Peeping Tom, released in 1960 and directed by Michael Powell, takes acting to a logical extreme and it is an enduring deep-rooted psychoanalytical tale that was condemned greatly by critics as an admonishing story and an aggravating subject about the uncanny relationship between voyeurism and violence. The response to Peeping Tom was vile, repugnant and poisonous to Powell’s thirty-year career in filmmaking and it even made him an outcast in his own country. “The only really satisfactory way to dispose of Peeping Tom is to shovel it up and flush it swiftly down the nearest sewer. Even then, “the stench would remain,” wrote London Tribune’s critic. The film casts Karl Boehm as an apprehensive young man whose camera becomes a dangerous weapon …show more content…
Hitchcock’s film had touched strikingly similar themes and ideas as Powell’s film, arguably had more immoral subject matter than Peeping Tom and was certainly a less decorous, more graphic and more violent film. While Peeping Tom defamed its creator by deeply wounding itself, Psycho climaxed Hitchcock’s career and was a major success. This was, most certainly, due to the audience anticipating eerie films from the renowned Hitchcock, because of the persona he had created for himself, whereas Powell was identified with elegant and conventionalized films, and was nowhere near Hitchcock’s reputation. The audience did not expect to see an ingratiating homicidal pervert and his afflicted urges. While both films depicted murderers and both pronounced voyeurism as a central theme, Psycho does not underscore voyeurism, whereas Peeping Tom does by defining it in the film. Finally, what really hit the audience on the wrong nerve was the dreadful way that Powell addressed movie-making and moviegoers; this ultimately altered our vision of film-making and proved to us that films are an arduous way to “pinning its victims to the screen like butterflies in a collector’s
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film Rear Window is truly a masterpiece, as it uses fascinating cinematic elements to carry the story and also convey the meaning of voyeurism. Throughout the film we are in one room, yet that does not limit the story. This causes the viewer to feel trapped, similar to the main character, while also adding suspense to the detective story. The opening scene itself, draws the viewer in. In just five minutes and 27 shots, the viewer is given an introduction to the main character, his lifestyle, his condition, and his neighborhood. The lighting, the costumes, and the set are all presented in a way to catch the viewers eye, compelling them to crave more. Combining vivid lighting, edgy cinematography, and unique set design, Rear Window, proves why Hitchcock is still remembered as one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time.
{ Hitchcock never explicitly referred to or mentioned developments of the period or the ongoing political machinations that made daily news; and while he hardly stove to substantiate David Lehman’s claim for the overriding theme in Hitchcock’s America, that “paranoia is sometimes a reasonable response to events in a world of menace” (qtd in Pomerance 12). As pointed out by Marshall Deutelbaum Hitchcock’s films were diligently faithful in their representation of the look and style of American everyday reality and it repeatedly focused on the
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
Development of Suspense by Hitchcock in Psycho 'Psycho,' the somewhat infamous film by Alfred Hitchcock was produced in 1961, a time when the American censors, The Hays Office, still dominated the film industry with their strict rules and principles. It earned its notoriety by defying the traditional cinematic convections of that time and pushing the boundaries of what could be shown in mainstream cinema. The rules implemented by The Hays Office were far stricter than they are today, and Hitchcock uses all available means to reach and go slightly beyond the set limit. Using clever and different camera angles, he implies things that are not shown. He proves that innuendoes can portray the same image and retract the same audience responses as blatant actions and pictures.
The two films Psycho and The Birds, both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, share similar themes and elements. These recurring themes and elements are often prevalent in many of Hitchcock’s works. In Psycho and The Birds, Hitchcock uses thematic elements like the ideal blonde woman, “the motherly figure”, birds, and unusual factors that often leave the viewer thinking. Hitchcock’s works consist of melodramatic films, while also using pure cinema to help convey messages throughout the film.
Psycho, produced by Universal Studios and released through Paramount (Rebello 51), contained a frank depiction of sex and violence "unlike any mainstream film that had preceded it" (Williams 1); the film included the first love scene in American popular cinema ever to feature a pair of lovers lying half-naked on a bed (Rebello 86). And not only did Psycho depict two brutal murders, but the first occurred in the intimacy of the shower. As a result, Hitchcock had to fight to make the film as close to his vision as possible and find ways to work around censorship laws. When the censors demanded he re-edit the shower scene on account of a fleeting glimpse of Janet Leigh's breast, Hitchcock simply sent back the original cut on the (correct) assumption that they either would not re-screen it or would fail to see the barely noticeable nudity the second time around (Rebello 1...
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
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).
Hitchcock really shocked Paramount when he demanded that he be allowed to film the sleazy, sensational novel that Robert Bloch based on the Gein killings. Bloch's subject matter and characters were a great departure from the sophisticated homicide and refined characters usually found in Hitchcock's films, but the filmmaker kept after the studio's front office until the executives relented. He was told, however, that he would have to shoot the film on an extremely limited budget—no more than $800,000.
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
1976. Turvey, Malcolm. “Can the Camera See? Mimesis in Man with a Movie Camera.” October; Summer 1999, Issue 89, pp.
In his essay, “It’s Just a Movie: A Teaching Essay for Introductory Media Classes”, Greg M. Smith argues that analyzing a film does not ruin, but enhances a movie-viewing experience; he supports his argument with supporting evidence. He addresses the careful planning required for movies. Messages are not meant to be telegrams. Audiences read into movies to understand basic plotlines. Viewers should examine works rather than society’s explanations. Each piece contributes to Smith’s argument, movies are worth scrutinizing.
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.
“of exhibitionist confrontation rather than absorption,” (Gunning, Tom 2000 p 232) as Gunning suggests the spectator is asking for an escape that is censored and delivered with a controlled element of movement and audiovisual. Gunning believes that the audience had a different relationship with film before 1906. (Gunning, Tom 2000 p 229)
Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense. According to Movie Gurus review, “Alfred Hitchcock is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most influential film directors in the history of motion pictures” (Ulmer par 9). His most famous movie, Psycho, was filled with various themes, but the theme that stands out the most was suspense. In this movie, Hitchcock used various film devices in the following scenes to support the theme of suspense.