Documentary
Essay
Sydney Geisinger
Emily Hoffman
Bryahna Turro
Angela Labella
Social Studies 410
Stephanie Jacques
5/16/13
Alfred Hitchcock: Impact On the Cinema
While considering the various turning points in American history, the works and films of Alfred Hitchcock was something that truly stood out. From his birth to his demise, Alfred Hitchcock was an important role in the development of not only movie production but also changing the public’s view of horror. His films influenced the modern cinema by incorporating violence into real life situations, bringing his genre to a whole new level. His most well-known film, “Psycho”, left the audience in a frenzy of excitement and passion in light of the perfection of production. Alfred hitchcock was a turning point for the film industry because he transformed movie making, revolutionized filming shots, and changed the view on horror.
Alfred Hitchcock had a huge impact not only on movies, but movie making itself. He was rude and stern with his actors and actresses which lead them to have more genuine emotion in his films but, he often went too far. He once stated: “I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.” this goes to show how he treats his cast on set. (Brainy Quote, Alfred Hitchcock, 2001) Tippi Hendren, one of Alfred Hitchcock’s main actresses in his movie, “The Birds” and “Marnie” explains what Alfred Hitchcock was really like to know and work with. “He trapped me and ruined my career. Producers would ring up — I know the great French filmmaker Francois Truffaut was one of them — offering me parts and Hitchcock would simply tell them that I wasn’t available.” (The Telegraph, John Hiscock,11:00AM GMT 24 Dec 2012) Additionally, Alfred Hitchcock used real, living props to orchestrate his movies. For example in the attic scene from The Birds Tippi Hendren was attacked by real birds, and had to go to the hospital on bed rest for a week. (The Telegraph, John Hiscock, 11:00AM GMT 24 Dec 2012)
Alfred Hitchcock, “the master of suspense”, used unique camera angles and techniques to increase the tension in every shot. For example, He would take the victims’ perspective as seen in his movie “Psycho”. (The Museum of Film History,Doug Yablun, 2) Another example is in the shower scene in “Psycho”, Alfred Hitchcock used 78 shots both close up and from a distance to make the scene more dramatic. (Rhiannon Andrews-West, Rhiannon Andrews, October 11th 2012) This technique has been used in many modern day movies such as Les Miserables. In addition, Alfred Hitchcock used a technique called the "Vertigo Effect".Here's how it works, an object is filmed as the camera moves towards or away while adjusting its focal point so the object remains a relative size to the rest of the scene.(Gizmodo, Andrew Tarantola, 5/03/12) Without Alfred Hitchcock's knowledge of camera techniques, the cinema wouldn't have the same uniqueness as it has now.
Hitchcock inspired new various views of horror. Instead of evoking horror out of the audience by frightening them using monsters or other fictional characters, he used real-life situations that dug deeper into the reality of terror. The movie "Psycho" is a perfect example of this. The main character, Norman Bates, was inspired by a real murderer named Ed Gein. By connecting a fictional character with a real life serial killer "Psycho" gave the viewers insight into the real world of crime and into the mind of a psychotic man. After Norman Bates’ father died his mother raised him to believe all women were terrible, except for her, which caused him to depend greatly on her. After years and years of living as though his mother was the only person in the world she married off and got a hotel. This made Norman feel as though she was abandoning him and he murdered both his mother and new stepfather. He soon found he couldn’t live without his dear mother, developed both schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder, and stole his mother’s dead body to treat her like she was still alive.Ed Gein had an alcoholic father and abusive mother growing up, yet he idolized his dear mummy like Norman. In an unexplained fire his father died, after his mother died Ed wanted to become a woman and started robbing graves to satisfy his need for affection. As you can see, Alfred Hitchcock drastically changed the view on horror.
Overall, Alfred Hitchcock’s work in the film industry was crucial to the development of the cinema. He was a major turning point in history due to transforming movie making, revolutionizing film shots, and changing the public's’ view of horror. Hitchcock was much more than a turning point. He was the beginning of a new era of movies and productions. He paved the way for other filmmakers and showed them that expressing fear and terror through a feature presentation can create some amazing movies and evoke some powerful emotions. Alfred Hitchcock changed the way movies were made and viewed, which changed our world forever.
