Research in to a director

From Azaan Naseer

Alfred Hitchcock Introduction• Alfred Hitchcock is perhaps Britain's most famous and highly

regarded film director, yet he is best known today - even in Britain - for the films he made after he left the country in 1939 for a career in Hollywood. Films like Notorious (1946), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963) attest to a skilful filmmaker who thoroughly deserved his reputation as the 'Master of Suspense'.

• But Hitchcock's talent didn't magically appear as he crossed the Atlantic. The key elements of what was already recognised as his unique 'style' were in place by the time Hollywood came knocking. He directed no less than 23 films in Britain from 1926 to 1939, including several films in the crime and suspense genre that he made his own, but also melodramas, comedies and even a musical. These films developed the themes, preoccupations, tricks and techniques that audiences and critics still admire today.

• Reference:http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tours/hitch/tour1.html

Information About Alfred Hitchcock

• In order to create suspense in his films, he would alternate between different shots to extend cinematic time (e.g., the climax of Saboteur (1942), the cropduster sequence in North by Northwest (1959), the shower scene in Psycho (1960), etc.) His driving sequences were also shot in this particular way. They would typically alternate between the character's point of view while driving and a close-up shot of those inside car from opposite direction. This technique kept the viewer 'inside' the car and made any danger encountered more richly felt.

• Reference:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000033/bio

Pictures relating to Alfred HitchcockThis shot was taken in the film called Saboteur

This shot was taken in the film psycho (The shower scene)

This shot was taken from the film called Rear Window.

Trademarks of Alfred Hitchcock• Often has a quick cameo in his films. He eventually began making his appearances in 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. For Psycho (1960), he deferred his standard $250,000 salary in lieu of 60% of the film's net profits. His personal earnings from the film exceeded $15 million. Adjusted for inflation, that amount would now top $150 million in 2006 terms.

• [Hair] Likes to insert shots of a woman's hairstyle, frequently in close-ups.

• [Bathrooms] Often a plot device, a hiding place or a place where lovemaking is prepared for. Hitchcock also frequently used the letters "BM", which stand for "Bowel Movement".

• Often used the "wrong man" or "mistaken identity" theme in his movies (Saboteur (1942),I Confess (1953), The Wrong Man (1956), North by Northwest (1959), Frenzy (1972)).

• [Blondes] The most famous actresses in his filmography (mostly in leading roles) wereAnny Ondra, Madeleine Carroll, Joan Fontaine, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh and Tippi Hedren.

• There is a recurrent motif of lost or assumed identity. While mistaken identity applies to a film like North by Northwest (1959), assumed identity applies to films such as The 39 Steps (1935), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), and Marnie (1964) among others.

• Always formally dressed, wearing a suit on film sets• Reference:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000033/bio

Martin Scorsese Introduction• Martin Charles Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942, in New York City, to

Italian-American parents Catherine (Cappa) and Charles Scorsese. He was raised in the neighborhood of Little Italy, which later provided the inspiration for several of his films. Scorsese earned a B.S. degree in film communications in 1964, followed by an M.A. in the same field in 1966 at New York University's School of Film. During this time, he made numerous prize-winning short films including The Big Shave (1968), and directed his first feature film, _Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)_.

• Reference:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000217/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Trademarks of Martin Scorsese• Often begins his films with segments taken from the middle or end of the story (Raging Bull (1980),

Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)).

• [slow-motion] Makes use of slow motion techniques (e.g., Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)).

• Often uses diagetic music (i.e., source of music is visible on-screen)

• Often uses long tracking shots (His most famous is from Goodfellas (1990), following Henry Hill and his future wife Karen through the basement of the Copacabana night-club and ending up at a newly prepared table). A notoriously difficult shot to perfect, he has been dubbed by some as the "King of the Tracking Shot".

• Often uses freeze frames (Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), The Departed (2006),The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)).

• Frequently uses music by The Rolling Stones, especially the song "Gimme Shelter" (Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), The Departed (2006)).

• [Cameo] Cameo appearances by himself and family members like his parents, Charles Scorsese and Catherine Scorsese. Catherine played Joe Pesci's mother in Goodfellas(1990).

• Reference:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000217/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Pictures relating to films from Martin Scorsese

This shot is from the film The bad shave.

This shot is taken from the film Raging Bull

This shot is taken in the film goodfellas.

Quentin Tarantino Introduction• Quentin Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Connie McHugh, a nurse,

and Tony Tarantino, an Italian-American actor and musician from New York. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.

In January of 1992, first-time writer-director Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. The film garnered critical acclaim and the director became a legend immediately. Two years later, he followed up Dogs success with Pulp Fiction(1994) which premiered at the Cannes film festival, winning the coveted Palme D'Or Award. At the 1995 Academy Awards, it was nominated for the best picture, best director and best original screenplay. Tarantino and writing partner Roger Avary came away with the award only for best original screenplay. In 1995, Tarantino directed one fourth of the anthology Four Rooms (1995) with friends and fellow auteurs Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Allison Anders. The film opened on December 25th in the United States to very weak reviews. Tarantino's next film was From Dusk Till Dawn(1996), a vampire/crime story which he wrote and co-starred with George Clooney. The film did fairly well theatrically.

Trademarks of Martin Scorsese• Makes references to cult movies and television

• Frequently works with Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Uma Thurman, Michael Bowen, Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz.

• His films usually have a shot from inside a car trunk

• He always has a Dutch element in his films: The opening tune, Little Green Bag, inReservoir Dogs (1992) was performed by George Baker and written by Jan Gerbrand Visser and Benjamino Bouwens who are all Dutch. The character Freddy Newandyke, played by Tim Roth is a direct translation to a typical Dutch last name, Nieuwendijk. The code name of Tim Roth is Mr. Orange, the royal color of Holland, and the last name of the royal family. The Amsterdam conversation in PulpFiction, Vincent Vega smokes from a Dutch tobacco shag (Drum), the mentioning of Rutger Hauer in Jackie Brown (1997), the bride's name is Beatrix, the name of the Royal Dutch Queen

• His films will often include one long, unbroken take where a character is followed around somewhere.

• Often casts comedians in small roles: 'Stephen Wright' as the DJ in Reservoir Dogs(1992), Kathy Griffin as an accident witness and Julia Sweeney as the junkyard guy's daughter in Pulp Fiction (1994), 'Chris Tucker' as Beaumont in Jackie Brown (1997), 'Mike Myers' as 'General Ed Fenech' in _Inglorious Basterds (2009)_, and Jonah Hill in Django Unchained (2012).

Pictures relating to films from Quentin Tarantino

This is a shot taken from the film reservoir dogs.

This is a shot taken from the film Django Unchained.