Hitchcock As Auteur
- None Of Us Can Help The Things Life Has Done To Us. Taking Mary ... - "Auteur," is central. The auteur theory of art as expression of personal...
Submitted by Sazzey on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
- Category: History Other
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Hitchcock As Auteur
It has been suggested that to be an auteur director clear characteristics are needed. These are:
Visual style, mise-en-scene and cinematography.
Narrative structures and features.
Particular character traits and situations.
Sets of themes.
Hitchcock was a favourite auteur of the French critic Truffaut, who through interviews established Hitchcock as the quintessential auteur who exerted unprecedented creative control over his films.
He even managed to avoid studio constraints by not overshooting, making interference from editors difficult. This is thanks to the keen eye and experienced background as an art director, designer, writer and script supervisor, and the important education gained by observing the German craftsmen, such as Murnau. Due to this experience he would rarely look through a camera lens. Yet he sketched out every shot beforehand thoroughly explained to the cinematographer what he wanted. This meant he could orchestrate all set activity from his seat. As he grew older, as techniques advanced and he acquired greater production control a consistent vision became observable.
Hitchcock followed 5 basic plot formations with occasional overlapping between each. These are:
1. The story about the falsely accused man.
2. The story about the guilty woman.
3. The story about the psychopath.
4. The story about espionage/ political intrigue.
5. The story about marriage.
Within the story of the falsely accused man the form of the double chase' plot structure is typically evident. The lead man is guilty of something, but not of the crime accused. In the case of North by Northwest, Roger Thornhill is innocent of being a spy and of murder, but is guilty of being an egotistical playboy. The hero, Thornhill, is persued by the police, while he persues the true villains. This can also be seen in the 39 Steps, Strangers On a Train,...
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