Ryan - Vertigo
- The use of the swirl to represent death. this is shown in her hair, in the staircase, in the painting on the wall, etc.
- The use of doubles in various points along the plot line: Judy overall has a double with Madeline, the use of the mission tower two times (once at beginning and once at end), there is the double plot being used with both girls, and in several different points there is a mirror which doubles up the characters in the shot.
- theme of trickery and lost love
I was not a fan of Vertigo when we watched it in class, and I am still not a fan of it. It makes me feel a lost hope for humanity. People just lose credibility to me. I guess one aspect you can say about that is the actors did an excellent job in the film if thats how I feel about it. But the story was just not something I liked. Understanding some of the technical aspects and how Hitch used them in this film was informative, and maybe next time around I will be able to enjoy that aspect of the film, since I don't think I will ever really enjoy the film itself.
Tiffany - Hitchcock and Casting
- The use of big name actors bring recognition and draws emotion from the audience
- In the 1940s American actors did not want to do thrillers, as they thought it would harm their career, it seemed almost belittling to them
- With Grace Kelly in Rear Window, she brought sex appeal, but indirectly she brought a lot of audience appeal as well
- In working with Hitchcock there became a "new Jimmy Stewart"
Considering this was, indirectly, an offshoot of the presentation I did, I was interested in Tiffany's take. One of the reasons I consider Rear Window one of my top three Hitchcock movies is because I love Grace Kelly's role in the film. Besides the fact that she is downright gorgeous, her character has such appeal to her, and I could not imagine anyone, even thinking about today's actresses, that could fill that role properly. Hitchcock seemed to be able to get the perfect actor for each of the roles, there are very few instances where I thought someone else could have filled the roll better than the one Hitchcock picked.
Agnes - Hitchcock and Catholic Influences
- The catholic son - Hitchcock was still active when he made his move to Hollywood.
- The concept of the original sin
- The falsely accused man and the guilt woman
- The devil
- The target audience for Hitchcock was women, he wanted to get the to the theaters and scare them.
- Eve = blondes
I can not remember if it was during this presentation or something else, but I recall hearing a clip from Hitchcock that stated how the woman almost always dictates what happened in a relationship, usually whatever she wants to do she can talk or get her husband into doing it. With this concept, if he draws the woman to his films, then the man has no choice but to join her. In reference to the other topics, I was not consciously aware of the original sin idea as being integrated into Hitch's films, but after this presentation, it makes perfect sense to me and is pretty easy to find throughout many of his films.
Tyler - Use of Sound in Alfred Hitchcock's Films
- implied sound/ over reacting that was seen in the silent films
- blurred lines of sound representation
- Psycho shower scene without sound.
I like that Tyler showed us the Psycho shower scene without the sound on. In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that Hitchcock originally did not want to use sound for the infamous shower scene. I never got around to actually trying it out, until this presentation. It would have been such an utter fail if he had not changed his mind. The now famous chords that are associated with the scene seem to be cinematic gold and will forever be remembered.
Manola - Hitchcock: Misogynistic?
- Violence against main character
- male violence higher than female characters
In watching Manola's presentation, it was shocking to see how heavily the male violence outweighed the female. Upon further thought, I considered the fact that I never came under the assumption that i figured the females were the main focus of violent acts in his films, better yet the female's representation as character is where I had my issue. A majority of them are week and fragile people, not many are strong, confident women that can stand on their own. I think this is where the issue with female leads takes root, not in the violence toward them.
My Presentation
- pretty awesome, no bias here!
Monica - Psycho, beginning of the slasher films
- Psycho and its effect on Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Friday, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream.
- The use of masks, knives and other sharp instruments, and the mother/killer relationship
- memory issues
I never really understood the importance of Psycho to the modern horror films until seeing many of these presentations. It is amazing the effect it has had on pretty much every movie. As Hitchcock said, it all steps from the suspenseful children's story, Little Red Riding Hood, but the movie version all stems from Psycho. Its pretty amazing if you look at it. Where would we be without it? And, as a side note, I dont think any movie I have seen in a long time even compares to Psycho.
Sterling - Teachings of Hitchcock
- Hitchcock was very aware - of both himself and his surroundings
- Money overpowers everything?
- Rebecca, did she marry for love, or was it because he was simply rich?
- Thou shalt not steal concept. Thieves almost always die.
- Relationship of falling in love, the process always seems to be accelerated, with an exaggerated courting process.
- teaches moral and life lessons
In his own way, Hitchcock seems to be able to dictate the rules of life through film. In almost every film the bad guys is caught or killed, and there is definitely an overriding concept that you should always do what is right. Sterling brought some great ideas up, in that there always seem to be a moral concept that is apparent in Hitchcock's films. Some are a little more in your face than other, but they are almost always seemingly there.
I didn't catch the name - Vertigo
- Dealing with lost love
- Sexual overtones/ double meanings
- Spiral of time/ personal moments
falling cop/falling madeline
- tone is dark and cynical - tragedy
Again Vertigo is not my favorite topic, but I did enjoy the point brought up about the falling theme in the movie. Considering the movie is titled vertigo, which is brought on by a fear of heights, it is only proper that this occurs more than once in the film. Every time the falling occurs, someone dies, and only aids the the fear the Scottie has.
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