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Hitchcock film analysis
Psycho alfred hitchcock film analysis
Psycho alfred hitchcock film analysis
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Throughout Hitchcock’s 1954 movie rendition of Frederick Knott’s play, Dial M for Murder, the audience is subjected to a “romping plot...where the action is constricted to one room” (Barnes). Even though everything, including the murder and criminal investigation, happens in the room, Hitchcock employs a variety of techniques such as blocking, camera angles, and prop making in order to add a unique twist to a seemingly straightforward murder. This twisted and almost confusing plot ultimately helps to keep the audience absorbed in the film. Hitchcock’s unique costuming decisions, especially with characters with costumes that are contrasted with different colors, add to the dimensions of the plot. This increase in complexity ultimately allows …show more content…
On the surface, Hitchcock’s wardrobe choice indicates that Margot and Tony should have a loving and caring relationship. However, when the audience compares the suits and dresses of Margot’s marriage and her affair, it is hard not to imagine the affair to be more intimate and passionate due to the presence of red. When looking at Margot’s fire-red dress, the audience notices that Margot is much happier with Mark than she is with Tony. This added meaning helps the viewer to establish the source of Tony’s anger, which eventually facilitates the murder. Even though the Margot’s wardrobe appears to be somewhat unplanned later in the movie, Hitchcock confirms that he deliberately chose every piece. In an interview with Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock stated “We did an interesting color experiment with [Margot’s] clothing. I dressed her in very gay and bright color at the beginning of the picture, and as the plot thickened, her clothes became gradually more somber” (Stripek). Since Margot’s clothes get darker as the murder plot thickens and she is eventually placed on trial, the viewer is forced to contemplate her personal
The significance of Hitchcock’s use of non-diegetic sound in Dial M for Murder is to enhance the film’s technique of building suspense. Dimitri Tiomkin, composed the non-diegetic scores for the film, which followed the rise and fall of suspense. The sequence in the beginning and with Margot Mary Wendice (Grace Kelly) and Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) portraying a happy normal married couple over breakfast; the non-diegetic score playing is a cheerful Waltz style music. Then during the pre-murder and during the attempted murder sequence the non-diegetic music starts in a simplistic melodious tone and the sound builds and the non-diegetic sound increases in strength during the murder scene to supply the step by step emotional attachments to the
As the paradigm in which this curiosity is exposed inhabit the human being, that voyeurism that uncounted of us have inside. Hitchcock is able to use this element to catch the spectator, building a devilish and fascinating tale of suspense set in a microcosm. In which there reflects the intimate and daily life of the current man, where the protagonist observes from his window. The viewer sees what Jeff (the protagonist) observes, has the sensation of being the protagonist, observing through his window.
Stam, Robert & Pearson, Robertson., ‘Hitchcock’s Rear Window: Refluxivity and the Critique of Voyeurism’ in Deutelbaum, Marshall & Poague, Leland A. ed., A Hitchcock Reader (John Wiley & Sons: 2009).
While this film does have typical Hitchcock cinematic techniques, there are a few that were not used. One of them is the typical Hitchcock blond: promiscuous, uncaring, icy, but in this film, Jo, a blonde, is not promiscuous, in fact, she stopped working on Broadway to live with Ben in Indianapolis, she actually is caring, for her son, and while it can be said she is icy at the beginning for first believing Bernard is a bad guy, and second for thinking the Drayton’s were following them, it can also be taken for being cautious of others. Another would be that this film does not have a lot of female humiliation, although there is the scene at the beginning on the bus when Hank accidentally takes the veil off the Arab woman.
When looking at Brain De Palma’s version of the parlor scene Dr. Elliot is depicted as self-righteous but at the same time admitting so bluntly that he desires Kate, his patient, it takes away from self-righteousness. Norman does not bluntly admit his desire for Marion but instead chooses to be the peeping tom and spy on Marion as she gets ready for shower. Again De Palma choses to show sexual anxiety in a more blunt way than Hitchcock could show in Psycho. Also there is the character of Liz Blake who comparing to the character of Lila Crane is far more expressive with her sexuality and is a prostitute. Again De Palma is doing what Hitchcock could not have done at the time and shows openly female sexuality in Dressed to Kill.
People flock to horror movies each year. Usually to be scared. Another is to solve the question of Who done it? Unfortunately, a lot of these horror movies fail to scare people or make the killer so obvious the audience gets bored. Occasionally, there are a few horror movies that stick out. Scream, directed by Wes Craven, is one of them. Wes Craven is always toying with the viewer's fears. Always finding ways to scare the audience at every turn. He also plays with the viewer's head, and has them second guessing themselves. How does he do it? Well, as one of the characters in the movie exclaims, "There's a formula to it. A very simple formula. Everybody's a suspect!" This paper will discuss how Craven uses sound, camera shots, and mise en scene
The author uses action to show the influence of jealousy on a person when the children in Margot's class were jealous of Margot, so they decided that they should lock her in a closet during the time that the sun was out, which was a very special time for her. The author also uses dialogue to express her classmates feelings toward Margot, such as when a fellow classmate William shouts "Aw, you didn’t write that!", in the middle of Margot's poem. All in all, Margot's alienation and mistreatment shows that a person moral compass can shift when feelings of envy and jealousy are
that it is a pre-meditated event. It appears that Margot's original intention is to save
Alfred Hitchcock’s film North by Northwest (1959) is famed as a classic man-on-the-run thriller, following protagonist Roger Thornhill as he flees across state lines in a mad dash to save his life and unravel the mystery of his extraordinary predicament. However, mid-way through the film Thornhill’s quandary is further complicated by the introduction of Eve Kendall, a beautiful yet mysterious woman he encounters on a train during his escape from the authorities and people trying to kill him. During the dining room scene on the train, Hitchcock expertly uses the camera to convey the characters thoughts and feelings. Interestingly, in a film that has several sequences with complicated cinematography and editing, the dining car scene is rather reserved in comparison. Hitchcock uses nominal mise-en-scène elements and instead elects to focus the camera largely on the subtleties in the performances of the actors.
In the world of cinema, there’s almost always a discussion regarding what scenes would be suitable for the grasping imagination of any audience, young or old. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film, Psycho, sparked a plug for the movie industry as it was the first movie of its kind to display such graphic scenes of sex and violence to a worldwide audience.
Hitchcock has a way of throwing clues in the face of the spectator, yet still allows some room for the spectator to find their own less obvious details. In the same museum scene, Hitchcock shows the viewer exactly what he wants them to see. In a sense, Hitchcock can be very manipulative with the camera. The audience sees the picture containing the women with a curl in her hair holding flowers, and then the direct connection is made by the camera, by showing the curl in Madeline’s hair, and the flowers sitting next to her. The spectator is led to believe that they have solved the mystery and she is truly possessed by the women in the picture. However, Hitchcock does this on purpose to lead the audience away from the truth that she is only acting. It is for these reasons that Hitchcock’s work at an auteur adds a level of depth and intrigue.
Because the scene was shot in the small cottage, there was little room for different focal lengths, so most of the shots are jumps between the characters to create drama. All of the shots in this sequence are medium shots and close ups, giving the audience the perception of a cramped space that's over occupied with forgotten objects. The camera also follows Maxim’s movements, like a person eyes would, but not the eyes of the heroine who is slightly to the side, like the eyes of a third party. Mise-en-scene arrangements are also evident in the sequence. Because the film is in black and white, it was pivotal in this scene to use lighting to create drama. Hitchcock has put different components into different scenes and he arranged them in a meaningful way. Rebecca’s room was said to have been exactly how she left it, in this scene Maxim describes how Rebecca walked across the room as she spoke to him, the ash tray that he described her having use is still there, as if she had just put out her cigarette. Then Maxim walks back and leans against the wall, and stumbles to open the door to reveal where Rebecca died. Within the clip, it can be seen that eerie music is used when Maxim is telling Mrs De Winter about the night that Rebecca died. The director used music as a way to illustrate the torment Maxim feels when speaking about the past, which is significant to the film narration. This is
To this day Rope, Alfred Hitchcock’s first color film, remains one of the most original motion picture dramas. With the exception of the opening credits, Rope was shot on one individual set located within a soundstage, similar to as if a play was being performed on stage. Despite the confined space the film occupied, the atmospheric anxiety carried on up until the very end. Furthermore, Hitchcock successfully created a deception, of the same repetitive shot. Nonetheless, during the one hundred and eight minute film, it’s hard not to notice the closeness Phillip and Brandon shared sexually together, making them homosexuals.
There are four crucial scenes of this film in which Hitchcock shows a change in perspective and identity through the mise-en-scène. Hitchcock’s signature motifs, style, and themes are conveyed through the mise-en-scène.
In the film Luhrman uses costume and makeup to portray characters’ personalities. Such as Shirley Hastings. Shirley’s costume and makeup shows the audience a great deal about her personality. Shirley always wears pink, puts ‘over the top’ makeup on and wears a lot of jewellery. This tells the audience that she is ‘over the top’ and maybe insecure about herself or her past. Liz Holt is another character whose personality could not have been portrayed if it wasn’t for the costume and makeup used. Liz is a drama queen and exaggerates everything including her costume and makeup. She nearly always wears yellow and also exaggerates her makeup with bright colours even when she’s not dancing. Luhrman also used costume and makeup to show the development of one of the main characters, Fran. At the start of the film, Fran is introduced with acne, glasses and baggy clothes, which shows the audience that she is not comfortable with herself and not confident. But when Fran starts dancing she slowly becomes more confident and her costume and makeup changes. Fr...