DeflemM@yahoo.com
.
This
online essay was first developed in April 1999. Revisions: June 2002, March
2003, June 2007.
This
page is part of Hitchcockonline.org.
OPENING
PAGE
.
PREFACE
This
essay analyzes the films of Alfred Hitchcock from a sociological perspective
that thematically focuses on the themes of guilt and innocence. This presentation
is illustrated with production stills, movie posters, and movie segments.
 |
The
analysis will rely on some of Hitchcock’s more popular movies, such as
Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960), but also discussed are some of his less
known films, including Lifeboat (1944) and Rope (1948), as well as some
of his earlier work, such as Sabotage (1936). The discussion will use insights
from the ‘auteur’ theory, popularized by François Truffaut’s interviews
with Hitchcock, and the notion of ‘pure cinema,’ Hitchcock’s ideal of movie
making.
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| UPDATE
2007
This
essay has been last and finally revised in June 2007. Through the years,
the medium of the internet has changed dramatically. To quite some extent,
this essay reflects the state of the internet in 1999, and it will be kept
that way. From 2007 onwards, no more changes will be made, lest we would
also colorize black and white movies... I have added some Youtube clips
on the Bibliography page. I apologize should some of the links to external
sites not work. |
|
A
TECHNICAL NOTE
To
usefully view these pages I suggest you access the internet through MS
Internet Explorer. You will also need to use
a heavy-duty computer to experience this paper in all its splendor (Pentium
II or higher) with a sound card and Real Player (click here for details
on Real
Player).
STILL
PICTURES are mostly inserted into the
text and occasionally linked,  such
as this poster from
Dial
M for Murder. You can clickandclose
the pop-up windows! Some pictures contain moving images, such as this image
of a scene in Psycho.
Many of the images are linked (when your cursor changes to a hand, click
for added pleasure). Always close the pop-up
windows after viewing.
MOVIE
SEGMENTS
are shown through linked Real
Player files and are indicated by the Real Player logo. Occassionally,
sounds are linked from words in the text. Accessing a sound should take
only few seconds, while accessing a movie scene can take up to a minute
or so.
I have chosen to stylize this
presentation with many illustrations. I encourage
viewers to scroll through these pages slowly to better experience the images
and sounds. A Table of Contents
is provided at the bottom of each page.
The original version of this
essay was presented at the annual meeting of the Law and Society Association,
Chicago, May 27, 1999. I thank Vanessa Barker, Elizabeth Heger Boyle, Jeffrey
S. McIllwain, and Gerald M. Turkel for feedback. I am also grateful to
the many Hitchcock fans whose webpages have contributed to improve my site,
including, in particular, Reel
Classics, The
MacGuffin Web Page, and other Hitchcock websites.
I
hope you will enjoy this presentation and
welcome
your feedback!
Go
to the Next Page
Mathieu
Deflem
DeflemM@yahoo.com
.
This
page is part of Hitchcockonline.org.
DeflemM@yahoo.com
www.mathieudeflem.net
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