widely dismissed as mere light entertainment.

Not until the '60s, after European directors had taken the lead in pulling away from the traditional style of cinema that dominated Hollywood in its golden age, did Hitchcock begin to be acknowledged as a major figure. Yet the irony is that his sensibility is decidedly pre- modern, not merely in its silent-film roots, but also in its emotional tone. A movie like Vertigo, which at first glance appears to be a kind of film noir, actually differs greatly from such earlier examples of the genre as Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past or Nicholas Ray's In a Lonely Place in that its mode of expression is essentially Gothic-even operatic.

Herein lies a crucial difference between the films of Hitchcock's major phase and the less mature ones that preceded them: Starting in 1954, he began to work with a composer capable of filling the empty spaces of his near-silent scenes with music fully in keeping with his own distinctive sensibility. To watch Ray's On Dangerous Ground, the lone film noir scored by Bernard Herrmann, is to realize what a difference his nervously yearning music made to Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho, which are for all intents and purposes collaborations between Hitchcock and Herr-mann. Remarkable as these films are, their impact would have been considerably diminished had the director instead been working with such talented but essentially conventional film composers as Roy Webb (who scored Notorious) or Dmitri Tiomkin (who scored Shadow of a Doubt and Strangers on a Train).

Significantly, only four of Hitchcock's earlier films-Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Strangers on a Train, and Rear Window-are comparable in force and concentration to the three key collaborations with Herrmann. That is not a very long list for a man who directed 55 movies in 51 years, and it leads one to view with suspicion the now-general consensus that his films are "great" works of art. To be sure, there are films as great as the greatest plays or operas or ballets, but fewer than is commonly thought; most people who write about movies, as John Simon has pointed out, are "enthusiasts or fantasts who either worship all films or conceive of film criticism as a means of justifying irrelevant cravings," and are thus inclined to ascribe greatness with ill-informed abandon. If Strangers on a Train is a "great" movie, then what adjective can rightly be used to describe, say, Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game? Mega-great? Measured against the golden yardstick of true greatness, Hitchcock comes up short. For all his undeniable gifts, he is too emotionally constricted, too obsessional, to be seriously compared to Shakespeare or Verdi or Balanchine (or Renoir, for that matter). His films, even the best of them, are melodramas played out on the narrowest of stages, returning again and again to the same short list of feelings. Guilt, fear, longing: We expect more of a genius than that. Yet his iconic images lodge permanently in the minds of all who see them, and surely that is a kind of greatness that cannot be denied. Call him, then, a major minor master, one who succeeded in spinning out of his tormented inner life a body of work incapable of expanding our own imaginative worlds, but that nonetheless retains its dreamlike power to frighten and enthrall.


 Free Essay 2:



Alfred Hitchcock Obituary


Alfred Hitchcock, admired genius and master of film suspense, died of liver failure and heart problems on April 28, 1980 in Los Angeles, California.  He was the single most influential director in the film genre of suspense, having partly created it, and is one of the most well known and esteemed directors in the medium of film.
Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, England, the son of a grocer, William Hitchcock, and his wife Emma.  An interesting event occurred early in his life.  When Hitchcock was five, his father got mad at him for being mischievous, and sent young Hitchcock to the police station with a note for the officer.  Alfred was then locked up behind bars for awhile to think about what he had done, and during this time he felt immense terror.  It is thought that this had a profound effect on the movies Hitchcock would go on to make; themes of innocent victims feeling terror and confusion, as he did during this punishment, surfaced in many of his works.
Hitchcock received his education from St. Ignatius College (London), the School of Engineering and Navigation, and the University of London, where he studied art.
Hitchcock's earliest film experience came in 1919, when he illustrated title cards for silent films being produced at London's Players-Lasky studio.  It was spending time at this studio that he learned about many different aspects of film that would later be important in his film career, including direction, stage art, and screen writing.
In 1922 Hitchcock met Alma Reville who he married in 1926.  They went on to have a daughter, Patricia.
Hitchcock's first mark as a film director came in 1925 with The Pleasure Garden.  It was a largely unimportant film, and was not recognized as being anything more than an average melodrama.  Writer Eliot Stannard, who worked with Hitchcock on the film, commented,
"Hitchcock, right from the beginning, always had a vision.  How he worked at his first movie is something I will never forget. He was born for movie making."
Hitchcock had far more success in 1926 with The Lodger, which introduced audiences to the Hitchcock style that would be evident in many of his future films.  It was a murder mystery with a fair share of intrigue, and, though it was a silent film, still managed to produce what would become the classic Hitchcock feeling of suspense.
It was also with The Lodger that Hitchcock started his trademark of making cameo appearances in his films, something he has done in most of his films since.  Other directors have followed in this habit, including Cameron Crowe and Quentin Tarantino.
"I guess you could say I felt a bit like Hitchcock doing it", said Cameron Crowe, regarding his brief appearance in his film Minority Report.
By 1929, Hitchcock had moved into sound films.  1934's The Man Who Knew Too Much was Hitchcock's first big hit, and further developed Hitchcock's budding mastery of suspenseful film. He continued to make movies in Britain until he moved to Hollywood in the early 1940. After a few movies of what had now become tried and true Hitchcock, came 1946's Notorious which was a hit and featured an FBI agent forced to turn over his love to Nazis in order to find out valuable information.
Hitchcock's "golden age" of movies came from 1950 to 1960.  Among the most memorable were Dial "M" For Murder (1954), Vertigo (1958), North By Northwest (1959), and what is considered Hitchcock's greatest achievement, Psycho (1960).
1955 was truly the year that saw Hitchcock become an icon, however. The TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents went on the air, and it was a huge success.  This was also the year that Hitchcock became a U.S. citizen.
"It was exciting to work with Hitchcock.  I had admired him for so long, and was very happy to be cast in North by Northwest.  Although at times very difficult to work with, Hitchcock has a spectacular mind and vision," said Cary Grant, shortly after playing Roger Thornhill.
Hitchcock continued to make films as an older man but they were far less frequent. His final film came in 1976 with Family Plot, a good, solid film that was hailed by critics as a "fitting end" to Hitchcock's masterful body of work.
"Hitchcock came across as very smart, very striking and at the top of his game when I worked with him," said title designer Saul Bass, who worked with Hitchcock on Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho.
There are many people in all aspects of film that have at some point been influenced by the Master of Suspense.  Hitchcock worked with some of the finest names in film: Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ingrid Bergman, and Grace Kelly to name a few.  Some of those peoples' careers were even made by Hitchcock.
Hitchcock received many honors, including being knighted in England shortly before his death in 1980.  He stayed married all his life to Alma Reville, who died in 1982.  Hitchcock is survived by his daughter, Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell, and will be remembered by many generations to come as the Master Of Suspense.

