Alfred Hitchcock

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Born: Alfred Joseph Hitchcock
13 August 1899
Leytonstone, London, England
Died: 29 April 1980 (aged 80)
Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, US
Other name(s): Hitch/ The Master of Suspense
Occupation: Film director
Years active: 1921–1976
Spouse(s): Alma Reville (1926–1980)
Info

Alfred Hitchcock’s Films
1)The Lodger (1926 - Silent)
2)The Ring (1927 - Silent)
3)Easy Virtue (1927 - Silent)
4)Champagne (1928 - Silent)
5)The Farmer's Wife (1928 Silent)
6)Manxman (1929)
7)Blackmail (1929)
8)Juno and the Paycock (1930)
9)Murder! (1930)
10)Skin Game (1931)
11)Rich and Strange (1932)
12)Number 17 (1932)
13)The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
14)The 39 Steps (1935)
15)Secret Agent (1936)
16)Sabotage (1936)
17)Young and Innocent (1937)
18)The Lady Vanishes (1938)
19)Jamaica Inn (1939)
20)Rebecca (1940)
21)Foreign Correspondent (1940)
22)Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
23)Suspicion (1941)
24)Saboteur (1942)
25)Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
26)Bon Voyage & Aventure Malgache (1944)
27)Lifeboat (1944)
28)Spellbound (1945)
29)Notorious (1946)
30)The Paradine Case (1947)
31)Rope (1948)
32)Under Capricorn (1949)
33)Stage Fright (1950)
34)Strangers on a Train (1951)
35)I Confess (1953)
36)Dial M for Murder (1954)
37)Rear Window (1954)
38)To Catch a Thief (1955)
39)The Trouble with Harry (1955)
40)The Wrong Man (1956)
41)The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
42)Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
43)North by Northwest (1959)
44)Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
45)The Birds (1963)
46)Marnie (1964)
47)Torn Curtain (1966)
48)Topaz (1969)
49)Frenzy (1972)
50)Family Plot (1976)

Narrative - Structure & Devices

Example - Clear establishment of 'cause & effect' plotting which established character motivations & helps tell an interesting story which proceeds logically & steadily.

Automatic use of 'continuity editing'

Enigmas
This refers to a puzzle, something mysterious, inexplicable, a riddle or difficult problem. in thrillers this is commonly something which the protagonist has to try to find out or solve before the narrative is resolved & the film finishes because it would ruin a film if you could guess the ending easily, we like to watch films to watch that last piece of the puzzle slide in place.

Red Herrings
The name given to a device which intends to divert the audience from the truth or an item of significance. This can also work with other devices such as enigmas to create suspense. For example in Saw II, two men are imprisoned in a room with an additional dead body, throughout the whole film we think we know who the murderer is. However the twist at the end reveals to us that what we thought was going was in fact something we didn't expect at all, as the dead person was actually the cause of the murders.

Cliff-hangers
Sometimes, although not always, used. Often features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation. This can entice the audience to return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma. The outcome is often uncertain up to the very end or can end in suspense.

About Thrillers
Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film & television that includes numerous and often overlapping sub-genres. Thrillers are characterised by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful hero's who must thwart the plans of the villain. Devices such as suspense, red herrings & cliff-hangers are used extensively. A thriller is a villain driven plot, whereby he presents obstacles which the hero must overcome. The genre is flexible and can engage the audience through a dramatic rendering of psychological, social and political tensions. Thrillers often take place in exotic settings such as foreign cities. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently 'hard men' accustomed to danger e.g. policemen, or ordinary citizens drawn into danger. Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, distinguished, in thrillers you know the killer or villain, but in murder mystery you don't know who did it. Thrillers are often influenced by film noir and the compromised hero is often killed in the process. Thrillers are on a grand scale e.g. world domination and terrorism.

Genres

Genre is a category or type. This includes; Action, Romance, Thriller, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Drama, Horror, Western, Adventure, Musical & Rom/Com.

Alfred Hitchcock - Rope (1948)
This thriller tells the story of two young wealthy men, Brandon & Philip, who strangle and murder a friend just to see if they could get away with it. After the murder, they invite close friends, including the murdered mans parents to their apartment for a dinner party whilst hiding the murdered body in a chest/box in their sitting room, right under everyones noses.

What do I think is going to happen?
I think either during or after the dinner party someone is keen on what’s inside the chest/box and once asked whats in there, the two men will be under pressure to come out with a believable explanation which will make them look slightly suspicious.

Hitchcock’s ‘Maguffin’
McGuffin also known as Maguffin, is a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story, but has the little other relevance to the story. In other words it’s a significant nothing. An example of a Maguffin is in the film, Transformers. Everyoneone in the film is running around hoping find the location of something called the 'allspark' however it doesn't mean anything and yet it's such a significant item to everyone in the film.

The ‘Psychological’ Thriller: The Mind, Conflict & The Past
Suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another’s minds, either by playing deceptive games with others or by merely trying to

Aspects of a Thriller

- Mystery
- Fast Tempo music
- Dark lighting
- Terror & suspense feature heavily
- ‘Time is an enemy’ race against time can feature
- Better equipped villain than hero
- Killer revealed at the end of the film
- Or killer revealed at the start & audience knows more than the protagonist

Examples of Thrillers
______North by Northest______Psycho__________Saw II
__________(1959)___________(1960)___________(2005)
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Suspense & Shock
Suspense: An example of suspense would be a scene where the camera reveals that there is a bomb under the table to the audience, which leaves us apprehensive about what’s going to happen next.

Shock: An example of shock would be the same scene but instead of the camera revealing the bomb to us, it would just go off.