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Vertigo hitchcock film techniques
Vertigo hitchcock film techniques
Analysis of the film vertigo
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Vertigo 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. Vertigo is an Alfred Hitchcock film that was made in 1958. It stars James Stewart as Detective John Ferguson and Kim Novak as Madeleine Ellester and Judy Barden. In Vertigo, John Ferguson has a fear of heights that results in the death of his partner. Due to this situation, he leaves the police force and became a Private Investigator. Ferguson is contact by Gavin Ellester an old college buddy. Gavin asks Ferguson to follow his wife who he believes has gone mad. Gavin believes his wife Madeleine is being possessed by her great grandmother Corlata Valdez. He explains why he has come to this conclusion and fills John Ferguson in on all the details of the case. Mr. Ferguson questions the integrity of the story, but still accepts the case. When he starts to spy on Madeleine, he begins to notice changes in her personality and similarities to Corlata Valdez's past. One day when John Ferguson was following Madeleine, he saw her jump into San Francisco Bay. After he rescued her, he brought her back to his house and cared for her. Afterwards he and Madeleine started to spend time together. They began to fall in love and Madeleine became more insane. She started to see images from Corlata's past. Madeleine started to live the life of Corlata Valdez and had visions from her life. One day John and Madeleine went to an old Spanish missionary outside San Francisco, which Madeleine had seen in one of her images. When they arrived at their destination Madeleine began to remember things from Corlata's early life and became hyster... ... middle of paper ... ... the mise-en-scene are the from the beginning of the film. Throughout the film I was aware of the locations. The San Francisco setting was presented to the viewer in the beginning and that made the audience more aware of the film's environment. The monastery and other locations of Corlata's past gave me a better understanding of Madeleine’s problem. The make-up and costume play an important part in the recreation scenes, while the props assisted the audience and John Ferguson in piecing the puzzle together and figuring out Gain’s plan. The lighting enhanced many scenes in the film. The parts that impressed me were the following: the recreation of Madeleine scene, John's dream sequence, the monastery scenes, Judy's guilt trip and the scenes involving John's fear of heights. In conclusion, all these factors made Vertigo a great film and made it much more enjoyable for the audience. All the Hollywood Classical Film characteristics that are used in the film enhance the power of Vertigo. Everyone should see Vertigo, since it is a perfect example of a Hollywood Classical Film. In my opinion Alfred Hitchcock was a genius and Vertigo is one of the greatest Hollywood films ever created.
As I mentioned earlier, the clutter in the Gunderson’s home does speak volumes about who they are as people. Well very proud and honest people, they are very flawed and blue collar. This clutter is continued on in the kitchen. The shelf behind the kitchen table is filled with pictures and other nick-nacks. This clutter is eerily reminiscent of the middle class household portrayed by the MacGuff’s in the film Juno. These families both are not going to make sure everything in their home is pristine, but their way of life is really not too uncommon. It really does embody a lot of blue collar America. Another good use of mise en scene in this sequence was the very gray and desolate skyline during the murder investigation. Murder obviously is not a light topic, so the dark atmosphere in the sky very much fits into the theme of this scene. The last thing I’d like to mention about mise en scene and staging takes me back to the opening zoom of this sequence. Along with the visual theatrics zoom, the sudden appearance of nondiegetic music also insinuates this is quite an important scene in the film. Once we hear the dramatic strings, we know something dramatic is about to happen, especially because the music is clearly not coming from something on the screen. This nondiegetic sound can be a useful tool to setting a scene and properly utilizing mise en scene and at the end of day, setting the scene is key in a naturalistic
Allen, Linda. "Shirley Jackson's Bio." Shirley Jackson's. N.p., 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
While I have pointed out distinct signs of racism in the majority of leading characters, one should keep in mind that Othello was held in high regard for his many military successes. Although there was much protesting to the marriage of Desdemona and Othello, they were socially permitted to remain together, which would suggest at least some level of acceptance regarding interracial relationships among society in general.
Hitchcock Vertigo stars James Stewart as Scottie, a retired detective, and Kim Novak as Judy Barton, who gets disguised as Madeleine, a woman hired by Scottie's friend to act as his wife in order to frame Scottie. The story takes place in San Francisco in the 1950's. The film opens on a high building, where officer Scottie and his partner are in pursuit of a suspect. Scottie's partner's life is on the line, and only he can save him. Unfortunately, he has vertigo, a fear of heights.
Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is a film which functions on multiple levels simultaneously. On a literal level it is a mystery-suspense story of a man hoodwinked into acting as an accomplice in a murder, his discovery of the hoax, and the unraveling of the threads of the murder plot. On a psychological level the film traces the twisted, circuitous routes of a psyche burdened down with guilt, desperately searching for an object on which to concentrate its repressed energy. Finally, on an allegorical or figurative level, it is a retelling of the immemorial tale of a man who has lost his love to death and in hope of redeeming her descends into the underworld.