Free Essay 3:

Alfred Hitchcock is the undoubted master of suspense, and virtually invented the thriller genre. He began his film career in 1919, illustrating title cards for silent films at Paramount's Famous Players-Lasky studio in London. His first directed film was The Pleasure Garden in 1925. From there Hitchcock went on to make such films as The 39 Steps in 1935, an espionage thriller involving spies and murder set in London, Vertigo in 1958, a mystery about a man with a near insane obsession, North By Northwest in 1959, a cross-country manhunt for a mistaken government agent by a group of spies, and Psycho in 1960, a thriller based around murders inside of an isolated motel. In these four movies, Hitchcock used similarities such as McGuffins, suspense techniques, similar characters and situations, a similar basis, and movies that featured ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Each movie takes someone that could be found in everyday life, and put into a situation that most people would never dream of being in.
Alfred Hitchcock's movies have a very similar basis they feature ordinary people in extraordinary situations. For example, in The 39 Steps, Richard Hannay visits a typical music hall for an evening, and ends up with a murdered spy in his London apartment. Hannay started his night listening to music, and later came across a woman after shots had been fired inside of the music hall. Taking her into his apartment and away from danger turns quickly into an extraordinary situation as she reveals herself as a spy. Soon he has the government after him for murder, and a group of spies after him because of a secret that he doesn't hold. In Vertigo, a policeman named Scottie Ferguson follows a friend's wife, and eventually finds a extraordinary connection between her and someone who died many years ago. This situation can also be seen in North by Northwest, when Roger Thornhill, an ad executive is involved in a case of mistaken identity. What would normally be an ordinary situation quickly escalates when his accusers take him off to be killed instead of listening to reasoning. Psycho, the 1960 suspense movie, Marion steals $40,000 on an impulse, and runs away to start a new life. In each of these movies, the main character starts off just as an ordinary person would. The events that take place, put the person into an extraordinary position, which is frequent in Hitchcock's films.
Hitchcock has become famous for his many suspense techniques, seen in many of his films. Showing the viewer of the film the danger involved, but not the characters. For example, in North by Northwest, Vandamm and his associate are speaking while Eve is upstairs. Vandamm's associate fires the blanks at Vandamm showing that Eve did not commit a murder, but instead faked it. They talked about throwing her out of the plane over the water later in the film. The viewer becomes aware of this, but Eve is up in her room preparing, unaware. This method of suspense is also in Psycho after Marion is killed, and the viewer knows that there is a killer in the house. Sam doesn't know anything, but the viewer feels the suspense due to the last murder.
The McGuffin has been attached to the Hitchcock name due to its use in many of his films. A McGuffin is something that the characters in the movie focus their attention around, but the viewers don't. A McGuffin can be used to draw a story line to a certain point, where it is then dropped. It can also be used to tie different parties together in the end of a film. In The 39 Steps, the spies after Hannay don't want the secret of the 39 steps getting out. This is their motive for killing the woman in his apartment, and attempting to kill him. The viewer is not intended to care about the 39 steps, but instead about Hannay's chase, and his attempts to prove his innocence. North by Northwest's McGuffin is the microfilm which contains the government secrets, which is trying to be smuggled out of the country by Vandamm. This is what includes the authorities into the chase, but the viewer is initially told to think that they are chasing Hannay. In Psycho Marion takes $40,000 to start a new life. For the entire first half of the film viewers are lead to believe that the movie is essentially a story of stolen money, but that McGuffin only lasts until the Bates Motel comes into the story.
Hitchcock was not compared with directors during his lifetime. Besides Rebecca, none of his films won an Academy Award for Best Picture. As a producer, Alfred received one Best Picture nomination for Suspicion. He was nominated Best Director for five of his films: Rebecca, Lifeboat, Spellbound, Rear Window, and Psycho. The only Academy Award that he ever received was the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1968. Hitchcock would be knighted in January 1980 by Queen Elizabeth II just four months before his death in Los Angeles.


3 Free Essays on Alfred Hitchcock and his works

Free Essay I: 



Alfred Hitchcock is among the few directors to combine a strong reputation for high-art film-making with great audience popularity.  Throughout his career he gave his audiences more pleasure than could be asked for.  The consistency of quality plot-lines and technical ingenuity earned him the recognition of being one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.  His films earned him the reputation of being the 'master of suspense', and after viewing two of his more popular films, Psycho and The Birds, it is evident why.  There is a distinction between surprise, which lasts only a few seconds, and suspense which captivates one's attention the entire length of a film.  This is something that Hitchcock realized early on, and applied into his movies.  He is one of the few directors whose name on a marquee is as important, if not more so, than any actor who appears in the film itself.  Both his style of directing, and that of the movies that he has directed are very unique, making him stand out in the film industry.  He pioneered the art of cinematography and special effects, which along with his cameos, are what he is most often associated with.  Hitchcock led a long and prosperous life in the movie industry, starting as a teenager and making movies up until his death in 1980, while working on the 54th of his career (Sterrit 3).

