Year Of Production: 1954
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Genre/Genres: Mystery/ Romance/ Thriller
Brief Plot Outline:
A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his window, in the hope of relieving boredom. After spying on his neighbours for a while and learning their routines, he eventually becomes convinced one of them has committed a murder after seeing 'suspicious' activity.
Which two scenes impressed you the most? Why?
1) As Lisa is breaking into the apartment, the music in the background from the other room adds a suspenseful and unusual feel to the scene - this gets the viewer on edge as they watch. The reasoning behind this may because the music is contrapuntal to the scene, as it is fairly happy, contradictory to the suspenseful and potentially frightening prospect of her actions she is undertaking.
2) The slow montage of sound at the door as the antagonist nears L.B Jefferies apartment. This builds a lot of suspense, using close-ups and low-key lighting to give a more sinister effect.
How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of film making? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How?
-Contrapuntal music when 'J.B.' sees the mysterious man in a black coat for the first time - fairground style music, funny for the couple moving their bed, but uncomfortably strange - suiting the sinister man in black.
-Point of view shots of 'J.B' looking out at his neighbourhood - this puts us in his shoes, making us feel the suspense far more, and gets us thinking the same thing as he may be thinking. Ultimately, putting us into the diegesis, helping us connect emotionally to the main character better.
-Sex & taboo - The girl dancing in her underwear as 'J.B' spies on her. This scene, and in fact the whole movie explores the idea of voyeurism a great deal, reflecting Hitchcock's auteur influence.
-Clever use of montage's, particular to Hitchcock's film style. This can be accurately represented by his slow build up to the killer entering the room, and the editing becomes progressively quicker and quicker as the drama unfolds.
Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why?
-Point of view shots - I feel this adds an immersive feel to the viewing, messing with the audiences emotions far more.
-Slow fades - this adds a very nice effect, showing a good transition of time and helps maximise the effect of a slow montage of shots creating tension.
Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer? Why?
-Romance & relationships - I feel this can detract horror from being the main focal point of the movie, making it slow moving and boring for a horror/thriller, which is meant to be fast-paced and full of action.
Therefor, in my own trailer I would like to include quicker montages - especially at the end of my trailer, to get the audiences heart pounding.
What was the best aspect / more enjoyable moment in the film? Why? Can you recreate this in your own film? How?
-Flashes from the light bulb in the camera, adding a disorienting effect - this gives the viewer a quick 'shock'.
-Combination of low-key lighting and flashes, and increasing the speed of shots to maximise the sense of panic.
How does the film show the influence of its "auteur" director? How does it show the director's film making style and soul? Give examples of three scenes from the movie that show their auteur style.
-J.B.'s possible future wife is a beautiful, blonde-haired woman, much like the girl dancing in the window - This was one of Hitchcock's obsessions.
-The killing and supposed 'cutting' up of the antagonists's wife. Hitchcock's 'torture' of women, which will be explored in the 2013 film, "Hitchcock and Me".
-Rapid use / variation of montages and editing to build tension. Hitchcock was obsessed with using editing to create suspense / different emotions in his films.
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