Alfred Hitchcock had a huge impact not only on movies, but movie making itself. He was rude and stern with his actors and actresses which lead them to have more genuine emotion in his films but, he often went too far. He once stated: “I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.” this goes to show how he treats his cast on set. (Brainy Quote, Alfred Hitchcock, 2001) Tippi Hendren, one of Alfred Hitchcock’s main actresses in his movie, “The Birds” and “Marnie” explains what Alfred Hitchcock was really like to know and work with. “He trapped me and ruined my career. Producers would ring up — I know the great French filmmaker Francois Truffaut was one of them — offering me parts and Hitchcock would simply tell them that I wasn’t available.” (The Telegraph, John Hiscock,11:00AM GMT 24 Dec 2012) Additionally, Alfred Hitchcock used real, living props to orchestrate his movies. For example in the attic scene from The Birds Tippi Hendren was attacked by real birds, and had to go to the hospital on bed rest for a week. (The Telegraph, John Hiscock, 11:00AM GMT 24 Dec 2012)
Alfred Hitchcock, “the master of suspense”, used unique camera angles and techniques to increase the tension in every shot. For example, He would take the victims’ perspective as seen in his movie “Psycho”. (The Museum of Film History,Doug Yablun, 2) Another example is in the shower scene in “Psycho”, Alfred Hitchcock used 78 shots both close up and from a distance to make the scene more dramatic. (Rhiannon Andrews-West, Rhiannon Andrews, October 11th 2012) This technique has been used in many modern day movies such as Les Miserables. In addition, Alfred Hitchcock used a technique called the "Vertigo Effect".Here's how it works, an object is filmed as the camera moves towards or away while adjusting its focal point so the object remains a relative size to the rest of the scene.(Gizmodo, Andrew Tarantola, 5/03/12) Without Alfred Hitchcock's knowledge of camera techniques, the cinema wouldn't have the same uniqueness as it has now.
Hitchcock inspired new various views of horror. Instead of evoking horror out of the audience by frightening them using monsters or other fictional characters, he used real-life situations that dug deeper into the reality of terror. The movie "Psycho" is a perfect example of this. The main character, Norman Bates, was inspired by a real murderer named Ed Gein. By connecting a fictional character with a real life serial killer "Psycho" gave the viewers insight into the real world of crime and into the mind of a psychotic man. After Norman Bates’ father died his mother raised him to believe all women were terrible, except for her, which caused him to depend greatly on her. After years and years of living as though his mother was the only person in the world she married off and got a hotel. This made Norman feel as though she was abandoning him and he murdered both his mother and new stepfather. He soon found he couldn’t live without his dear mother, developed both schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder, and stole his mother’s dead body to treat her like she was still alive.Ed Gein had an alcoholic father and abusive mother growing up, yet he idolized his dear mummy like Norman. In an unexplained fire his father died, after his mother died Ed wanted to become a woman and started robbing graves to satisfy his need for affection. As you can see, Alfred Hitchcock drastically changed the view on horror.
Overall, Alfred Hitchcock’s work in the film industry was crucial to the development of the cinema. He was a major turning point in history due to transforming movie making, revolutionizing film shots, and changing the public's’ view of horror. Hitchcock was much more than a turning point. He was the beginning of a new era of movies and productions. He paved the way for other filmmakers and showed them that expressing fear and terror through a feature presentation can create some amazing movies and evoke some powerful emotions. Alfred Hitchcock changed the way movies were made and viewed, which changed our world forever.
Works Cited
Birds. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. By Daphne Du Maurier and Evan Hunter. Perf. Tippi Hedren, Suzanne Pleshette, Rod Taylor. Paramount Pictures, 1963. Film. We used a clip from birds in our documentary to illustrate to our viewers what happened to Tippy Hedren. We found this to be quiet disturbing ourselves.
Creamer, William. "Psycho" Anthony Perkins 1960 Paramount. N.d. Photograph. Psycho (1960). IMDb. 9 June 2008. Web. 3 June 2013. This picture is shown in our documentary when we are discussing the Inspiration from Norman Bates, Ed Gein. In this picture you would never guess that he would be a serial killer, or have any disorder. This will show our audience how clever Alfred was, tricking his audience into never suspecting Norman as a murderer. This photograph will also help the viewer visualize Norman Bates.
Croft, John. Ed Gein and Sheriff Arthur Schley. 1957. Photograph. Front of Ed Gein's House, Minneapolis. StarTribune. 9 Nov. 2007. Web. 3 June 2013. This picture was used in our documentary to show our viewers' the real Ed Gein. This is important not only for the visualization but also so they can see the similarities between Ed Gein and Anthony Perkins, Norman Bates.
Croft, John. Gein’s Kitchen Was a Bit Messy, to Say the Least. 1957. Photograph. Ed Gein's Kitchen, Minneapolis. StarTribune. 29 Nov. 2007. Web. 4 June 2013. This picture was used in our documentary to show the audience a small pice of Ed Gein's world, inside his house. It also gives insight into the mind set of a killer and how careless he was.
Dracula. Dir. Tod Browning and Karl Freund. Perf. Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Helen Chandler. Universal Pictures Corp., 1931. We used this movie when talking about Alfred Hitchcock's impact on horror. This is because before him there were just monsters no real people. (Like Dracula)
Frankenstein. Dir. James Whale. Perf. Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles. Universal, 1931. We used This movie in our documentary to illustrate how Alfred Hitchcock was really the first to have a real situation in his movies. (Frankenstein was a monster, Norman Bates was a psychotic, serial killer.)