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1889 in London, England.  As a child his parents were very strict with him and they imposed severe and unusual punishments upon him, as what they considered to be discipline.  One of these incidents scarred him for life.  As punishment for arriving home late one night, young Alfred's father had a policeman friend lock the boy up in a cell for five minutes, 'in order to teach him where naughty little boys who come home after 9 o'clock would eventually end up.' (Phillips 27).  Throughout his career he used the innocent man being arrested and imprisoned in his films, and claimed that forever after he had a fear of the police (Spoto 16).  Fear was also a big part of his childhood, which later was evident in many of his movies.  'Fear? It has influenced my life and my career.' (18) explains Hitchcock, he also had a fear of being alone and of darkness which once again appeared in many of his movies.  '...fear you see is an emotion that

people like to feel when they know they are safe.' (39).

Hitchcock led a life of fantasy, and spent much of his time alone, entertaining himself because he did not have many friends growing up.  He lived life as if he was on the outside looking in.  Much like a person watching television or a director directing a picture.  Reading was also a part of Hitchcock's life from a young age.  The novels  Bleak House and Robinson Crusoe were two that stuck with him over the years.  He also really enjoyed Edgar Allan Poe, stating that 'Very likely it's because I was so taken by the Poe stories that I later made suspense films.' (39).  In 1915 he started work for the Henley Telegraphy Company.  He soon began to study art at the University of London, which led to being promoted to Henley's advertising department to design cable ads.  But Hitchcock's true love was the movies.  He hunted all over the famous Wardour Street trying to obtain a position in film-making.  In 1920 a co-worker at Henley's helped him put together a portfolio and he was hired instantly by The Famous Players-Lasky as a title designer for silent films.  For two years Hitchcock wrote and designed for popular British movie directors.   The hard working Hitchcock was recognized by his employers as well as leading actors of the day.  In 1922 the director of Always Tell Your Wife, a film in progress, got very sick and had to leave the movie.  The lead actor Seymore Hicks had to take over the duties of direction, but was stumped on ideas.  The young Hitchcock assisted him with the rest of production, and a legacy had been born (Rohmer 4).

Hitchcock's solo directorial debut, The Pleasure Garden was released in January of 1927, but it was not until three weeks later that the illustrious career of Alfred J. Hitchcock really took off.  In February of 1927 The Lodger was released and it attracted mass audiences because of the rave reviews it received early on.  It marked the first time in British film history that a director got more praise than did any of his stars (Kapsis 20).  Besides being Hitchcock's first acclaimed motion picture, The Lodger is also note worthy because it was the movie in which one of the greatest movie traditions of all time would begin; the famous Hitchcock cameo appearance, a unique trademark of his films for the next fifty years.  In April of 1926, Michael Balcon told Hitchcock he wanted to make a movie of the 1913 mystery novel The Lodger, and felt that Hitchcock's sense of character and narrative would be perfect (Spoto 84).  So early in his career, Hitchcock already had a reputation for the true art of film-making.

Hitchcock always prided himself as being the total film-maker, planning and having total control over every aspect of his films, from casting to publicity.  Hitchcock loved to be publicized, and some critics feel that the original intent of his unusual camera shots were no more than a publicity stunt at first.  Regardless, Hitchcock brought cinematography to new levels, pioneering the point-of-view shot, which among other things was recognized for its ability to bring about viewer-character identification (Sterrit 11).  Hitchcock's cameos, which he admitted to have borrowed from Charles Chaplin in A Woman of  Paris (Kapsis 21), was just another example of Hitchcock's personalization and perhaps little 'gimmicks' of his films.  He did not just become characters like did colleagues Orson Welles or Woody Allen,  but his presence and style was always recognized.

During the first decade of his career Hitchcock toyed with a variety of formats including theatrical adaptation, romance, musical, and of course, thrillers.  It was not until 1934 when Hitchcock filmed The Man Who Knew Too Much that Hitchcock started making thrillers on a regular basis.  That film marked the first is a secession of six thrillers which would become known as the classic 'thriller sextet'.  Following the 1938 release of The Lady Vanishes, Hitchcock was voted to be the best director of that year by New York film critics (23).

Throughout the 1940's his reputation continued to flounder with the hit movies Spellbound (1944 [in which artist Salvador Dali painted some scenery]), and Notorious (1946).  The 1950's was the beginning of Hitchcock's most productive and popular era.  Movies like Dial 'M' for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), and North By Northwest (1959) were on the big screen and the Hitchcock name was everywhere.  In 1955 the television program 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' was also released.  The style and reputation that came with the Hitchcock name was visible in every movie, in every scene.  North By Northwest to this point had gone where no other film had gone before.  The airplane chase in the cornfield became one of the most famous sequences in movie history, and really identified Hitchcock as a cinematographer and a director.  Well, it is only fitting that the most famous murder-thriller movie of all time be the next released.

Psycho (1960) became Hitchcock's biggest commercial hit ever. Produced at just over $800,000, it grossed over $20 million (Bowers 1391).  Psycho is the story of murder and deception, but at the same time (although slightly ambiguous) it is the story of split personality and not letting go.  Suspense (and in some cases fear) is built up throughout the entire movie, making the viewer forget that there are only two actual scenes of violence.  Psycho is a film that takes place more in the mind of the viewer than on the screen.  The movie is based on a novel with the same name by Robert Bloch, which was a fictionalization of a real event in Wisconsin (Bowers 1393).

