Alfred Hitchcock

Born: 1899-8-13

Birthplace: Leytonstone, London, United Kingdom

Height: 5' 7" (1.7 m)

Profession: Director, screenwriter, producer, actor, editor

Nationality: USA England

Graduate School: St. Ignatius School, University of London

Representative Works: Rear Window, Psycho, North by Northwest, Rebecca, Strangers on a Train

Alfred Hitchcock (August 13, 1899-April 29, 1980) ^[1] , was born in London, England, director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He has dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Entered the film industry as a subtitle designer in 1920 ^[2] . In 1922, he directed his first film "No. 13". Since 1925, he has independently directed films. The suspense film " The Lodger ", written and directed by himself in 1926, became the work that established his filming style ^[3-4] . The thriller " Blackmail " directed in 1929 became Britain's first sound film ^[5] . The mystery film " The 39 Steps " directed in 1935 laid the foundation for the formation of spy thrillers ^[6] . In 1938, he won the New York Film Critics Association Award for Best Director with the love mystery film " The Lady Vanishes " ^[7] . In 1939, he went to the United States to develop his film industry. The suspense film " Rebecca " directed in 1940 established its position in Hollywood ^[8] and won the 13th Oscars Best Picture Award ^[9] . The thriller " Suspicion " was filmed in 1941, and the film won the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the Japan Film Festival. In 1948, he independently produced his first color film " Rope " ^[10] .

In 1954, he filmed the thriller " Dial M for Murder ", and used stereoscopic film technology for the first time ^[11] . In 1955, he was nominated for the 27th Oscars Best Director Award with the mystery film " Rear Window " ^[12] . In 1958, the self-directed and self-acted suspense drama " Hitchcock Theater Season 1 " won the 15th Golden Globe Award for Best TV Series. In 1959, he directed the suspenseful film " North by Northwest ", which won the Silver Sea Shell Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The thriller " Psycho " directed in 1960 marked that psychological thrillers became a subgenre of horror movies ^[13] . In 1968, he won the 40th Oscars Irving Thalberg Memorial Award ^[14] . In 1971, he was awarded the Knights Medal of the French Legion of Honor. In 1979, he won the Oscars Lifetime Achievement Award ^[15] . He was awarded the title of knight in 1980 ^[16] . In 2007, he was selected by the British film magazine "Total Film" as "the first of the hundred great directors in history" ^[17] .

Early Experience

Alfred Hitchcock was born into a Catholic family in Leytonstone, London, England . When he was young, he was imprisoned by the police for being naughty, and he developed a lifelong phobia of the police . In 1907, he moved to London with his family .

In October 1910, he started a three-year study life at St. Ignatius School in London. In 1913, he graduated from St. Ignatius School in London . On December 12, 1914, he received short-term training at the Engineering Shipping School, during which he learned about machinery, electricity, power, and navigation .

In 1915, worked in Henry Telecom Company. In 1918, Hitchcock entered a telegraph company as an engineer and studied art at the University of London . In June 1919, the short story "Narcotics" was published in the corporate magazine founded by the company .

Performing Experience

British period

In 1920, Alfred Hitchcock entered the film industry as a subtitle designer; in the same year, he nominated himself to enter a studio of Lasky Star Company of the United States in Elinston, and was promoted from the position of subtitle designer to director, and then began to instruct Shoot scenes without dialogue .

In 1922, Alfred Hitchcock studied under American director George Fitzmorris and learned filmmaking skills from other film technicians. At the end of the year, he began to direct his first film "No. 13", but because of the break of the funding chain Failed to complete the filming of the film ; in the same year, he served as the screenwriter, art designer, deputy director and assistant director of the romance film "Woman vs. Woman" .

In 1923, he became the assistant director of Graham Katz; in the same year, he participated in the directing of the feature film "Always Tell Your Wife". In 1924, he participated in the production of the silent film "White Shadow" and served as the assistant director, editor and production designer of the film . In 1925, he filmed the crime-themed film " The Pleasure Garden ", which was the first work independently directed by Hitchcock, and gave him the opportunity to study film production at the UFA studio in Germany ; in the same year, he directed crime-themed films . The movie "The Villain" .

In May 1926, the directed thriller " Mountain Eagle " was released in Germany; in the same year, the suspense film " The Lodger " was filmed , and the crime transfer method was used for the first time in the film; as the first suspense film directed by Hitchcock, the The film's photography angle, makeup set, light and shadow composition are all influenced by the German expressionist style, and this film has also become a work that established Hitchcock's personal style .

In 1927, he served as the director of the thriller "Downhill", which continued the German expressionist style ; in the same year , he signed a contract with the British International Film Company ; in addition, he also served as the director and screenwriter of the feature film "The Ring", and was filming The film adopted a realist style. In 1928, he directed the romantic comedy " The Farmer's Wife ", which was also his first comedy film; in the same year, he filmed the feature film "Sweet Girl" .

In 1929, he served as the director of the romance film " The Manxman ", and incorporated documentary elements into the film; in the same year, he completed the filming of the suspense thriller " Blackmail ", which became the first sound film in British film history and was selected The "Top 100 British Film History" list by the British magazine "Time Out" .

In 1930, he served as the director and screenwriter of the feature film " Jno and the Paycock "; on July 31, directed the thriller mystery film " Murder " was released in the UK; in the same year, he participated in part of the director of the musical "The Voice of Elster" Work .

