His Legacy Screams...

Many of Hitchcock’s films have certain themes to it. Looking closely in the plot and structure of most of his movies lays the mark of Hitchcock’s "signature", so to speak. Several critics reviewing his films discovered three main themes that reappear in Hitchcock’s films: the innocent man falsely accused of a crime, the criminal woman who implicates a man in her crime, and the clever psychopath whose true nature is uncovered through nail-biting plot twists." Using these signature themes along with editing sound, music, and almost anything else he felt needed a change in order to make his audience sweat with anticipation."The director paid immaculate attention to working out every detail, and often claimed that, with the script and storyboard complete, the actual filming itself was an anti-climax."(St. James). Hitchcock's understanding of human complexities such as fear and emotion is the key to instilling that anticipation people feel in the theaters and making that lasting impact.

The film industry became Hitchcock's home and the audience became his friends. Hitchcock received five Oscars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for best direction in Rebecca, Lifeboat, Spellbound, Rear Window and Psycho. Although he never won an Oscar from these nominations, the Motion Picture Academy did present him with an honorary Oscar. American Decades wrote “In 1974, the Film Society Lincoln Center honored Hitchcock with a nationally televised party, which presented a montage of his film highlights” (American). In 1976 he went on to become commander of The French Order of Arts and Letters. Hitchcock was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1880 and named a Knight of The Legion of Honor.Alfred Hitchcock died April 29th 1980 in Los Angeles, California home. In some strange honor to Hitchcock’s death the announcer for CBS news reported his death with a hint of implied mystery. The reporter claimed he “died yesterday, apparently of natural causes.” Alfred Hitchcock became what he was born to do, direct films. His strange methods are now common to film makers and are still in use today. His legacy lives in every suspense thriller movie people see today. Every time I see an audience jump in their chairs, sweat with anticipation, screams, pee their pants, cry, gets goose bumps, or almost loses their minds with excitement, all the while keeping their eyes glued to the screen. I remember Hitchcock.

Sources Cited:

American Decades. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC

St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. St. James Press, 2000. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC

The Rise to Greatness

Hitchcock's success came from his strong work ethics and his genius abilities to overcome challenges and design groundbreaking films. Take into account his family was not in any part of the film industry and were not incredibly wealthy to support him. Despite this, Bruce Evensen states in his article "When he was eleven, Hitchcock was enrolled in Saint Ignatius College, a Jesuit day school for boys" (Evensen) he soon enrolled for night classes "in navigation at the University of London when he was fourteen, and after his father's death in December 1914, he found office work at the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. he became an illustrator in their advertising department." (Evensen) Eventually he was hired by Famous Players-Lasky film company which led to his apprenticeship to. In 1923 Hitchcock was signed on to be assistant director to a movie called "Woman to Woman" after the successful achievement the company tested his abilities in two other movies. In December 1926, Hitch made his first movie as a director called "Pleasure Garden" with his new wife/editor to help him reach his goal of Hollywood fame. Their efforts produced many other movies.

The beginning of 1934, was the beginning to Hitchcock's breakthrough to his dream. He created several amazing films including: "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and "39 Steps" these films distinguished him from other directors and got the attention he deserved from Hollywood. After this "breakthrough" he quickly began creating masterpieces and labeled himself "editor" to accommodate many mystery books that were written. He made many cameo appearances in his films to add an extra "fun factor". With films like "Psycho" and "The Birds" he was labeled a master of suspense and credited for his talent all over the world.

Sources Cited:


Evensen, J. Bruce. "Hitchcock, Alfred Joseph."The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives Thematic Series: The 1960s. Ed. William L. O'Neill and Kenneth T. Jackson. 2 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC

The Man Behind The Body...