Marion Crane is the first character that is really introduced.  She is upset because her and her boyfriend Sam can not get married due to financial difficulties.  Marion's boss entrusts her to deposit $40,000 of a client's money.  The next time we see Marion she is packing a bag and has the money with her, obviously planning to leave with it.  Even though she is a thief, the audience is still sympathetic towards her because of her situation.  Marion trades in her car for a new one and leaves Phoenix heading towards California, where her and Sam plan to get married.  When Marion pulls over for the night, the first view of the now famous Bates motel and mansion.  A figure of an old woman is visible in the window.  As Marion wanders around the motel she meets Norman, the proprietor, and also sees his hobby of stuffing birds.  After she is taken to her room, she is sitting on her bed (with the bathroom and shower clearly visible in the background) and she hears an argument between Norman and his mother.  Marion then decides to take a bath before bed, and the most famous murder scene in movie history takes place.  The infamous shower sequence, totally takes the viewer by surprise.  Marion who appears to be the main character is killed off in the first third of the movie.  This scene required over 60 still shots, 70 setups, and over a week of attempts; all for a less than a minute on screen.  True Hitchcock genius, you never actually see the knife strike Marion, but the loud, high pitched screeching music, and the close-ups of her face and the knife sends chills through the body.  An investigator comes out to the motel, and becomes the next victim.  Soon the audience learns that there is no Mother Bates, when one of the other investigators discovers her body in the basement, where she is attracted by Norman, the split personality, dressed in his mother's clothing.  The movie has foreshadowing and imagery through out, such as the credits splitting apart, and all the use of mirrors, implying that perhaps other characters are split also (Spoto 357), and the presence of the shower and all the stuffed birds in the background.  As  William Blowitz said 'The star of this picture is Alfred Hitchcock.' (Kapasis 83).

'A blot on an honorable career' is how New York Times (NYT) critic Bosley Crowther announced the release of Psycho in 1960, and by the end of the year he had it on his list of 10 best for the year (Sterrit 100).  In his original review Crowther says that Psycho is '...obviously a low budget job.' and 'It does seem slowly paced for Mr. Hitchcock and given over to a lot of small detail.' (NYT film review).  He also said that the stunts were exaggerated.  'The consequence in his denouement falls quite flat for us.  But the acting is quite fair.' is how he describes the other aspects of this film; the film which best describes the mastery of Alfred Hitchcock.  Philip T. Hartung who reviewed Psycho for Commonweal magazine in September of 1960, had a different opinion of it; 'Hitchcock pushes everything as far as he can go: the violence, the sex, the thrills and the gore.'  All of the literature used in this report all agree on one fact: Psycho is a movie beyond its years and is one of the best in movie history.  Although none of his movies did or would ever compare to the success of Psycho, his next release The Birds (1963), is another classic example of Hitchcock's true genius.

Inspired by a unusual occurrence of 'crying' birds, who bit some residents along the San Francisco coast, The Birds is another scary, and truly remarkable movie (Discover 37).  Again the use of special effects and unique camera angles are found in this Hitchcock classic.  This movie also comes from a novel by Daphne du Maurier, who's storytelling abilities make a reader believe, much like Hitchcock himself (DeWitt 249).

The Birds begins in San Francisco where Mitch Brenner meets Melanie Daniels.  She has a crush on him and decides to visit him weekend house.  Melanie arrives in town, where all the birds have already begun to gather.  The birds behave strangely, and cause the people to be threatened.  The birds attack all over Bodega Bay, seemingly unprovoked.  In one scene a flock of birds plunged down upon a gas station where a worker is frightened and drops the gas pump.  The gas continues to flow from it, and is set on fire, when a passer-by drops a match on the ground causing a immense damage.  In a later scene the children are trapped in the school, and as the teacher attempts to lead them to their homes, believing the birds have flow away, they turn a corner and are suddenly surrounded.  The birds come together and strike, while the children run and scream for their lives.  Some of them trip and are either pecked to death or trampled.  Throughout the movie the birds wreak havoc all along the coast of San Francisco.  All the remaining people escape the town, and the birds move in and seem to claim as their own, as though they were a conquering army.  The movie just ends without any real idea of what happens next, something that Hitchcock had never done before.

According to Bosley Crowther who reviewed the movie in April, 1963 for NYT 'The cast is appropriate and sufficient to this melodramatic intent.  Tippi Hedren is pretty, bland and wholesome as the disruptive girl.  Rod Taylor is stolid and sturdy as the mother-smothered son.' He goes on to say that the narrative elements of this film are clear and naturalistic, and he thinks the scenery is very well suited to the movie.  'Mr. Hitchcock and his associates have constructed a horror film that should raise the hackles on the most carageous and put goose-pimps on the toughest hide.' ( Crowther qtd NYT).  It is rather obvious that Mr. Crowther enjoyed this picture at first viewing more than he did Psycho.

Hitchcock always believed that developing an artistic reputation was far more important than fame, and that as much as you put in, that is how much you get out.  The remarkable life and career of Alfred Hitchcock demonstrate truth in his words.  He put everything he had into all his movies, making sure that every detail, no matter how minute, was perfect.  Alfred Joseph Hitchcock died in 1980 while working on what would have been his 54th motion picture.  His unique style and breakthrough ideas will stand for all time, and he will always be remembered as one of the greatest directors of all time.

