Director Study- Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was an English director and producer, known for his work in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. In 1926, after facing a string of bad luck with his previous films, Hitchcock created his first thriller by the name of “The lodger: A story of the London fog”. Hitchcock married his assistant director, Alma Reville and their only child Patricia was born on on 7 July 1928.

I have chosen to research Alfred Hitchcock in particular because his best films were Thrillers and the genre of our film is Thriller so we can draw inspiration from things like his camera work and use of mise on scene etc. to help us improve our own ideas.

PsychoHitchcock’s best known film is Psycho. The screenplay is by Joseph Stefano, based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Block and loosely inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. The most prominent scene in the film is the shower scene because of it’s unique camera work.

Psychology of CharactersHitchcock’s films often feature characters struggling in their relationships with their mothers. In “North by Northwest”, Roger Thornhill is an innocent man ridiculed by his mother for insisting that shadowy men are after him. In “The birds” Rod Taylor is an innocent man who finds he is being attacked by vicious birds and struggles to free himself of a clinging mother. The killer in “Frenzy” has a loathing of women but idolises his mother. The villain in “Strangers on a train” hates his father but is close with his mother. In “notorious”, Sebastian experiences conflic with his mother who is suspicious of his new bride. Normal Bates also experiences trouble with his own mother is “Psycho”

As well as the consistent conflictual relationships with mothers ll also has the frequent use of blonde haired heroines.The victims in “The lodger” are all blondes. In “the 39 steps” Hitchcock’s glamorous blonde star is put in handcuffs. Hitchcock’s last blonde heroine was – years after Dany Robin and her “daughter” Claude Jade in “Topaz” Barbara Harris as a phony pstchic turned amateur sleuth in his final film, 1976’s “Family Plot”.