Humanity is a quality gained and one that Alfred Hitchcock shows is the only attribute worth anything in human existence. Possibly its most valuable appearance is when the viewer is made made aware that it is a theme. Uncle Charlie, played by Joseph Cotton, is seen throughout the movie by others as a man with humanity as he moves along showing respect to all and even donating all of his funds in the town bank to the Children's hospital right before leaving town. As he was heading out, people gathered round to say their goodbyes," Bless you for your gift to our hospital." The towns people were awing for Uncle Charlie's gratitude," The children will bless you, too." He acts humane to cover up his true self, his secrets, his humanity is used to
In the movie there were particular characters who played their roles very convincingly. One of them, Uncle Quentin, was portrayed as an absent minded professor who was extremely scholarly and brilliant with matters of mathematics and science however was befuddled by everyday occurrences such as paying bills, excitable children and barking dogs. He was usually shouting at the other characters and constantly bumbling into walls and doors. This portrayed him in a humorous light and audience members would be drawn into the portrayal of this socially inept genius and the exchanges between him and other characters in the
Alfred Hitchcock is known for his masters of works in the film industry. The film he is most famous for is Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock`s Psycho was critically acclaimed not only in the horror genre but within the entire film scene. It encompasses several key themes, which are portrayed through cinematic devices such as camera movement and sound, sound, lighting and costume and set design. The subject of madness becomes increasingly evident as the film progresses, centering on the peculiar character that is Norman Bates.
Now we will address a few of these from the film. First, Drawing parallels between characters with a difference, usually a negative one, is a repeated concept in Hitchcock films. Such as in the film “Strangers On a Train”, where Bruno ends up killing Guys’ wife while Guy had himself been desiring to be rid of her somehow. Here in “Rear Window” early in the film we can see this between Lisa and Jeff to Thorwald
The movie “Walkout” is about young Chicano/a activists who demand educational equality. In 1968, students living in East L.A were treated unequally. Since, most of these students were Chicanos they were given few resources. One example was presented when Paula visited the Palisades library. In East Los Angeles, bathrooms were close during lunch breaks and students were forced to janitorial labor as forms of punishment. Throughout, the movie some themes that arose were regarding identity (What is a Chicano?), walkouts as forms of protest for equality, and gender expectations. After Salvador Castro read the poem “I am Joaquin” by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez, the Chicano/a activist’s had a hard time understanding who they were. Many Chicano/a’s identified
The characters in Hitchcock's films play a very important role in creating the tensions and twists, causing that heart stopping moment where you just want to yell at the TV.
Orson Welles’ portrayal of happiness in ‘Citizen Kane’ shows the enduring value of the film as happiness is an emotion that is not only sought after by Mr Kane but also by all of humanity. Citizen Kane reflects the life of Mr Kane who tries pave over the void that has been created by losing the emotion of happiness. This is portrayed through his yearning to relieve his childhood and be the child who played in the snow once again, the relationships that he tries to create especially with his wives try to gain marital happiness and his materialistic lifestyle which he tries to see whether money can actually bring happiness. The complex nature of happiness is shown to heavily contribute to the enduring value of the film as happiness is shown to be a constant theme which is universal. The film also being a thinly veiled parody of the life of William Randolph Hearst the newspaper magnate contributes to the enduring value because of the realistic style of the film.
Ralph recognizes the importance of his “true, wise friend Piggy”. Yet concurrently, they see “the darkness of man’s heart”.
From the lavish mansions of Hollywood stars to the cigarette smoke filled offices of broke screenwriters, the 1950 noir movie Sunset Boulevard remains a timeless classic with a stunning story of an actress gone mad, and a screenwriter just trying to squeak by. This film is the first pre-1960’s flick that has left me with a feeling of awe. The first word that comes to mind after the credits begin to roll is just“wow!”. I was struck by the intriguing plotline and brilliant execution of the story. Not only is the film a classic for its gripping story, and twisted power dynamics, it also shows amazing camera work and brilliant acting.
The movie begins with self-centered, materialistic Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), learning the death of his father. To settle his dad’s estate, he and his business partner/girlfriend, Susanna (Valeria Golino) travel to his home town Cincinnati. While he was hoping to inherit all of his dad’s estate, all he got was a car and a collection of rosebushes that he simply has no use for. The remaining $3 million fortune was put into a trust for an unnamed beneficiary. Charlie demands to know the identity of the beneficiary and finds out that it is a mental hospital where his long-lost autistic brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) resides with a caretaker, Dr. Bruner (Gerald R. Molen).
Through his choice of setting, camera angles and lighting, Hitchcock makes the conversation at the bar a pivotal scene. The audience and young Charlie are finally brought into Uncle Charlie’s world. This scene’s contrast to the stereotypical American town is what makes this scene so important. Even though Uncle Charlie was able to conceal his true self from most of Santa Rosa, a few people saw him for what he really was. Just like there is a bar in every American town, there is evil as well.
The movie Psycho, is one of the most influential movie in Cinema history to date. The director Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to test many of the conventions of movie making that was common at that time. Alfred Hitchcock movie broke many cultural taboos and challenged the censors. Alfred Hitchcock showed a whole bunch of at the time absurd scene, for example: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) dying naked while taking a shower, Norman Bates with split personality disorder, and the first ever flushing toilet shown in a movie. Because from the late 1920's to the late 1950's, movies were made usually go around the story, and usually with a lot dialogue. This movie gives the audience an experience that was much more emotional and intuitive. The viewers were caught up in a roller coaster of shock, surprise and suspense based on image, editing and sound.
“ It’s crazy, all that blood and violence. I thought you were supposed to be the love generation”. Conservative mother, Estelle Collingwood says to her daughter Mari in the beginning of Wes Craven’s cult classic The Last House on the Left (1972). With the war in Vietnam in full swing and the long term effects of the Manson family murders, the peace and love counter culture was at the end of an era. American society had become more violent and corrupt, as were the films Hollywood was starting to release. And with the new generation’s style of filmmaking and recent MPAA rating system, filmmakers were pushing the boundaries of their films and shocking audiences and critics to the core. With new filmmakers kicking down the door of Hollywood every year, it’s no surprise that soon-to-be horror icon Wes Craven would fit perfectly into the new generation of Hollywood. Craven’s early films fall into the exploitation category. They were severely gruesome, repulsive, appalling, and ended up being banned in several countries. Craven would go on to make films that reflect on contemporary society by using a number of recurring themes and formal filmmaking aesthetics that included:
First and foremost, the scene where Uncle Charlie wakes up parallels directly to the scene of little Charlie waking up. The director makes it obvious that these two characters will be linked in some way through this use of doubles. Later in the film, we find that these two characters are closely connected but have a contrasting relationship. Their relationship was one of much love when Uncle first arrived to the family, and suddenly turned sour when little Charlie told Uncle that there was something inside him that no one knew.
I see Charlie attempting desperately to act out of character. Adept at business he has shown ability, humility and perseverance. However, he seems to be out of touch with the manifested feelings of others his path has crossed.
...of all responsibility (for, of course, there is no way that a normal person could ever kill.) In keeping with this principle the film attempts to absolve Young Charlie from all responsibility in her Uncle's death, for it is seen as an accident that occurred when Young Charlie was fighting her Uncle in self-defence. In the final stages of the film we are brought back to the small town introduced to us in the beginning, this time, however, it is in morning for a beloved son. Charlie's death has brought Graham back to Young Charlie. We can see the good side has won the battle for her. As in early situational Charlie has learned her moral lesson and the episode may end.