Free Essay II:  



Major Project - Alfred Hitchcock Critical Analysis



Alfred Hitchcock was and still is considered one of the best horror directors of all time. He is considered the "Master of Suspense" for his very well written and directed horror films, which have left his mark clearly and firmly on the movie-making industry. With works such as Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds and Rear Window, Hitchcock told his stories through intelligent plots, witty dialogue and just the right amount of mystery and murder. All these factors coincide to revolutionise the filming industry, particularly the Horror/Thriller genre, spawning a whole new line of filmmakers mimicking his recipe for a great horror, making him a legend all over the world.



The fact that Alfred Hitchcock is the "Master of Suspense" is what makes his horror movies so great. It is the suspense that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats in anticipation, fear and excitement. This sheer exposure and incorporation of suspense into all of his films makes them so deep and uncontrollably addictive. Not a single person who has ever experienced, the full entirety of his films, as it is not something one merely watches, one experiences it, can deny the great presence of suspense and the immense effect it has on the film, itself. Hitchcock manages to turn a simple horror/thriller into a film that is over whelmingly full of suspense and creates an aura and sense of complete suspension throughout the movie, of pleasurable excitement and anticipation that can not be simply let go and must be experienced in it's entirety. It is this amazing creation of suspense that creates the link between suspense and horror, which is why Hitchcock is not only the master of suspense but also the master of all thrillers. Which is why, suspense is the glue that holds the pieces of horror together. The best way to describe this was indeed, presented by Hitchcock, when he said. "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it", this quote truly embodies the whole factor of suspense, in that the 'bang' is quick and instantly over, whereas the eventual and agonising climax to it is much more horrific.



Hitchcock once stated "Always make the audience suffer as much as possible" This quote would possibly be one of the greatest pieces of advice Hitchcock could give. Not only that, it also analyses his horror and suspense methods at the same time. Keeping the audience in agony longer keeps them more and more involved in the film, intensifying the suspense to an unbearable degree, where they won't be able to watch any more but have to, this is what Hitchcock wanted to achieve; putting his audience in a position of unbearable excitement. This quote is also linked to the previous quote, whereby a long and agonising feature of suspense adds far more to the film than a quick 'bang'.



There are numerous ways in which a writer/director can create suspense. This can include; building expectation, increasing tension, using surprise, creating immediacy, establishing consequences, limiting time, maintaining doubt, camera angles and the use of music and sound effects. Incorporated together these nine ways of suspense are all identifiable in many of Hitchcock's works and all greatly add to the horror of the movie with it's own method of suspense.



The first method that Alfred Hitchcock uses in creating suspense is to build expectation. This may be expectation of danger, for instance where the audience knows of an imminent danger that is going to occur and are 'suspended' into the fate of that person. This is an excellent way to captivate the viewer as, once a character has been identified to the audience, the viewer holds a greater expectation that events will more-likely revolve around that character and therefore have a greater suspension in the acts and submissions of that character. This is a great way to grip the audience into a theatre of imminent danger to that character, creating suspense. Hitchcock uses this method to his advantage in his film, Psycho. After establishing the Private Investigator in the movie, he decides to investigate the motel, at which she was supposedly staying. The audience at this point is thinking that the deranged mother of the owner has killed the person and a great expectation of danger occurs when he goes into the house where the mother is, the audience is on the edge of their seats waiting to see what will happen to the investigator. Everything was set up for a major event and the expectation for this was openly apparent. That being said, Hitchcock can't and doesn't rely so heavily on music and sound effects. As he once said, "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" This shows that even though sound is a great asset, nothing can go past a good visual, that can incorporate several methods of suspense, not merely one. This is another measure of Hitchcock's great talents, in that he believes so heavily in his work and knows what makes it so great.



Another method used copiously in the horror genre is that of creating tension. Similar to building expectation, increasing tension uses information to manipulate the audience. In this technique, the audience is given information and is informed of the impending fate of the character, while the character is left in the dark. The whole fate is not yet known, however they are aware of imminent danger and what could possibly happen to that character. This creates a lot of tension in the audience, as they are aware of what is going to happen, while they watch the identified character walk straight into a trap. For instance, it makes the viewer just want to scream out 'Don't do it!' It also suspends the audience into whether the character will survive or not. Hitchcock uses this technique in rear Window. While looking through Jeff's camera we can see a whole set of events pan out. We see Jeff's girlfriend, Lisa enter Thuwald's, the killer's apartment through the window. The tension continues to build as we see Thornwald enter his apartment while Lisa is still inside. Since Lisa is an identified character that the audience cares about, nobody really wants to see the next bit where it is imminent that the killer will find her. However at the point where she does not know that the killer is returning, the viewers tension increases, aware of the jeopardy she is in, especially since she does not know and we, the audience can't do any thing about it.



Another technique used by Hitchcock to manipulate his audience is the use of surprise. When there is a sudden surprise or twist in the story or plot the audience begins expecting more violence and mystery etc. An excellent example of this technique is in the movie Psycho. Hitchcock kills off the star early in the movie in the classic shower scene. This surprise twist creates an expectation for more of it and therefore more suspense. Hitchcock's remarks to this were "At this point I transferred the horror from the screens into the minds of the audience. And although there is only one more violent act in the whole movie, the audience is held in suspense throughout" This is a perfect example of Hitchcock using different ways to create suspense which make his horrors so unpredictable, the ending of this movie only has to be seen to explain why. This technique, just like all the others is almost unique or always modified by Hitchcock so that the audience never knows what to expect in any aspect of horror, increasing the suspense and therefore, horror.



When something vital is at stake immediate suspense is created to house the fears for that something. This is called creating immediacy and is very effective in all movies to manipulate the audience into caring for something that is vital to one of the characters, which otherwise may have been less involving. This technique is also used to create suspense in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. In this movie, someone very vital to the lead character, his girlfriend has her life put in jeopardy in a very intense scene in the movie. The audience feels for the main character and the emotions he must be going through, watching his girlfriend, seemingly moments away from imminent death, especially when there is nothing he could do. This technique is very useful as the suspense created, not only captivates the audience into the events but also influences their feelings for the boyfriend and how he is powerless over something that is so vital to him and thus, the audience feels in the same manner.



