Alfred Hitchcock Research- Miss Frisendar

Alfred Hitchcock Research 

Sir Alfred Hitchcock, was an English film director and producer who was born in Leytonstone in 1899 and died in 1980. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in silent films, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood to carry on his career in film making, his first film he made in Hollywood was called Rebecca (1940) where he won an Academy Award for best picture.

Over a very successful career Hitchcock was known for his high suspense Thrillers and thrilling plots and later on known as an ‘auteur’ which is a director who has been known to be successful with a specific genre.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty featured films in a career lasting more then 6 decades.

 His most famous films are: 

• Psycho
• Mr and Mrs Smith 
• Saboteur
• Notorious
• Strangers on a Train
• The Birds
• To Catch a Thief
• Veritgo
• The 39 Steps 

A famous quote by Hitchcock is: 

"The purpose of a thriller is to put their (audiences) totally in the cold water of fear to see what it's like"

There are many Thriller conventions throughout  Hitchcocks' famous film 'Psycho' from close up shots to shadows. These are used to let the audience see whats happening from the characters point of view.

Throughout the film Psycho there are many camera shots being used to create an understanding that something bad may happen: Panning is used when the woman walks from her dresser to the shower which indicates a change of location, there is also a zoom in shot into the shower plug which shows the running water and the woman's blood circling down the drain which represents her life being washed away which is conventional to a thriller as a innocent and vulnerable woman has been murdered. Another camera shot that has been used throughout the shower scene is a zoom out from her eye to her face which shows not only is she dead but her full facial expression in which the audience can see the fear and shock in her face which makes them uncomfortable as they did not anticipate that.
There are many camera angles that have been used as well, including a straight on angle which shows the woman's scared facial expression as she is being attacked, there is also a high angle shot in which we witness the killing from a birds eye view which represents the murderer being more powerful than the woman which is conventional to a Thriller as the woman is vulnerable and is fighting to stay alive. There is an extreme close up of the womans eye, the fact that it is wide open with no movement indicates she is dead, there is also a close up on the murder weapon which is conventional to a thriller and makes the audience uncomfortable as they can see the brutal murder taking place.