Hitch
By: Erin Huang-Schaffer
I have seen exactly twenty films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This whole thing started when I found out Saboteur was on Netflix Instant Play (which, sadly, no longer is). As my classic movie obsession was just growing at the time, I thought it would be interesting to give it a try (I'm a lot more picky now).
And that's when the way I saw movies dramatically changed. I wasn't just looking for big stars and epic stories, I was looking for something deeper. The details within the movie. And Hitch was the master of detail.
I don't know exactly how to explain it, but every film he touched had a spell over it. The actors acted in ways you had never seen them and the camera was totally alive, circling and zooming and capturing the smallest objects you would ever have noticed.
He was a filmmaker who played with your emotions, and left you with images that will never leave your memory. In my opinion, he changed everything.
He had a way of causing you to hold your breath and wring your hands as the heaviest sense of danger and faintest sense of gore hit you with every camera shot. The fear would seep out of a hallway light clicking off, a key clutched in a fist, the final clang of an orchestra. If those examples sound dull, trust me: they're not.
Hitchcock's movies draw fear out of things that aren't generally thought to be terrifying. How can you cope with a fear you can't even identify? He is not only responsible for thousands of nightmares, but the unease and mystery that surrounds them.
I remember the scene in Rear Window where the villain turns to the camera, and makes direct eye contact with the protagonist for the first time.
And I screamed. I don't know why. It's like all those nightmares I had when I was little, being chased by some monster until it finally grabs your ankle. You know you're done for, and just want it to stop.
But at the same time I was super giddy, almost laughing. I couldn't wait for the next moment of suspense. And then the hallway scene… well, I won't give it away.
But I guess what I'm trying to say is, I found a scary movie medium that I actually had fun watching. What's the point of feeling scared if there's no payoff?
Every dark, gorgeous, moody shadow cast over a heart-wrenched actor, each shot cut to more than perfection… this makes me want to watch a Hitchcock movie right now, but it's [time I am ashamed to state] – so probably not right now… sleepy time. Be right back in some hours.
Erin's Favorite Hitchcock Films:
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 version)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Saboteur (1942)
• Notorious (1946)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• Rear Window (1954)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version)
• Vertigo (1958)
• North by Northwest (1959)
And that's when the way I saw movies dramatically changed. I wasn't just looking for big stars and epic stories, I was looking for something deeper. The details within the movie. And Hitch was the master of detail.
I don't know exactly how to explain it, but every film he touched had a spell over it. The actors acted in ways you had never seen them and the camera was totally alive, circling and zooming and capturing the smallest objects you would ever have noticed.
He was a filmmaker who played with your emotions, and left you with images that will never leave your memory. In my opinion, he changed everything.
He had a way of causing you to hold your breath and wring your hands as the heaviest sense of danger and faintest sense of gore hit you with every camera shot. The fear would seep out of a hallway light clicking off, a key clutched in a fist, the final clang of an orchestra. If those examples sound dull, trust me: they're not.
Hitchcock's movies draw fear out of things that aren't generally thought to be terrifying. How can you cope with a fear you can't even identify? He is not only responsible for thousands of nightmares, but the unease and mystery that surrounds them.
I remember the scene in Rear Window where the villain turns to the camera, and makes direct eye contact with the protagonist for the first time.
And I screamed. I don't know why. It's like all those nightmares I had when I was little, being chased by some monster until it finally grabs your ankle. You know you're done for, and just want it to stop.
But at the same time I was super giddy, almost laughing. I couldn't wait for the next moment of suspense. And then the hallway scene… well, I won't give it away.
But I guess what I'm trying to say is, I found a scary movie medium that I actually had fun watching. What's the point of feeling scared if there's no payoff?
Every dark, gorgeous, moody shadow cast over a heart-wrenched actor, each shot cut to more than perfection… this makes me want to watch a Hitchcock movie right now, but it's [time I am ashamed to state] – so probably not right now… sleepy time. Be right back in some hours.
Erin's Favorite Hitchcock Films:
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 version)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Saboteur (1942)
• Notorious (1946)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• Rear Window (1954)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version)
• Vertigo (1958)
• North by Northwest (1959)