In most of his movies Hitchcock establishes consequences for the main character to achieve and if he didn't he would have to suffer the ramifications. This creates a great sense of suspense, as the entire audience watches in anticipation, will he or wont's he? It keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, as Hitchcock does, it brings alive the plot of the movie, and thoroughly engages the audience. This is shown in Vertigo, where a Private Investigator is hired to follow the wife of a rich businessman. After following her around for a few days he believes she became somewhat possessed by a ghost of her grandmother and became suicidal to fulfil her husbands wishes to kill her. The consequences of failure to help her, leads to her death and the ramifications and implications that occur in court. However throughout his time on this case the audience feels suspense because they sit in indecisiveness over what will happen. On one hand they would like to see him save her but on the other they don't want a boring or uneventful movie. This is what possible consequences do; however it also increases urgency to get it done.



Yet, another method that Alfred Hitchcock has mastered is that of maintaining doubt. If there is doubt in the minds of the audience as to the outcome of certain events, the suspense is intensified. When something is know there is no interest, no captivity, no suspense. For instance if somebody told you the ending to a classic whodunit such as Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express then you would most likely not even watch it and even if you did there would be far less thrill and suspense when you did. This is why keeping the audience in the dark about certain events or people works so well for Hitchcock, captivating the audience into curiosity and intensifying the suspense further. In Psycho, Hitchcock puts huge doubt in the minds of the audience when he kills off the star half way through the movie. If anyone knew what was going to happen, they can think again and this method suspended the audience in a far greater way than if it were what they had predicted. Nevertheless, this difference makes the audience guessing until the very end, not knowing if or when he will do something this different again.



Limiting time is another method used that captivates the audience in another will he or won't he escapade. This technique adds urgency to the scene, captivating the audience and intensifying their viewing. This urgency adds suspense by adding a further enemy, time. This begins a race against the clock and incorporated with this technique can be many others, such as building expectation, increasing tension or creating immediacy. One example of all of these techniques coming into effect in the same scene could be if the hero, for instance Superman had to defeat his arch nemesis and stop the bomb from going off (limiting time) save his girlfriend (immediacy) and to save the world from an asteroid (establishing consequences) all after the disappearance of his side-kick (maintaining doubt). It is Hitchcock's measure as a director to choose different variables and combinations that create the best suspense and therefore the greatest thrillers. Time is of the essence in Hitchcock's Vertigo. A time limit is created as Johnny rushes to save Madeline from committing suicide. Unfortunately he is too late, however the suspense as he staggers up the stairs to try and reach her in time is unbearable.



Another method of establishing suspense and creating horror is that of incorporating different camera angles, from different perspectives, angles and types of shots. Manipulating the camera angle can do so much for the movie, as it affects the audience so greatly, it is almost like helping them see from Hitchcock's mind of what the movie should express. This may be elevating the camera to show who is in charge and establishing power or from a characters perspective to add perspective and greater insight into that character, i.e. their feelings, emotion and most importantly what they perceive through their eyes. This is shown very well in two movies, Psycho and Vertigo. Firstly, in Psycho, Hitchcock uses camera angles alternatively to give the viewer and idea of what the would-be victim is experience. It adds, a more eerie feeling, creating greater suspense, as there is no better way to tell a story than through the eyes of those who experienced it. Again, in Psycho, camera angles are adapted to bring fear into the minds of the audience. When the victim is about to be attacked, the camera angle depicts the murderer, launching himself directly at the victim. The camera is placed just under the killer to create the feeling that we, the audience are under attack. Thirdly, in Vertigo the main character is afraid of heights due to a terrifying incident where he was hanging off a ledge 15 stories above the ground. This would not look nearly as frightening from an upward looking view as it would from the perspective of the man hanging at a perilous height. These examples are just a few that allow Hitchcock to create suspense just with the camera.



The final, but possibly the greatest creator/amplifier of suspense is music and sound effects. Sound is 50% of the whole impression of the movie so it isn't hard to see why Hitchcock puts it to such great effect. Firstly, the sound and music coincide with the scene that is taking place; the music always fits the mood. For example during parts of intrigue and mystery taking place the music fits appropriately, such as a quick 3 beats with a trumpet and drums, Da Da Da and zooming into the characters face to see their expression, to signify the previous statement. This also shows the intertwining of music and different filming techniques used by directors, especially Hitchcock to better their films. However, more importantly in a horror scene, the music is always very quiet or not present just before imminent danger. This quietness is used to put the audience into a false sense of security, before a sudden incident, which is made much more unexpected and therefore more horrifying, catching the audience off guard. This then escalates to coincide with the positioning of the killer/victim, as when one approaches the music intensifies into a loud playing of violins to catch your attention. For example in the classic shower scene in Psycho, as the killer slowly approaches, suspense is created through the uprising of the music, just like Jaws, with the approaching shark. The classic violins play their high-strung and high-pitched tune, at the climax of the music is always the murder, or in this case stabbing of the victim, which coincides with the blood curling scream. Without a doubt, music is half the movie and Hitchcock uses it to great effect in elaborating even more suspense into the minds of the audience.



Another technique that Hitchcock manipulates to his advantage is that of using symbolism.

