For this I am going to note some of the more interesting topics I found on each presentation and do a short response for each.
Vito - Hitchcock and Modern Film
-Vito took note of Hitchcock and his use of special effects in several movies, and noted how many were done by using camera tricks and miniatures, among others.
- He mentioned how in the movie Jaws, by Steven Spielberg, the use of the Shark was Hitchcockian, in that Spielberg would often times not show the shark, but would use its essence to build suspense with the audience.
- Halloween and Friday the 13th were movies derived/heavily influenced by Psycho.
- Nightmare on Elm Street took color queues from Vertigo
- An elevated "big chase" was a Hitchcock element that is seen in The Fugitive
- Christopher Nolan uses Hitchcockian elements in his movies
Newer movies such as Hostel and the Saw series have pulled away from the Hitchcockian ways and have gone in a different direction.
I thought this was an awesome presentation to start with. Vito did a great job of portraying Hitchcock as a whole, and not too specifically. Understanding that many of the suspense movies we see today have been influenced by Hitchcock, particularly Psycho. Overall it was a great tie-in of many of the things we have learned about during the course of the class, and now seeing how it has been done today was very cool.
Will - Catholic Guilt
- Hitchcock uses excessive feelings of guilt, which is one of the running themes in Hitchcock movies
- Also established "audience guilt" which makes the audience feel bad for blaming or assuming one person did something wrong when they really did not.
- Innocent man accused of wrong doing
- Paranoia consumes characters because they feel guilt for something
- guilt assumed even though innocent actions have occured
- In Psycho, we have a woman who is guilt for stealing money, and a guilt Norman who tries to hide his actions
This is a theme that we have spoken of frequently throughout the course of the class. There are mny influences from the Catholic church that Hitchcock brings into his films. I liked getting a little deeper, and understanding how this influence actually is shown in his films. The use of the cross and the nun are in your face ways, but how the feeling of guilt is used is very interesting.
David - Hitchcock and the Autuers
- The Golen Age of Hitchcock was considered between the 50s and 60s
- Mentioned how TV destroyed studios, and only big names were able to work
- There are lots of new techniques in cinematography
- Akira Kurosowa was a painter, assistant director, worked with storyboards and details. In Japan.
- Ingmar Bergman - religious, writer and Assistant director, theater, and is from Sweden.
- These two guys link to Hitchcock because of their backgrounds, they are educated in the arts, they are considered leaders in films, and they are pioneers.
The Autuer theory is is something I have a hard time grasping. It is not the term or how it is defined, but what it ACTUALLY means. If someone were to pull the same actions as one of the autuer directors, like Hitchcock would, in a business environment, they would be hated by employees and most likely deemed a micromanager. But, since this is film they are considered artists? In any case, I enjoyed hearing about the other directors and how they all relted, how many of the autuers had the background and information to be able to run and dictate every step of a successful film.
Katie - Challenging Audience Expectations - Psycho
- The use of marketing for the film - with a vague trailer, this left viewers ready for the films, but unprepared for what they were about to see.
- Mentioned how people were not allowed in the theater after the movie started
- The leading lady being killed early shocked the audience
- 2/3 of the music queues in the film were on Marion, which sets up her character
- Hitchcock uses surprise over suspense in this film
I love Psycho. So, in turn, I really enjoyed this presentation. I have always been fascinated with the draw around the film, and how people reacted to it. Hithcock did an amazing job around setting the film up and how it influenced the audience take, even before they stepped foot in the actual theatre. Also, I liked the take Katie had on how Hitchcock uses Surprise over suspense, because, as I imagine, it the audience had more surprises during the movie than they bargained for.
Luke - Origins of Psycho - Mother-half of the Home
- Psycho is the birth of modern horror films
- sexuality is prevalent throughout the film, as Norman is a cross dresser who commits murder dressed as a woman.
- There was semi-nudity used, and much more gore than most audiences were used to.
- New genres of film began from Psycho - leading to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Black Christmas, and so on.
We know how I feel about Psycho by now, so I wont repeat, but another interesting take on the film. bringing up some of the points he did, Luke did a good job of teaching is some of the off-the-wall topics about the films, and how it led to some of the other classic horror movies of our generation.
Paul - Alfred Hitchcock Working Methods, Master of Work
- Hitchcock worked visually before setting up script, he imagined how everything would look way before it ever happened.
- Worked a lot in pre-production, and getting writers to write what he wanted them to
- Infused meaning into everything
- Did little directing, and let the actors work it out
I think this presentation was an awesome demonstration of who Hitchcock really was. Sometimes he gets a bad rep as a director, but this sheds a little different light. Yes, he was very specfic on how he wanted things to be done, but it shows how brilliant of a man he was. He never looked through a camera, but visualized everything. Also, how, as a controlling man, he would let actors work out scenes. Granted, he would film scenes over and over and over and over again, the actors had a way to figure it out. I thought that was very cool.
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