Thriller History Research: Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (born 13 August 1899 and died 29 April 1980) was an English film director and producer. He was known to have been one of the first founding directors of the thriller genre with his first thriller ‘The Lodger’ (1926). He set the guideline for future directors on how to approach making a thriller and defined what it is today through his techniques in cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene and sound. His career lasted over half a century in British cinema in both silent films and early sound films.

'Vertigo' Poster

'The Lodger' Poster

     

He established many techniques in the suspense and psychological movie genre. His directing style was distinctive and therefore recognisable. For example, in his 1958 film, 'Vertigo', he used a new type of shot for the first time known as the ‘trombone shot’ where the camera zooms in and tracks out at the same time. He framed shots and used innovative editing techniques to maximise fear and anxiety which he believed to be one of the most important elements of a thriller – “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”

Besides cinematography, context was also important. He would utilise thrilling plots and twist endings which contained violence, murder and crime – “Always make the audience suffer as much as possible”. When it came to mysteries in particular, he made very good use of decoys known as 'Red Herrings' or 'MacGuffins' to feed false information to the audience.  

Below is the opening sequence to his film 'Vertigo' along with some interviews about what thrillers mean to him, his past experiences and techniques he used in his films. 

Since Hitchcock is considered to be one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, I shall use the techniques that he used and developed throughout his career. For example, he is not obscure when it comes to conveying detail - in his films he makes sure to set the scene through cinematography and editing - everything is shown for a purpose which is what I hope to incorporate in my own work when it comes to my short film (e.g. a panning shot to set the location of the scene or a zoom in shot to signify importance). In terms of context, he always keeps the audience on the edge of their seats by using twists in the plot and dramatic irony - as a director he is able to evoke specific emotions and feelings out the audience which I shall strive towards.