Symbolism creates subliminal backdrops or themes that add to the overall mis-en-scene. Paini described Hitchcock as "one of the greatest inventors of images in the 20th century, and the only filmmaker whose work reflects the impact of each of its major art trends: classicism, symbolism, mannerism and modernism". Symbolism is shown in all of Hitchcock's movies, but especially in Psycho. Symbolism in this movie involve the stuffed birds in Norman's office and the 'peeking' conversation that highlight the impending chaos of the film and the double image of Norman Bates reflected in the hotel window. Norman's dead mother in the basement is also a symbol of the mental psychosis of Norman that sends him into thinking she never really left and that she is always with him, inside of him.



However, if criticism could be laid from a personal viewpoint, it would be the lack of excitement felt by today's audiences. However, this factor may not contribute to criticism but rather acts as an appraisal of Hitchcock's abilities as a director. This is due to the sheer amount of violence, action, blood, deaths, and gruesome and vulgar acts of insane and neurotic characters in horror movies today. This is basically the method used these days for great horror. Sure it appeals to the current generation but it also shows that the directors of these films simply don't measure up to Hitchcock's standards, they go for a simple intense moment every now and again, not incorporating as much variation of suspense as Hitchcock did so many years before. This enhanced Hitchcock's abilities as a director, relying on his own skill, rather than that of the special effects-guy.



Of course, it would not be fair to praise Hitchcock for the entire success of his movies. It was also the actors, producers, writers, cinematographer and sound technicians, all of whom won or were nominated for academy awards in Rear Window. This either means one of two things that the association and work with Hitchcock aided them or that Hitchcock relied on others. Either way led to an end product of brilliance, placed together and put into place by Hitchcock.



Alfred Hitchcock is so much more adaptable and accommodating to the changing faces of cinemas. With a career that spanned 57 movies over 50 years, Hitchcock produced movies throughout the history of the popular medium, from the silent era to stereo sound, black-and white to Technicolor, wide screen to television, and from Europe to Hollywood. This shows how adaptable he was to changing circumstances, audience and cinema paraphernalia. While he progressed with each movie he got better and better until the continual success of several movies were hailed as 'masterpieces'. No director is ever without fault, and Hitchcock was no exception, from million-dollar blunders to little-known movies produced in Japan. Although these were minor 'character building' mistakes, just like a craftsmen making a wooden sculpture, he kept chiselling away until a final, desired or 'perfect' result has been made.



Beyond doubt, Hitchcock was the master of suspense and by combining these techniques in any desired order he has established himself and his movies as classics. Along with his ability to adapt, his versatility and love of directing, Hitchcock and his movies are to be remembered and benchmarked for a long time to come.






Free Essay III:



Throughout history there have been many directors who have made their impact on the world of movies but few of them have had the same impact that Alfred Hitchcock has had. Hitchcock has been seen as a very complex yet important figure in the history of film making. He has directed some of the best suspense films known to man. He also had his own television show in the 50's known as Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in England in a little town outside of London on the thirteenth of August in eighteen ninety-nine, to William and Emma Hitchcock. He had two older siblings, William and Nellie. The family was a lower middle class family living in Leytonstone, England. William Hitchcock was a dealer of fruit and poultry, and his business did quite well. According to John Russell Taylor, in his tell-all biography, Hitch (1978); Hitchcock was a child who kept to himself because of the fact that his older siblings were so much older than him (Taylor, 1978).

Hitchcock was educated at many different schools. His first school was a school which was located directly behind his house, operated by the Faithful Companions of Jesus. Hitchcock did not stay there long because, according to Taylor (1978), "Father Flanagan came and gave his parents hell for sending him to a secular school" (29). Following the secular school was the Selesian College in Battersea in which Hitchcock was sent to board at the tender age of nine. Finally Hitchcock ended up at St. Ignatius College where he stayed until he was fourteen years old. Hitchcock only left school after his father died in 1914. After he left school he decided to enroll in the School of Engineering and Navigation because he was interested in becoming an engineer. While at school he became interested in the arts and so he then decided to go to school for the arts and he ended up at London University where he studied fine arts (Perry, 1965).

In George Perry's book, The Films of Alfred Hitchcock, from the years of 1921 to 1929, Hitchcock worked on silent films, first as the title card designer and then as the director. But he did not start out at the production studio he actually started out in this business at a small advertising firm getting about fifteen shillings a week (Perry, 1965).  According to George Perry (1965), "From there he went to W.T. Henley, the cable company, as a layout man" (7). This firm was very embracing of Hitchcock's artistic demeanor. Henley had a newspaper which their social club published and Hitchcock regularly had drawings and stories in them (Taylor, 1975). During this time Hitchcock was introduced to the idea of drawing title cards, which he took in stride. Very soon after starting his title card drawing he was hired by the Famous Players-Lasky production company. While working at this company he had his first directing experience which he was talked into by Anita Ross, the publicity woman (Perry, 1965 and Taylor, 1978). The movie was called Mrs. Peabody, but Hitchcock referred to it as Number Thirteen, probably because no one had ever really decided on a name (Taylor, 1978). This film was never completed because of money problems. The next chance Hitchcock was given was as a co-director of the film, Always Tell Your Wife (Perry, 1965). Always Tell Your Wife was followed by Woman to Woman which he was the assistant director.

Alfred Hitchcock's first talkie was not done until 1929 and it was called Blackmail. This movie was also Britain's first talkie movie. Blackmail featured Anny Ondra, a German actress who can be called the first of Hitchcock's blonde prototypes. Following Blackmail was Juno and the Paycock which was a musical screenplay. This was not a thriller in any sense and Hitchcock's next film went back to the thriller genre called, Enter Sir John (Perry, 1965). The movie Hitchcock considers his first movie is The Lodger because it had such a big response when it came out. "Still whether or not critics and audiences picked up on everything in the film, they pick up on enough to make it and Hitch an overnight sensation" (Taylor, 1965).

