Felix Colon

Mr. Skeldon

Film as a Cultural Lens

October 23, 2007

Paper

Is Hitchcock An Auteur?

Alfred Hitchcock was a famous screen director since 1922. He uses many different approaches in his films.  He is known as the master of mystery and suspense.  All of the films he had made plays’ with the audiences nerves.  He was influenced by the German Expressionists.  Hitchcock is indeed an auteur because of how his films are made.  He has away on focusing on his creation while showing his talent throughout the film.

In the film Psycho Hitchcock starts off with suspense from the very beginning with the close up on the old motel making the audience nervous. The motel is shot all alone to build up the character Norman.  Norman is a lonely man which the motel represents him in a way. This is run by him.  It started off as Norman being this innocent guy trying to run his business but, as the film progress it starts to show Normans true colors.  The audience had started noticing the way he is by the way he talks.  For example, when Norman had brought Miriam into the paler where he had kept his stuffed birds. He was very nervous while talking to Miriam about his hobby with the birds.  Norman’s insanity starts to grow until the famous scene.

The famous scene was the “shower scene.” In this scene Norman had dressed up in his died mothers’ clothes.  Hitchcock had used close up on the shower scene during the stabbing and the blood going down the drain.  This scene ends when Norman walks back in his regular clothes and sees her over the end of the bathtub died.  He cleans up the blood and her lifeless body was put into the shower curtain and throws her body in the trunk of the car and dumps the car into the lake.  Every single person from the audience was surprised.  These are some good examples of an auteur but, there are also more examples in “Stranger on a Train”.

The masterful way Hitchcock filmed “Strangers on a Train” demonstrates his skills of an auteur.  For instants, the unique of the shot of the two guys on the train.  In the very beginning the scene shows Bruno as Guys number one fan of him and he brings up the rumors in the papers.  Guy tries to avoid the conversation.  He brings up the divorce of him and his wife.  Bruno would ask about ways he would kill his wife.  Then Bruno would bring up ways to kill his father.  As that progressed Bruno decided to try and switch murders.  Guy wanted nothing to do with this idea.  Guy leaves his lighter behind. Throughout the film the lighter was the McGuffin.  Bruno had killed Guys wife but, Guy did not go through with his part. Since the murder did not happen he tried to frame him with the lighter but, he ended up dieing at the end. These are also examples of an auteur.

What is an auteur?  An auteur is someone who leaves a pacific signature in a film. “A film maker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp."(http://dictionary.com) This paper intends to show the Alfred Hitchcock is considered an auteur.

Work Cited:

"Alfred Hitchcock: Auteur." Tripod.Com. <http://members.tripod.com/.../Alfer>.

Dirks, Tim. "Hitchcock: the Master of Suspense Thrillers." 1996. 2007 www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html

"Dictionary.Com." 23 Oct. 2007 <www.http://dictionary.com>.