Both of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, North by Northwest and Rear Window, were great movies with lots of suspense. The suspense, however, would not have been created without the entire mise-en-scene of the movies. Hitchcock was a master at using the elements of lighting, sound, and cinematography to heighten the suspense in his movies. The first key element of mise-en-scene that played a significant role in both movies was lighting. In North by Northwest, the part right before the infamous crop duster scene had lots of details that helped prepare the audience for what was about to come. First of all, everything was extremely bright with the use of high-key lighting. This helps set the time of day, probably mid afternoon, but it also forces the …show more content…
In the North by Northwest scene previously mentioned in the last paragraph, there were very little diegetic sounds. The only sounds that are heard are the vehicles on the road as they drove past Thornhill, the distant sound of the crop duster, and Thornhill’s own feet walking across the gravel. The almost silent scene forces the audience to stay in high alert, adding to the suspense. In contrast, the movie, Rear Window, has many diegetic sounds, from the distant conversations, the city traffic, the yapping dog, to the struggling pianist playing on his piano day in and day out. All of these sounds could represent Jeff’s own state of mind. For example, when Jeff overhears the bickering between Mr. and Mrs. Thorwald, it reminds him of his own fears about commitment and marriage. Hitchcock masterfully used an abundance of noise and the almost complete absence of sound to affect the suspense in these two …show more content…
The bird’s eye view shots in North by Northwest created true “cliffhanging” suspense, like the Mt. Rushmore chase scene. The use of wide-angle shots gave the audience a feeling of helplessness that feeds into the suspense. Also, the camera would cut quickly between actors to give a sense of urgency and fear. By comparison, Rear Window’s cinematography seems less rushed and urgent, but that does not mean it is any less suspenseful. The film was shot mainly from Jeff’s perspective, in his apartment looking across the courtyard into his neighbors’ windows. The movie mainly focuses on the use of fade in/fade out techniques, representing Jeff falling asleep and waking up, the passing of time, and the shutter of Jeff’s camera lens. While North by Northwest and Rear Window seem to have few similarities on the surface, both movies use expert cinematography to convey suspense. In conclusion, lighting, diegetic sounds, and cinematography are three key elements of mise-en-scene that director Alfred Hitchcock uses in his movies, specifically North by Northwest and Rear Window. These elements are skillfully integrated into these movies to create suspense that keeps the audience on their toes, questioning what is going to happen next, and wanting more. Even though Hitchcock used these techniques in completely different ways, the end result for both was a timeless, suspenseful
Terence Davies film, “The Long Day Closes” portrays the life of a young homosexual boy living in a postwar society. The main protagonist Bud, represents Davies experience of the good and troubled times that childhood and his sexuality brought him. The Tammy’s in Love scene flawlessly applies mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound to depict the underlying message of finding yourself, a theme that is emphasized throughout the film. The use of mise-en-scene signifies the importance of the setting and surroundings by allowing the viewer to make connections between imagery and plot relevance.
Hitchcock utilizes sound, camera work, MacGuffins, and plot twists to tell the storylines of the movies. Hitchcock understood the importance of camera work and sound because he began his career making silent films.12 It is why he uses many close up shots so the audience can pay attention to specific details and the emotions on the character’s face. He does not rely on dialogue to tell the story. He uses sound to help convey the message of a scene.
“Rear Window” has caused a lot of controversy ever since the Hitchcock movie hit theaters back in 1954. Rear Window is actually based on the short story, “It Had to Be Murder,” that was written by Cornell Woolrich. Years later Woolrich decided to sell the rights of this particular story to a newly production company. That production company later would sell the rights to the story to Hitchock and Stewart. They would later produce the movie known as “Rear Window.”
One of Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous movie scene is the ‘crop duster’ scene from North By Northwest. This scene demonstrates how the score and music of a film is incredibly important to build up tension in a classic thriller. The film’s music and scores were written by Bernard Herrmann, a well-known Hollywood composer (hitchcock.tv). In the infamous crop duster scene, Herrmann and Hitchcock used diegetic sounds to build suspense and uncertainty. The diegetic or natural sounds emphasized the distance of objects from the protagonist.
Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock is a fillm full of symbolism and motifs that provides viewers with a bigger meaning. It shows these rhetorical appeals through Hitchcok’s eyes that would not be recognized if not analyzed. Through these appeals I have recognized the window as being a symbol and marriage and binoculars as motifs. After understanding much more than what the eye anitially sees when viewing this film there is a fine line between understanding what is going on in the film and observing what the protagonist Jeff is viewing.
