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