Perhaps no other film changed so drastically Hollywood's perception of the horror film as did PSYCHO. More surprising is the fact that this still unnerving horror classic was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a filmmaker who never relied upon shock values until this film. Here Hitchcock indulged in nudity, bloodbaths, necrophilia, transvestism, schizophrenia, and a host of other taboos and got away with it, simply because he was Hitchcock.
Everybody knows Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense and is known for inciting fear in the hearts of his audience. His multiple, fast cuts directs his audience to what he wants them to see and feel. Close-ups of the actors faces clearly shows what the characters are feeling and forces the audience to feel the same emotions. With all his expert directing skills, is there any meaning behind what he chooses to portray in his films or is it all for show? Could there be a deeper meaning to his films? The answer to these questions is a firm yes. Hitchcock’s past experiences guided him to be the director he was. The inadequateness of the police, control of all details in his films, and long stretches of no dialogue all portrayed in his films are all directly correlated to Hitchcock’s early life and early professional life.
Racial prejudice against Othello is introduced early in the play and is present throughout. Iago and Roderigo approach Brabantio with news about his daughter Desdemona. They inform Brabantio his
In chapter 4, Shapiro introduces the concept of vertigo which is a warped state of unconsciousness in which a relationship consumes the emotional energies. Vertigo is a strong powerful force that that can be able to trick someone into believing that it is not really influencing their behavior as they are captured in emotions that feels as they are whirling and not being able to be aware or notice that the emotions are stirring up to argue or fight. Vertigo can feel as the person be able to be rational and having vertigo can continue to hold on over periods of time and can also not being able to notice the vertigo entirely. Even as the feelings of vertigo is not present from the scene, vertigo can be able to continually affect negatively upon
An aspect of reading Othello that cannot be overlooked is the issue of race in the play. Attitudes towards race in Elizabethan England were negative. If we look at representations of different races in theatre of the period, we find that there are many negative connotations through the language that arise. The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice says “Mislike me not for my complexion.” (The Merchant of Venice.) This foreshadows some of the language of Othello. This however is quite soft language when we consider how Elizabethan theatre represented other races as being violent and bloodthirsty. In this we have, “In the night-time secretly would I steal to travellers’ chambers, and there cut their throats.” (The Jew of Malta.) This was said by the Turkish character in Marlowe’s, “The Jew of Malta.” Furthermore in, The Battle of Alcazar we have, “Dammed let him be, dammed and condemned to bear. All torments, tortures, plagues and pains of hell.” So as you can see through out Elizabethan theatre this villainous image of black men, and blackness in general was prevalent. In this period in London it wasn’t necessarily a common place for blacks but there were defiantly African Americans living in London. They appear in England in the late 16th century, and it was not entirely uncommon for people of wealth to have black musicians, servants, and even Queen Elizabeth had black musicians in her service. However, in 1596 she tried to have them all expelled. What historians have found is that there were hardly any really expelled, because people who had black servants in their household, refuse to give them up because there was no compensation. According to Imtiaz Habib, Shakespeare would have definitely ...
Though complex and brilliantly written for its time, the plot of Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo, is only half of the genius behind it. Alfred Hitchcock’s unique presence as an auteur is truly what sets his films apart. There is symmetry to his shots that give the film an artistic feel, as if each frame were a painting. Many times, within this symmetry, Hitchcock places the characters in the center of the frame; or if not centered, then balanced by whatever else is adding density to the shot. For example, as Madeline sits and looks at the painting in the museum, there is a balance within the frame. To counter-act her position to the right of the painting, Hitchcock puts a chair and another painting on the left side, which is visually pleasing to the eye of the audience. The use of red and green not only adds a visual effect as well, but later serves as a clue that Madeline is not actually dead, when the women who looks like her is wearing a green dress.
The motif in Macbeth of no sleep is one that recurs time and time again in the play. Macbeth’s decent into tyranny and madness was due to his lack of sleep that the guilt of murdering Duncan had placed upon him, which is proven by Macbeth when he states, “Methought I hear a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep,’” (II.ii.43-44). Lady Macbeth’s encounters with this motif are very different than Macbeth’s, she experiences restless sleep compared to the lack of sleep that Macbeth gets.
Orkin, Martin. “Othello and the “plain face” Of Racism.” 2nd ed. Vol. 38. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 166-88. Shakespeare Quarterly. Folger Shakespeare Library in Association with George Washington University, Summer 1987. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. .
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.
Othello, a play written by William Shakespeare in 1603 is a tragedy that deals with love, death, betrayal, and racism. Othello is about an interracial couple that snuck off and got married. People found out and decided to tell her family. They wanted him dead and did everything in their power to break them up, including making it seem like the wife had an affair. That thought alone led the husband to kill his wife. Othello has a lot of different themes throughout its course, racism is the theme that stuck out to me the most, because it was ridiculous and unfair.