What he does not know is that she actually works for Vandamm. More action-packed events, involving the two characters, occur, all leading to a dramatic ending sequence of events. Alfred Hitchcock has created a masterpiece for the cinematic sphere of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions. On Sept. 17, the thriller North by Northwest made its debut in the country of origin, the United States. It stars Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint.
Alfred Hitchcock 's Rear Window explores the lives of those who feel isolated within society. The 1954 film, set in the tenements of Grenwich village, depicts those who are incapable of fitting into society 's expectations, as well as those who feel isolated from common interaction with others. Moreover, Hitchcock displays how its human nature to seek comfort and deeper connection even with those who are surrounded by others. Despite depicting characters as lonely, the progression of the film illustrates how individuals can be freed from isolation. The director asserts the loneliness and struggle that comes from fitting into social mores.
In 1954, Alfred Hitchcock released a psychological thriller titled Rear Window. The film focuses on L.B. 'Jeff' Jefferies (James Stewart) who is a broken leg, wheelchair bound photographer. And out of boredom he looks out his rear window into the rear windows of his neighbors’ apartments. Hitchcock’s use props and camera angles, in the opening scene of Rear Window, gives reason and empathy to L.B. Jefferies’s actions. The opening shot begins with a clarinet and other instruments join to play jazzy, happy music, which may lead the audience to believe that they are about to see a romantic comedy instead of a psychological thriller.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window has several themes. One major theme is relationships. The lead character, Jeff Jeffries, a photographer and committed bachelor, is involved in a relationship with Lisa Fremont, a model, although the relationship has some tension due to Jeff’s lack of commitment. When Jeff is confined to his apartment recovering from a broken leg, he begins spying through his rear window on his neighbors in a nearby apartment. Through her frequent visits, Lisa is drawn into this spying as well.
With Rear Window (1954), Alfred Hitchcock proved himself to be one of the best directors of suspense thrillers filled with mystery and humour. He himself called the film his most cinematic one because it was told only in visual terms (Morrow), but it was also a challenging “editing experiment” as the entire film was shot from one place, Jeff’s apartment that overlooked his backyard. The Film follows L.B. Jeffries “Jeff” (James Stewart), a photographer confined to a wheelchair in his apartment after breaking his leg at work. He spends his days watching his neighbours and eventually suspects that one of them killed his wife. His caretaker, his girlfriend Lisa and his detective friend, at first unconvinced of his suspicion, eventually join him in his voyeurism and help him to solve the crime.
These were explored by the use of the motifs of birds, eyes, hands and mirrors (Filmsite.org, n.d.). Hitchcock skilfully guides the audiences through a tale
He uses such scenes to make audience more interested to watch his movies and find Alfred Hitchcock. Similarly, He uses himself as Cameo in “North by Northwest” movie. In that scene, he is playing a role of community person who is going home from work but he misses his bus. This scene comes during first two minutes of the movie. Even though these scenes are of only
A good example of this would be when Hannay and Pamela entered the hotel and talked to the hotel owners. Hitchcock zoomed into the owners face where no dialogue was needed to show that the characters were suspicious at first. Now, in order to show Hannay and Pamela’s marriage link through the film’s imagery, Hitchcock used a variety of imagery to suggest a romantic relationship link. The handcuffs could be seen as a symbol of wedding rings. Also the scene where they got into the car with the mistaken police, can be seen as the moment where they are off to their own honeymoon, which they later do go to a hotel and appear to be a recent married couple.
During the final scene when the killer, Mr. Thorwald, finds his way into the hero, L.B Jeffries room, the speed of the film is slowed down to create an engaging feeling of suspense. Pace and tempo is the speed of the movie and how quickly everything is happening. This is a very important aspect of movies and Hitchcock has mastered this technique, allowing him to create suspense for his audience. Hitchcock slows down the pace of the movie, making the viewers anticipate what is about to come and leave them with the feeling of suspense. This scene starts off with Mr. Thorwald slowly entering Jeffries room.
Alfred Hitchcock is a British film director whose work has transcended and influence new generations. Since the beginning of his career his talent, unique ideas as well as his great knowledge of technique call the attention of producers. Since The Lodger, the first movie made with Hitchcock´s signature style, the themes as well as the symbols in each movie became recurrent and well establish. Despite Hitchcock’s lack of formal training in cinema, he manage to became an iconic director and become one of the masters of suspense and mystery. In this essay will be described the highlights of Hitchcock´s career, his first Hitchcockian film as well as his adaptation to the technical changes in sound.