Alfred Hitchcocks film are very well recogized in society, but most people know little about his real life. He was not a director his whole life. I know, shocking right? He was a little kid just like all of us...except it was Alfred Hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock was born on the 13th of april, 1899 in Leytonstone, London. He was the youngest of three children in his family. William Hitchcock was the father and Emma Jane Hitchcock was his mother. The family was said to be a bundle of fun but still expected hard work from each other. His Uncle loved to play tricks on others for a cheap laugh while Hitchcock observed. The Hitchcocks were devote Catholics. Several of them being big time priests! However most of the adult members of his family were tied down into being shop owners. This does not mean they were lower class. All in all his family was a loving and caring one. There is still a story stating that during Alfred's childhood his father sent him to jail as a punishment with a note saying "I need to be locked up for 10 min for being naughty". The police officer there locked up Alfred for the required time. Patrick Mcgilligan wrote "Still, Hitchcock always insisted the incident gave him life long fear of arrest, jails, and policemen-a fear confirmed by many adult anecdotes." (Mcgilligan)

Alfred Hitchcock loved enertainment and would often see plays and listen to classical concerts. This love for entertainment leading to his love for film. The experiences he had are very vague but still contribute to the creativeness of his films. As Richard Allen claimed in his book Hitchcock's Romantic Irony, "Hitchcock's Interests in subjective suspense consists, in part, in intensifying the kind of character identification" (Allen). His film creation has been contributed to his life in a whole and the experiences that came with it.

Works Cited:

Allen, Richard. "Hitchcock's Romantic Irony". 2007. Page 41, Para 2. Columbian University Press. New York.

Mcgilligan, Patrick. "Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light." 2003. United States of America. HarperCollins Publishers Inc. New York.

The Psycho is Near...

If suspense film making was somehow "discovered" Alfred Hitchcock would undoubtedly be the one who discovered it. Alfred may not be known for his "discovery", but he was certainly known for his amazing ability to create that surreal feeling of anticipation and dread of the outcomes in his movies.In a scholarly journal, Arron Smuts states "According to Hitchcock, the key to the most effective method of arousing suspense is to give the audience some crucial information that the characters lack."(Smuts). This can be seen in many of Hitchcock’s movies like Rear Window. This is just one of many of Hitchcock’s methods to create his movies.

When the Hitchcock movie “Psycho” was released in the summer of 1960, it was a blast of new concepts and exhilarating plot visuals. It forever changed the frame of which all directors used to create their movies. The audiences were stunned, excited, and, appalled by all the extended ploys initiated to develop a new and different narrative visual. The narrative and visual effects captured the audience’s attention but left them with absolutely no control over any part. It was a drastic change from the normal classical movies that people were normally used to seeing in those times. To say the least it was a completely unexpected film. The film was designed to cause the sense urgency but with no control, and the visual added a huge suspense and provocative factor. Audiences flocked to see the movie that was so widely talked about. Psycho surprised everyone and causes and generates an enormous amount of attention. The movie became one of the most “analyzed, and scrutinized of Hitchcock’s films. . . Psycho has been explored from literally every possible angle” (Kendrick). Hitchcock created the thriller masterpiece to get his audiences attention and to create his own work of art the way he wanted it, and the way the audience would love it.

Works Cited:
Kendrick, James. “Disturbing New Pathways: Psycho and the Priming of the Audience.” February 1, 2010. Journal of Popular Film and Television. Page 3. EBSCOhost. April 22, 2010. http://ezp.tccd.edu:2367/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=112&sid=449d807c-fb09-41bc-aabf-58920cc5edf1%40sessionmgr112
Smuts, Arron. “The Desire-Frustration Theory of Suspense.” July 1, 2008. Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism. Page 1. EBSCOhost. April 22, 2010. http://ezp.tccd.edu:2367/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&hid=112&sid=449d807c-fb09-41bc-aabf-58920cc5edf1%40sessionmgr112

The Birds Are Here

We all go a little mad sometimes. Sometimes one time can be enough. This is a famous yet chilling quote from one of my favorite movies Psycho which was written by Robert Bloch but more importantly directed by the one and only Alfred Hitchcock. After watching Psycho I became a huge Hitchcock fan. His films delighted my taste for suspense and created a thirst for more of his mysterious story telling. Not only is he a legend to film makers and fans all over the world but he has popularized a failing genre at the time. He created a legion of followers from his films, his screenplay editing was superb and thought provoking, and his name alone helped create a new name for the suspense genre.

He has directed and produced over 65 full length movies with over 6 Oscar nominations. His life's work is something that should always be shared with throughout the generations as a historical feat of pure film making genius.

In my blog I will include a short biography of Hitch's life along with all his success he gained through his career. Additionally, I will discuss several myths, tools, and styles he used to create a world for audiences to experience that one of a kind "edge of your seat" feeling.