Auteur Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock: 1899-1980
Definition: Auteur filmmaker – The term ‘auteur,’ coined by American film
critic Andrew Sarris, was applied initially to films that came out of France in
the 1940s. Essentially, it means that the director is the _______________ of
the film because s/he makes all the creative choices (visual and sound) to
articulate her/his vision. Auteur theory suggests that a successful film bears
the unmistakable creative ________________ of the director who created it.
Alfred Hitchcock: Auteur filmmaker, originally from ___________________
and considered the pioneer of ___________________ and
____________________________ thriller genres.
-Born in _________________, _________________and was the son of a
____________________________.
-Described his childhood as lonely and sheltered. Had few friends because of
his _______________________________.
-His father would send young Alfred to the local police station with a note to lock him up for 10 minutes for
____________________________.
-Harsh __________________________ or being _________________________________________
______________ is a common motif in Hitchcock's films.
-His father died when Hitch was _________________.
-Originally, he started out in the sciences, in ______________________________ , which led him to
_______________________ and ultimately to film.
1920s Hitchcock's first job - ______________
__________________ for silent films.
1924 Begins collaborating with German filmmaker
Graham Cutts and works in ______________
___________________ and set design.
1926 Returns to London, marries Alma Reville,
who becomes closest collaborator and confident.
1929 Makes his first _________________ picture,
one of the first in the United Kingdom.
Huge success after _________releases such as The Lady
Vanishes (1938) and Jamaica Inn (1939) also makes him
famous in the USA.
David O. Selznick, an ______________ producer, convinces
him to move to the ________ to direct an adaptation of
Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1940).
After the release of Saboteur (1942), his films are named after
him, too, and referred to as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, Alfred
Hitchcock's Rear Window, etc.
Signature Style
• Known for quick _______________of himself in his films. He
eventually began making his appearances at the beginning of his
films, because he knew viewers were watching for him and he
didn't want to divert their attention away from the story's plot. He
made cameo appearances in all of his movies beginning with The
Lady Vanishes.
• Often used the "wrong man" or "___________________________" theme in his films.
• Always formally dressed, he wore a __________________ on film sets.  In order to create ____________________ in his films, he would alternate quickly
between different shots to extend and suspend cinematic ____________________.
• His driving sequences were also shot in this particular way.
They would typically alternate between the character's
____________ _______ ____________ while driving and a
_______________________ shot of those inside car from
opposite direction. This technique kept the viewer 'inside'
the car and made any danger encountered more intense.
• He used dark humour and dry wit, especially regarding ________________.
• He hated to shoot on location. He preferred to shoot at the _________________ where
he could have full control of ______________________ and other factors.
• In a lot of his films (more noticeably in the early black and white
American films), he used to create __________________ on the
_____________ to create suspense and tension
REAR WINDOW: Introduction - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoO6RMu-J-A
OTHER USEFUL REAR WINDOW SITES:
Movie Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCcZCMYw38
Overview of Rear Window @ http://www.filmsite.org/rear.html
1000 frames from Rear Window. This is a good site for looking at the film
closely.
http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/1000_Frames_of_Rear_Window_(1954)
Some of Hitchcock's stylistic devices @ http://www.borgus.com/hitch/index.htm
An excellent analysis of Hitchcock's framing style and use of point of view
@ http://www.galyakay.com/filmnarrative.html