Big Screen And The Hitchcock Name example essay topic

In 1922 the director of Always Tell Your Wife, a filming progress, got very sick and had to leave the movie. The lead actor Seymore Hicks had to take over the duties of direction, but was stumped on ideas. The young Hitchcock assisted him with the rest of production, and a legacy had been born Hitchcock's solo directorial debut, The Pleasure Garden was released in January of 1927, but it was not until three weeks later that the illustrious career of Alfred J. Hitchcock really took off. In February of 1927, The Lodger was released and it attracted mass audiences because of the rave reviews it received early on. It marked the first time in British film history that a director got more praise than did any of his stars. Besides being Hitchcock's first acclaimed motion picture, The Lodger is also note worthy because it was the movie in which one of the greatest movie traditions of all time would begin; the famous Hitchcock cameo appearance, a unique trademark of his films for the next fifty years.

In April of 1926, Michael Bacon told Hitchcock he wanted to make a movie of the 1913 mystery novel The Lodger, and felt that Hitchcock's sense of character and narrative would be perfect. So early in his career, Hitchcock already had a reputation for the true art of filmmaking. Hitchcock always prided himself as being the total filmmaker, planning and having total control over every aspect of his films, from casting to publicity. Hitchcock loved to be publicized, and some critics feel that the original intent of his unusual camera shots were no more than publicity stunt at first.

Regardless, Hitchcock brought cinematography to new levels, pioneering the point-of-view shot, which among other things was recognized for its ability to bring about viewer-character identification. Hitchcocks cameos, which he admitted to have borrowed from Charles Chaplin in A Woman of Paris, was just another example of Hitchcock's personalization and perhaps little gimmicks" of his films. He did not just become characters like did colleagues Orson Wells or Woody Allen, but his presence and style was always recognized. During the first decade of his career, Hitchcock toyed with variety of formats including theatrical adaptation, romance, musical, and of course, thrillers. It was not until 1934 when Hitchcock filmed The Man Who Knew Too Much that Hitchcock started making thrillers on a regular basis.

That film marked the first is a secession of six thrillers, which would become known as the classic "thriller sextet". Following the 1938 release of The Lady Vanishes, New York film critics voted Hitchcock to be the best director of that year. Throughout the 1940's his reputation continued to flounder with the hit movies Spellbound (1944 [in which artist Salvador Dali painted some scenery]), and Notorious (1946). The 1950's were the beginning of Hitchcocks most productive and popular era. Movies like Dial "M" for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), and North by Northwest (1959) were on the big screen and the Hitchcock name was everywhere. In 1955, the television program "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was also released.

The style and reputation that came with the Hitchcock name was visible in every movie, in every scene. North by Northwest to this point had gone where no other film had gone before. The airplane chase in the cornfield became one of the most famous sequences in movie history, and really identified Hitchcock as a cinematographer and a director. Well, it is only fitting that the most famous murder-thriller movie of all time bethel next released. Psycho (1960) became Hitchcock's biggest commercial hit ever.

Produced at just over $800,000, it grossed over $20 million. Psycho is the story of murder and deception, but at the same time, (although slightly ambiguous) it is the story of split personality and not letting go. Suspense (and in some cases fear) is built up throughout the entire movie, making the viewer forget that there are only two actual scenes of violence. Psycho is a film that takes place more in the mind of the viewer than on the screen. Robert Bloch bases the movie on a novel with the same name, which was a fictionalization of a real event in Wisconsin. Marion Crane is the first character that is really introduced.

She is upset because her and her boyfriend Sam cannot get married due to financial difficulties. Marion boss entrusts her to deposit $40,000 of a clients money. The next time we see Marion she is packing a bag and has the money with her, obviously planning to leave with it. Even though shes a thief, the audience is still sympathetic towards her because of her situation. Marion trades in her car for a new one and leaves Phoenix heading towards California, where her and Sam plan to get married. When Marion pulls over for the night, the first view of now famous Bates motel rises.

A figure of an old woman is visible in the window. As Marion wanders around the motel, she meets Norman, the proprietor, and sees his hobby of stuffing birds. After she is taken to her room, she is sitting on her bed (with the bathroom and shower clearly visible in the background) and she hears an argument between Norman and his mother. Marion then decides to take a bath before bed, and the most famous murder scene in movie history takes place. The infamous shower sequence, totally takes the viewer by surprise. Marion who appears to be the main characters killed off in the first third of the movie.

This scene required over 60 still shots, 70 setups, and over a week of attempts all for a less than minute on screen. True Hitchcock genius, you never actually see the knife strike Marion, but the loud, high-pitched screeching music, and the close-ups of her face and the knife sends chills through the body. An investigator comes out to the motel, and becomes the next victim. Alfred Joseph Hitchcock died in 1980 while working on what would have been his 54th motion picture. His unique style and breakthrough ideas will stand for all time, and he will always be remembered as one of the greatest directors of all time.