Alfred Hitchcock Background Information

SIR ALFRED JOSEPH HITCHCOCK

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock - 13 August 1899 (Leytonstone, London) – 29 April 1980 (Bel Air, Los Angeles) - is a British director and producer. He was most famously known for his suspense and psychological thriller genres. After many hits in silent films and early 'talkies' he moved to Hollywood. In 1956, he became and American citizen.
His career lasted over half a century, in which time he created his own distinctive style and movement of the camera. He controlled the camera to mimic that of a person's gaze, forcing the viewers to engage in a form of 'voyeurism'. He framed shots in a certain way to make the audience empathise with the characters featured. This gave an adrenaline shot of anxiety and fear.
A majority of his films have been based on the idea that the main character is running from the law, of which they are blonde and female. Similarly, most of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling, spine tingling plots, hence the term 'psychological thriller'. They normally depict violence, murder and crime and to accentuate the extremely complex psychological examinations of Hitchcock's characters. He also tends to add discreet sexual undertones to his films.
Hitchcock became a cultural icon where he included himself as a cameo in his films, trailers and the television 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'.
The Daily Telegraph stated: "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else."
The magazine 'MovieMaker' has described Hitchcock as the most influential film-maker of all-time, and he is widely regarded as one of cinema's most significant artists.

FILMOGRAPHY:

Psycho (1960)

The Birds (1963)

North by Northwest (1959)

Rear Window (1954)

Dial M for Murder (1954)

To Catch a Thief (1955)

Strangers On A Train (1951)

The Lady Vanishes (1954)

Vertigo (1958)

Rope (1948)

Marnie (1964)

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHPCLfY4ni8

Above is a link to a youtube video I found which shows Hitchcock discussing the film 'Psycho' we are studying and analysing in class at the moment.