Gavin, Kent. Actress Tippi Hedren Was Instrumental in Helping Vietnamese Immigrants to California Get Started in the Nail Industry. N.d. Photograph. Getty Images, n.p. This photo is used in our documentary, at the part where we are discussing how poorly Hitchcock treated Tippi Hedren on set. This photo helped us because it gave the viewers a visual image of what the actress looked like.
Hiscock, John. "The Telegraph." Http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/9753977/Tippi-Hedren-interview-Hitchcock-put-me-in-a-mental-prison.html. N.p., 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 5 June 2013. "In the attic scene from The Birds Tippi Hendren was attacked by real birds, and had to go to the hospital on bed rest for a week." This information was useful to us because it showed us how Alfred Hitchcock treated his actors and actresses. We used it because it was direct information that Alfred Hitchcock did to his main actress, Tippi Hedren.
Hiscock, John. "Tippi Hendren Interview: 'Hitchcock Put Me in a Metal Prison'" The Telegraph. NewsMax, 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 4 June 2013. This interview was used in the paragraph explaining how poorly Tippi Hendren was treated by Alfred Hitchcock. This interview helped us because it was evidence of how he treated his main actresses.
Hitchcock, Alfred Joseph. "Alfred Hitchcock Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 04 June 2013. We used this quote in the paragraph that explained how Alfred Hitchcock treated his actors and actresses. It was important because it helped to create a better understanding of the way that he acted on set.
Psycho. Dir. Alfred J. Hitchcock. Perf. Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin. Paramount Pictures, 1960. Film. We used many clips and still shots from Psycho in our documentary. This helped us show our viewers what camera techniques Alfred Hitchcock used and how he portrayed his characters.
Tarantola, Andrew. "How To Recreate Hitchcock's Famous "Vertigo Effect"" Gizmodo. N.p., 3 May 2012. Web. 06 June 2013. "An object is filmed as the camera moves towards or away while adjusting its focal point so the object remains a relative size to the rest of the scene." This information was useful to us because it tells us how Alfred revolutionized filming shots by doing something that no other director had ever done before. This was helpful to know because it explains HOW Alfred Hitchcock revolutionized filming shots.
Tarantula. Dir. Jack Arnold. Perf. John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll. MCA Universal, 1955. We used this film to show how Psycho was really the first real monster, a psychotic man, movie. We used this in our documentary when taking about Hitchcock's influence on horror.
Welter, Ben. "Wisconsin Farmer Admits ‘Killing for Seven Years’." StarTribune [Minneapolis] 18 Nov. 1957: n. pag. Print. We used this article from 1957 to dig deeper into Alfred Hitchcock's inspiration for his most famous work "Psycho". We put this information in both our essay and documentary, which just goes to show how important this information was.
West, Rhiannon Andrews. "Rhiannon Andrews-West: Psycho Shower Scene (Camera Shots) – Mrs Frisenda." Rhiannon Andrews-West: Psycho Shower Scene. Mrs. Frisenda, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 June 2013. "Alfred Hitchcock used 78 shots both close up and from a distance to make the scene more dramatic." This information was useful to us because it it explains how Alfred Hitchcock discovered new ways of filming by putting different shots together to make one scene.This helped us because it showed us that Alfred Hitchcock created new ways and revolutionized filming shots.
Yablun, Doug. "The Museum of Film History." The Museum of Film History. N.p., Apr. 2012. Web. 05 June 2013. "He would take the victims’ perspective as seen in his movie “Psycho”." We found this to be useful information because it supported the facts that Alfred Hitchcock revolutionized filming shots. This helped us because it helped us recognize the new perspective Alfred Hitchcock was introducing.
Creamer, William. "Psycho" Anthony Perkins 1960 Paramount. N.d. Photograph. Psycho (1960). IMDb. 9 June 2008. Web. 3 June 2013. This picture is shown in our documentary when we are discussing the Inspiration from Norman Bates, Ed Gein. In this picture you would never guess that he would be a serial killer, or have any disorder. This will show our audience how clever Alfred was, tricking his audience into never suspecting Norman as a murderer. This photograph will also help the viewer visualize Norman Bates.
Croft, John. Ed Gein and Sheriff Arthur Schley. 1957. Photograph. Front of Ed Gein's House, Minneapolis. StarTribune. 9 Nov. 2007. Web. 3 June 2013. This picture was used in our documentary to show our viewers' the real Ed Gein. This is important not only for the visualization but also so they can see the similarities between Ed Gein and Anthony Perkins, Norman Bates.
