![]() ![]() ![]() The first statement is the most important objection. The main reasons given for dismissing Hitchcock as a major artist may be summarized as: 1) "He is concerned only with suspense, and not with characterization, psychological insight, or meaningful themes." 2) "His technique is poor, alternating between the gimmicky and the unrealistic, and his actors are often inept." 3) "He is more concerned with popularity and profits than art." It would be worthwhile to explore the objections so many serious and intelligent movie-goers have to Hitchcock's works, for any answers that can be provided to these misgivings must also be statements about the nature of film itself. I wish to stress "film" director, for his stature cannot be seriously appreciated by anyone still viewing the cinema (whether or not he will acknowledge this to be so) as an auxiliary of literature or the theater. To my mind, Alfred Hitchcock is the greatest living film director. While Resnais, Fellini, Antonioni and Penn (excellent auteurs all) become the successive darlings of the art-house crowd, the achievements of Hitchcock are ignored, his taste and intelligence dismissed. Sadly enough, Hitchcock has himself suffered a similar fate.ĭespised by critics (any daily newspaper reviewer is evidence of this) and scorned by intellectuals (witness Stanley Kauffman's oblique attack in a recent "New Republic") the Master of Suspense is cheered on only by those who know him best - the audience. HITCHCOCK, by Francois Truffaut, Simon and Schuster, 1967, 256 pages, $10.00.Ī recurrent situation in many of the films of Alfred Hitchcock is that of a hero, wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit, being pursued by both police and the real criminals, with only the audience (and often but a small portion of the audience) aware of his innocence and valor. ![]() keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Perkins, Cahiers du Cinéma, Cary Grant, Claude Rains, François Truffaut, Grace Kelly, Hitchcock (1967) by François Truffaut, Ingrid Bergman, James Stewart, Kaleidoscope, Lifeboat (1944), London, England, Marnie (1964), Psycho (1960), Rear Window (1954), Rich and Strange (1931), Rope (1948), Royal Albert Hall, London, Sean Connery, Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Strangers on a Train (1951), The Birds (1963), The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), The Pleasure Garden (1925).newspaper: Columbia Daily Spectator (13/Feb/1968). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |