Alfred Hitchcock's Control Of What We See in Rear Window
Alfred Hitchcock controls what we see in the film by firstly
controlling what the camera shows, he adds small details to the film
to provide reasons for various events happening, he also uses each of
the characters to convey a message to the public, includes some short
but effective shots of some of the characters to stir certain feelings
within the audience, uses light humour and sometimes uses only visual
aids to show people what is going on in the film.
Hitchcock controls what we see in the film by using the camera to show
only what he wants us to see, and shows us the scenarios from the eyes
of L.B Jeffries the photographer, his girlfriend Lisa Fremont, and he
often also uses a third person view.
The reason why we can’t figure out the mystery going on in Thorwald’s
flat is mainly because of this restricted viewpoint of Jeffries. We
are told that he broke his leg a few weeks earlier; therefore his
movement is limited, which results in our viewing being limited. The
reason for this is that the audience can’t tell whether Thorwald
murdered his wife until the end, and it also mean that they only have
whatever knowledge Jeffries has, which meant that Hitchcock could
control the suspense in the film with ease.
Hitchcock also limits our view of the film in another way. He has set
the film in a flat of blocks with no front windows and only with rear
windows. When Jeffries looks out of his window he can only see the
surrounding flats, and is therefore cut off from seeing the outer
world, with the exception of a small gap that leads to the main
street.
The reason for t...
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...tention,
and it means that they have to focus on the film in order to
understand what is happening, and use their imagination. This has lead
to many interpretations of his film and has sparked great interest in
his films, especially amongst many of the French film critics.
Thus I conclude that Hitchcock uses the camera, the characters
personalities and situations, and often only shows us what is
happening using only what is being shown on the camera instead of
making a character state it, and controls the feelings of the audience
by using parts of the film (the emotion it creates can be almost
anything from tense to erotic, which gives rear window an
unpredictable feel to it) so that he can keep the audience’s
attention, give messages to the public and control the climax and
storyline of the film with great ease.
In conclusion in “Rear Window” Hitchcock is shown off as an auteur and realist though his modification and implementation of his own creative mind and as a realist by conveying reality and occurrences of everyday life respectively. He also used methods such as eye line matching, cinema as window and frame, and potentially character specific lighting to connect the audience with the characters and to give the main characters more individualized
The cast members were classically trained theatrical actors, and none had ever made a movie. While there are many unimpressive performances in Citizen Kane none of them were weak. It was filled with an A-rate cast and the actors worked together well as an ensemble. Perhaps, no performance was better than Orson Welles portraying all of Kane’s walks of life. From young and charismatic, to middle aged somber and assuming the end justified the mean instead of arguing it, to old quiet and wounded a man who had fought and lost time and time again Orson Welles delivers stunningly convincing performances at every “age”.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a thrilling film filled with mystery and suspense. However, Hitchcock left many unsolved issues at the end of this film. In contrast, when comparing Vertigo to more recent films of similar genre’, mysteries are usually always solved and thoroughly explained by the end of the film. Ironically, Hitchcock’s failure to explain everything to the audience in Vertigo is one of the film’s best attributes. This lack of knowledge allows the viewer to use their own imagination and speculate as to what might or might not have become of certain characters.
Rowe, Lawrence. "Through the Looking Glass: Reflexivity, Reciprocality, and Defenestration in Hitchcock's"Rear Window"." College Literature 35.1 (2008): 16-37.
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).
The Alfred Hitchcock film; Vertigo is a narrative film that is a perfect example of a Hollywood Classical Film. I will be examining the following characteristics of the film Vertigo: 1)individual characters who act as casual agents, the main characters in Vertigo, 2)desire to reach to goals, 3)conflicts, 4)appointments, 5)deadlines, 6)James Stewart’s focus shifts and 7)Kim Novak’s characters drives the action in the film. Most of the film is viewed in the 3rd person, except for the reaction shots (point of view shot) which are seen through the eyes of the main character.(1st person) The film has a strong closure and uses continuity editing(180 degree rule). The stylistic (technical) film form of Vertigo makes the film much more enjoyable. The stylistic film form includes camera movements, editing, sound, mise-en-scene and props.
Cinematography of Hitchcocks Psycho Alfred Hitchcock is renown as a master cinematographer (and editor), notwithstanding his overall brilliance in the craft of film. His choice of black and white film for 1960 was regarded within the film industry as unconventional since color was perhaps at least five years the new standard. But this worked tremendously well. After all, despite the typical filmgoer’s dislike for black and white film, Psycho is popularly heralded among film buffs as his finest cinematic achievement; so much so, that the man, a big
I have chosen to analyse the front and back of the video box cover of
One major attribute in Hitchcock films is how creatively Hitchcock tricks the audience about the fate of the characters and the sequence of events. Many people argue that it is a tactic by Hitchcock to surprise his audience in order to increase the suspense of the movie. For example, in Shadow of a Doubt, the audience assumes that young Charlie is an innocent young girl who loves her uncle dearly. However as the movie progresses, Young Charlie is not as innocent as the audience suspects. Young Charlie, once a guiltless child, ends up killing her evil uncle. In Vertigo, the same Hitchcock trickery takes place. In the beginning, the audience has the impression that the Blond women is possessed by another woman who is trying to kill her. The audience also has the notion that the detective is a happy man who will solve the murder case correctly. Just before the movie ends, the audience realizes that the detective was specifically hired by a man to kill his wife. The detective, in the end, seems to be the hopeless, sad victim.
...m plays a considerable role in this film. Jeffries, the films protagonist is bound to his apartment, so for entertainment he watches people through his window without them knowing. From the very beginning these characters seem to so interesting, so no wonder Jeffries decides to watch them. While watching the film, we become witnesses of their private lives, making us voyeurists too. In this film windows are not used in a traditional sense, they expose people, they symbolize confinement, and they allude to suspenseful plot devices. Hitchcock’s aesthetic configuration of the film manipulates the audience into questioning several aspects of the film and in life in general. Hitchcock’s originality in Rear Window was not only successful during the golden age of Hollywood, but it continues to be creatively adapted and consistently influential in today’s cinema as well.
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.
Alfred Hitchcock’s unique sense of filmmaking and directing has allowed him to become a very famous and well known film maker of his time. He uses similar recurring themes, elements, and techniques in many of his films to engage the viewers in more than just the film, but the meaning and focus behind the story.
There are three key scenes that best exemplify Hitchcock’s technical competence. After Alicia’s party and run in with the police, she is shown lying in bed with a hangover. We see a close up of a concoction Devlin made Alicia for hangovers. The next shot is a Dutch angle of Devlin, arms crossed and in shadow. Alicia drinks more of the concoction and camera’s perspective is in Alicia’s point of view. The Dutch angle slanted to the right rotates clockwise to an upside down shot of Devlin because Alicia is lying upside down on the bed. Coincidently, after the elaborate camera work, Alicia sits up and says, “What’s this all about? What’s your angle?”. Hitchcock’s technical competence in this scene is a testament to his authorship.
The art of filmmaking has been around for over a hundred years and now has over a hundred different specialized jobs in its field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “key grip, gaffer, best boy, boom operator, and director of photography are just a few of the jobs in the field of filmmaking that are essential to the process of creating a movie or TV show” (From Script #1). But before any of these people are able to get a job, they must go through an average of four years of college in order to specialize in film (Zeke). Filmmaking is a very complex and involved career that is crucial to the pursuit of happiness on earth and the telling of history.