Alfred Hitchcock Film Analysis
Sample essay from the Internet, discussing suspense and other elements in the films Psycho and Vertigo:
Have a little read: ... Movies are a big part of people’s lives in our days that everyone has their favorite
type of movie, if it is action, romance or thriller they can't go without watching them because they make us
laugh and sometimes maybe even make us cry. Now that I am studying media I can see the process of how
movies are made and how important it is to have certain props and costumes or even camera angles just to
make one scene work. After studying Psycho and Vertigo I am able to analyze films using film language to
see why they use certain lighting such as under light and camera angles or shots like close ups so you can
see how the character feels in that situation to create suspense to films. When you go to see a Hitchcock
film, you'd know it was one of his, because his way of filmmaking is one of the most memorable. His films
were mostly psychological thrillers that were combined with mystery, suspense and sometimes romance
such as Psycho and Vertigo. If you were to see a Spielberg movie you would recognize them because he
usually makes fantasy or science fiction films like E.T. and Jaws and special effect movies like Minority
Report.
In the ending of Psycho you see Marion's sister, one of the characters in the dark basement and as
soon as she turns on the light you hear running footsteps and the slashing knife music. The woman screams
and you see Norman dressed as his mother. Then Hitchcock cuts to the dead mother, this kept audiences on
the edge of their seats because Hitchcock made the scene quick by cutting to different shots. This was hard
for audiences to take in; this made the ending of the movie shocking and suspenseful. In the last scenes of
Vertigo, Scottie one of the main characters drags Madeline up the tower stairs while eerie music plays in the
background, then Scottie starts to unravel the murder mystery of Elster's wife, Scottie then starts to
forgives Madeline, they then start to kiss, Madeline then sees a dark figure Hitchcock then cuts to Scottie
then to the figure again, then you hear a scream, that Madeline had thrown herself off the tower, the dark
figure then comes into focus which turns out to be a nun, Scottie leans over the tower to see the dead body
of Madeline.
http://voices.yahoo.com/hitchcock-film-analysis-vertigo-psycho-birds-9897.html
In a 1972 interview with the American Film Institute, Hitchcock stated that, in his films, he sought
"to handle the material so as to create an emotion in the audience." Hitchcock's movies are teemed
with techniques used to instill fear within the audience. For example, when Psycho first came out, no
one was allowed to enter the theater after the movie had started (this was unusual during the 1960s).
In a 1963 interview with Ian Cameron, he said, "I'm more interested in the technique of storytelling
by means of film rather than in what the film contains." As the director and often times the producer,
Hitchcock used every factor to his advantage, from the sound and camera angles, to the setting and
circumstances surrounding the situation.
Vertigo was released in 1958 and starred James Stewart and Kim Novak. The story involves Stewart
playing "Scottie" a retired detective who has an obsession with a woman, played by Novak, and a fear
of heights. Vertigo is "a sensation of irregular or whirling motion, either of oneself or of external
objects" . Scottie experiences this when he is faced with heights. To convey this state of dizziness,
Hitchcock used camera movements to exaggerate the distance from the top of a bell-tower. He later
explained that this was done by "dollying in and zooming out." At the time, this was considered a
new special effect. The vibrant color of the film also increased its appeal.
The MacGuffin is defined as "refer to an item, event, or piece of knowledge that the characters in a
film consider extremely important, but which the audience either doesn't know of or doesn't care
about."
Basically, the MacGuffin is something that the story line is built upon, but it has no significant
purpose. The MacGuffin is a technique in Hitchcock's development of the plot in many of his films,
but its use is perfected in none other than Psycho. Released in 1960, the film featured Anthony
Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion. Bates is a shy, taxidermist, who is controlled by
his domineering mother and runs the Bates Hotel. Marion is famously killed off early on, which sets
the tone for the rest of the film. In the first half, the movie centers on the $40,000 that Marion stole.
Yet when the movie is over, that money is the last thing on the audience's mind. The MacGuffin was
the money, but it was only needed to shift the setting to the Bates Hotel. Hitchcock did this to throw
the audience off track and make the impact of Bates' psychotic actions tenfold.
Psycho
Suspenseful
Moments
The MacGuffin
Innovative
Camera
techniques
Vertigo