All during this time Hitchcock had been working on his own family. He had married a woman named Alma Reville, whom he met when filming Woman to Woman in 1922. Alma was the editor on this film and she had a higher job than Hitchcock did and in those days a man could not acknowledge the fact that a woman had a higher job than him so Alfred waited until he had a higher position than her to speak to her. When they did speak they took a liking to each other and then after a long engagement they were married. Their wedding was small and took place on December 2, 1926. Alma and Alfred had a small wedding with immediate family and a couple close friends. After the wedding they cut the cake in their new apartment and left for their honeymoon in France. Their married life was just fine and then Alma became pregnant and on July 7th, 1928 she gave birth to Patricia Hitchcock (Taylor, 1978).

In 1940, Alfred Hitchcock and his family came to Hollywood. When he arrived in Los Angeles, he and his family moved into an apartment on Wilshire Boulevard. Almost immediately after arriving in America Hitchcock threw himself into working on a new project, a movie titled Rebecca. Rebecca turned out to be a very expensive and successful movie. Even though the movie was a success Hitchcock still wondered whether it would have been even better had it been filmed in England. In the years following Hitchcock directed many movies for instance Foreign Correspondence, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Strangers on a Train, Spellbound, Rope and many others.

In the 1950's Hitchcock was told he should be on air, meaning he should be on television. Television was a new medium in that time and many of the Hollywood people looked down on it. Hitchcock was thrilled by the idea of being on television and he jumped at the chance. With great haste he set up a company called Shamley Productions. He then called up an old business partner and asked her to produce the show, Joan Harrison agreed and they had a show. The show has the same cynical dark humor that is often found with Alfred Hitchcock. The television show was a success, "but the television shows were just the beginning of what was to turn into a whole industry. They spawned a lengthy series of short story anthologies with titles like "Stories They Wouldn't Let me Do on TV" and "Tales My Mother Never Told Me", collections of the kind of funny/macabre story made familiar and permanently associated with Hitch's name as a result of the television show" (231). This venture eventually made him independently wealthy.

In 1957, Hitchcock began making the movie Vertigo starring James Stewart, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. This movie showed many shots which were very innovative for the time. For example in the beginning of the film when James Stewart's character John "Scottie" Ferguson, is in the studio of his friend, Midge Wood, he is talking about his illness which is vertigo. He is telling Midge how he thinks he is getting better and to prove it he steps up on a step stool and climbs to the top of it. Then he looks out the window and sees how far above the ground he is and he gets dizzy and begins to fall. When the camera shows the shot of what he sees out the window it looks as if he is about 30 stories up, when in fact the was not close to being that high up, it was all the camera angle. The scenes in this movie are also very well shot throughout the movie. It is a well known fact that most of the backdrops in Hitchcock's movies where painted and most people cannot even tell this because of the expert shots taken by the camera man.

After the television show Hitchcock returned to making movies. The one movie he is most known for is Psycho staring Janet Leigh. Psycho had the biggest opening Hitchcock had ever seen in his time as a director. Then after a brief two year hiatus out came The Birds, which turned out to be another Hitchcock masterpiece. Hitchcock's last movie came out in 1976. The movie was called Family Plot.

Most of Hitchcock's work was done in black and white which gave the work a certain feeling of suspense. Also the fact that he did not show most of the violence in the movies also helped to add the need for the audience to use their imaginations. When a movie is in black and white it is up to the viewer to use their imagination about the colors. The shades of black, white and grey make the whole aura of the film seem a lot more sinister and slightly leering. Even when films where being made in color Hitchcock stayed with the black and white; if his movies had been done in color the audience would not have had the same feeling of unease.

A lot of people found Alfred Hitchcock to be a very complex as well as eccentric man. One of the things that stood out about him was the fact that he started the tradition of appearing in all of his movies. He never had a very large role, but he would have one none the less. For instance he would be a random person sitting on a train or he would just causally walk by on the street. Finding him in his movies became a hobby held by many of his fans. Some other eccentric features of him were the fact that he would fall asleep at random times like, at dinner parties or when he was out with friends. It became an expected habit from him. Another strange fact about him was found in the book, The Men Who Made the Movies, in which the author Robert Schickel (1975) says that Hitchcock never drove a car because he did not have his license. Meanwhile in the book Hitch, by John Russell Taylor (1978) it says that he was just pretending not to ever drive. Taylor also says that Hitchcock used to drive Pat, his daughter to church every Sunday. The last really strange fact about Hitchcock was his love for blondes. He had a certain type of blond in mind at all times, for a while it was Tippi Hedren and then it became Janet Leigh. Hitchcock became synonymous for his blondes.

I believe that Hitchcock had a very positive influence on society because without him I really do not think we would have such a good sense of real suspense. Psycho had such a profound touch on our lives. Many people who saw the film left the theater and were petrified of taking a shower. There is no way a person can say that Alfred Hitchcock had a negative influence on the film industry, all he did was help it. He helped to make television an okay medium even after Hollywood shunned it. His use of black and white and his lack of gore made suspense movies what they are today. Today many directors feel that they have to show the brutal murder of their characters in order to scare their viewers, when in all actuality the brutal murder just shocks the viewers. Hitchcock knew the secret was to let the audience imagine how horrific the murder would have been, that what would really scare someone. If one were to try and imagine suspense movies without Hitchcock, one would be horribly disappointed. Alfred Hitchcock is in my opinion the master of all suspense and thriller movies.







Perry, G. (1965). The Films of Alfred Hitchcock. London: Studio Vista Limited.

Schickel, R. (1975). The Men who made the movies. New York: Atheneum.

Taylor, J.R. (1978). Hitch: The life and times of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Pantheon     Books.

Vertigo. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Per. James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. Universal, 1999.