Croft, John. Gein’s Kitchen Was a Bit Messy, to Say the Least. 1957. Photograph. Ed Gein's Kitchen, Minneapolis. StarTribune. 29 Nov. 2007. Web. 4 June 2013. This picture was used in our documentary to show the audience a small pice of Ed Gein's world, inside his house. It also gives insight into the mind set of a killer and how careless he was.
Dracula. Dir. Tod Browning and Karl Freund. Perf. Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Helen Chandler. Universal Pictures Corp., 1931. We used this movie when talking about Alfred Hitchcock's impact on horror. This is because before him there were just monsters no real people. (Like Dracula)
Frankenstein. Dir. James Whale. Perf. Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles. Universal, 1931. We used This movie in our documentary to illustrate how Alfred Hitchcock was really the first to have a real situation in his movies. (Frankenstein was a monster, Norman Bates was a psychotic, serial killer.)
Gavin, Kent. Actress Tippi Hedren Was Instrumental in Helping Vietnamese Immigrants to California Get Started in the Nail Industry. N.d. Photograph. Getty Images, n.p. This photo is used in our documentary, at the part where we are discussing how poorly Hitchcock treated Tippi Hedren on set. This photo helped us because it gave the viewers a visual image of what the actress looked like.
Hiscock, John. "The Telegraph." Http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/9753977/Tippi-Hedren-interview-Hitchcock-put-me-in-a-mental-prison.html. N.p., 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 5 June 2013. "In the attic scene from The Birds Tippi Hendren was attacked by real birds, and had to go to the hospital on bed rest for a week." This information was useful to us because it showed us how Alfred Hitchcock treated his actors and actresses. We used it because it was direct information that Alfred Hitchcock did to his main actress, Tippi Hedren.
Hiscock, John. "Tippi Hendren Interview: 'Hitchcock Put Me in a Metal Prison'" The Telegraph. NewsMax, 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 4 June 2013. This interview was used in the paragraph explaining how poorly Tippi Hendren was treated by Alfred Hitchcock. This interview helped us because it was evidence of how he treated his main actresses.
Hitchcock, Alfred Joseph. "Alfred Hitchcock Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 04 June 2013. We used this quote in the paragraph that explained how Alfred Hitchcock treated his actors and actresses. It was important because it helped to create a better understanding of the way that he acted on set.
Psycho. Dir. Alfred J. Hitchcock. Perf. Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin. Paramount Pictures, 1960. Film. We used many clips and still shots from Psycho in our documentary. This helped us show our viewers what camera techniques Alfred Hitchcock used and how he portrayed his characters.
Tarantola, Andrew. "How To Recreate Hitchcock's Famous "Vertigo Effect"" Gizmodo. N.p., 3 May 2012. Web. 06 June 2013. "An object is filmed as the camera moves towards or away while adjusting its focal point so the object remains a relative size to the rest of the scene." This information was useful to us because it tells us how Alfred revolutionized filming shots by doing something that no other director had ever done before. This was helpful to know because it explains HOW Alfred Hitchcock revolutionized filming shots.
Tarantula. Dir. Jack Arnold. Perf. John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll. MCA Universal, 1955. We used this film to show how Psycho was really the first real monster, a psychotic man, movie. We used this in our documentary when taking about Hitchcock's influence on horror.
Welter, Ben. "Wisconsin Farmer Admits ‘Killing for Seven Years’." StarTribune [Minneapolis] 18 Nov. 1957: n. pag. Print. We used this article from 1957 to dig deeper into Alfred Hitchcock's inspiration for his most famous work "Psycho". We put this information in both our essay and documentary, which just goes to show how important this information was.
West, Rhiannon Andrews. "Rhiannon Andrews-West: Psycho Shower Scene (Camera Shots) – Mrs Frisenda." Rhiannon Andrews-West: Psycho Shower Scene. Mrs. Frisenda, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 June 2013. "Alfred Hitchcock used 78 shots both close up and from a distance to make the scene more dramatic." This information was useful to us because it it explains how Alfred Hitchcock discovered new ways of filming by putting different shots together to make one scene.This helped us because it showed us that Alfred Hitchcock created new ways and revolutionized filming shots.
Yablun, Doug. "The Museum of Film History." The Museum of Film History. N.p., Apr. 2012. Web. 05 June 2013. "He would take the victims’ perspective as seen in his movie “Psycho”." We found this to be useful information because it supported the facts that Alfred Hitchcock revolutionized filming shots. This helped us because it helped us recognize the new perspective Alfred Hitchcock was introducing.
Review/Comments
In this project we were asked to group up and pick a turning point in history and write an essay on it as well as make an out put that was self explanatory. This was to learn about what we thought was interesting. I think that it is really cool that he did so many movies. I wonder how many people have watched all of his works?