Film 2120 1st Edition Lecture 21 Outline of Last Lecture I. Mode of productionII. Authorship criticismIII. What are the advantages of authorship criticism? IV. Types of authorship criticism Outline of Current Lecture I. Alfred HitchcockII. Biography III. Themes and Patterns Current LectureI. Alfred HitchcockA. Ultimate auteur in mainstream films B. Entertaining directorC. Style: greatest director ever at controlling audience expectations- master of suspense - he does a hierarchy-usually the audience knows more than the characterswhich creates suspense D. Cameos: appears in nearly everyone of his films E. Public persona: gave Hitchcock an authorial presence on TV right around the time critics took up the cause II. Biography A. 1920s-assistant to great directors in Germany like Fritz LangB. 1922-made the first talking picture in the UK(blackmall)-show some of his themes C. 1930s- in the UK he made a series of classy, sexy films about international espionage D. 1939-moved to Hollywood and worked for several studios- he was his own producer(overseer and does finance)- first Hollywood film-Rebecca(1940)III. Themes and patterns These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.A. Ordinary people-plunged into danger or getting mixed up in criminal activity 1. The wrong man2. The guilty woman3. Example: Walter White from Breaking Bad has Hitchcock characteristics-at the end of the series he becomes the guilty manB. Transference of guilt-even characters who are heroes in his film share some of the blameC. Violence and crime-audience is also implicated D. Doubling-parallels between the protagonist and the antagonist-uses technique to transfer guilt in the hero and the villain so they are actually similar people 1. Bad guy is a little good 2. They look alike E. Narration1. Suspense vs. surprise- The bomb under the table - If the audience does not know what is coming then the range of narrationis restricted to exclude the audience-we are surprised - If the audience does know what is coming then the narration is unrestricted-we become more suspenseful 2. Alteration between restricted and unrestricted - More general technique even when suspense not involved-toying with characters 3. Perceptual subjectivity- P.O.V shots, eyeline matches and other devices force us to align ourselves with characters. We are put in the position of both killers and victims - Forced identification-became like ordinary people of his films who are involved in criminality and
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