The Master of Suspense: The Techniques of alfred hitchcock


In an interview about Belleville, playwright Amy Herzog explains that there are certain technical requirements for creating a thriller to build and sustain suspense throughout a piece. She and director Anne Kauffman describe watching classic suspense movies like Gaslight and Suspicion as part of their preparation for the first production.


Suspicion is directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who is known by many filmmakers as the “Master of Suspense.” From the 1940s to the 1960s, Hitchcock directed a number of films which are now considered classic examples of the suspense genre, including Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960) and Te Birds (1963). Te following are some of the techniques that Hitchcock used to create suspense in his films.


Rear Window movie poster


from view. In doing this, the audience gets to share the protagonist’s perspective, however limited that might be and to experience things in the same way that they do.


Alfred Hitchcock Controlling audiences’ focus and point of view:


Hitchcock was very deliberate about what he allows the audience to see on the screen and what is hidden


11


One of the best examples of this technique is Rear Window, in which the protagonist, Jeff Jeffries, is a photographer who is wheelchair-bound and completely confined to his apartment. Because of his situation, he spends his days looking out the window and spying on his neighbors through his camera lens. In this film, Hitchcock links the audience’s perspective with Jeff’s so that they only see what happens in his apartment and what he can see out of his window. In this way, the audience experiences many of the same emotions that Jeff does and is also able to be surprised by the events that unfold right along with him.


Te following is a link to a clip from Rear Window to help illustrate this concept. http://www.youtube.comwatch?v=1Ez6dw3ywcc


http://www.flickr.com/photos/10699036@N08/2996205252/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/xissey/7285245938/


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18