On February 26, 1931, the self-written and self-directed feature film "Scam" was released in the UK; in March, he directed the thriller and mystery film "Mary"; in the same year, he served as the director and screenwriter in the romantic comedy " Rich and Strange ". In 1932, Hitchcock directed the thriller " Number Seventeen "; in addition, he also served as the director of the romance film "A Generation of Beauty "; in the same year, he resigned from the British International Film Company .

In 1933, directed the romantic comedy "The Vienna Waltz "; in the same year, he was hired by the British Gaomeng Pictures Company. In 1934, he served as the director of the thriller " The Man Who Knew Too Much ". In 1935, the thriller " The 39 Steps " was filmed ; the film has the style characteristics of Hitchcock's American period movies, and has attracted MacGuffin's attention in the film industry ; in addition, the film has also been selected as published by the British film magazine "Empire" The "100 Greatest British Films in Film History" list .

In May 1936, the directed love thriller " Secret Agent " was released in the UK; in December, the thriller filmed " Broken " was released; in the same year, he joined Gaines Barlow's production company . In 1937, filming the crime movie " Young and Innocent ".

In July 1938, he signed a contract with independent producer David · O· Selznick ; on November 1, the directed thriller mystery film " The Lady Vanishes " was released in the United States; this film combines comedy, suspense, thriller and other films The elements became the work that established Hitchcock’s thriller film style ; in addition to winning the 4th New York Film Critics Association Award for Best Picture, the film was also selected as the "100 Greatest Film History" published by the British film magazine "Empire" "British Film" list , and Hitchcock personally won the 4th New York Film Critics Association Award for Best Director for this film; in the same year, directed the crime film " Jamage Inn " .

American period

In March 1939, he moved to Los Angeles , USA ; in the same year, he was invited to enter Hollywood to make a film; in September, he directed his first Hollywood film " Rebecca " . He gave up his usual editing skills when shooting the film and instead focused on portraying The relationship between the characters, and the Gothic style is adopted in the film style ; this film not only opened the cooperation mode between Hitchcock and David · O· Selznick , but also turned Hitchcock's film from the British style. The beginning of the American style ; in addition, the film was selected on the list of the "100 Greatest British Films in Film History" published by the British film magazine "Empire" .

In 1940, directed the suspense film " Foreign Correspondent " with a black humor style . In 1941, the directed suspense film "Rebecca" won the 13th Oscars Best Picture Award, and Hitchcock was nominated for the Oscars Best Director Award for the film ; on January 31, directed the romantic comedy " Mr "Smith & Mrs Smith " was released in the United States; in the same year, he served as the director of the thriller " Suspicion " , which won the Japanese Film Festival Award for Best Foreign Language Film; in addition, he also participated in the war documentary "Tonight's Goal" Post-editing production.

In 1942, he wrote and directed the thriller " Saboteur ". In 1943, he directed the noir film " Shadow of a Doubt ", and in the same year, he served as the director of the historical drama "Long and Earth". On January 11, 1944, the directed war film " Lifeboat " was released in the United States, which maintained Hitchcock’s suspense style ; in the same year, he directed the French short film "The Adventures of Madagascar " in London ; in addition, he also filmed the war The theme of the short film "Good Trip" .

In 1945, directed the suspense film " Spellbound " with the theme of psychoanalytic psychology , and introduced the dream interpretation theory in Freud's psychoanalysis theory into the film, thus creating a precedent for psychoanalytic films ; the film finally box office after its release Reached 47 million U.S. dollars , and was nominated for the 18th Oscars Best Picture Award the following year, and Hitchcock was nominated for the 18th Oscars Best Director Award for the film ; in the same year, he participated in the filming of a documentary reflecting the crimes of the Nazis. "Night will come" and served as the chief director .

In 1946, Hitchcock served as the director, screenwriter and producer of the romance film " Notorious ". He used MacGuffin to design suspense and incorporated the style of suspense, comedy and spy film into the film. After the film was released, it was selected by the BBC. "The 100 Greatest Movies in Film History" ; in the same year, in order not to be controlled by David O. Selznick, he cooperated with Sidney Bernstein to establish an independent production company in the UK. In 1947, directed the last film "Parath Case" for David · O · Selznick .

In 1948, Hitchcock's independently produced suspense thriller " Rope " came out, which was also his first color film ; he not only tried the one-shot shooting method in the film, but also used environmental sound to highlight the realism style. Explored the way of performance . In 1949, he directed and acted in the feature film " Under Capricorn " ; in the same year, he started filming with Warner Bros. Entertainment .

In 1950, he served as the director and producer of the thriller " Stage Fright ", and tried to use flashbacks to narrate in the film . In 1951, directed the film noir " Strangers on a Train " . In 1953, directed the thriller " I Confess " .

In 1954, he served as the director and producer of the thriller " Dial M for Murder "; he adopted a condensed style in the film’s narrative technique, and used three-dimensional film technology for the first time in the film ; in the same year, Hitchcock He started shooting the love thriller " Rear Window " in the south of France ; he again used Freudian psychoanalysis in the film and used the peeper's perspective to shoot ; the film was nominated for the 8th British Academy of Film Awards after its release. It was selected as the "third place in the top ten suspense films in film history" by the American Film Institute . In addition, the film was selected as the "80 Best Directors' Works" by the Directors Guild of America .

On August 3, 1955, the love suspense film " To Catch a Thief " directed by Hitchcock was released. The overall style of the film tends to be humorous , and was nominated for the Golden Lion Award at the 20th Venice Film Festival; October, directed The suspense drama series " Hitchcock Theatre Season 1 " premiered, and in the following year, he was nominated for the best director of an Emmy Award drama series for the show; in the same year, he directed the TV series "Retaliation" .

On June 1, 1956, the directed thriller " The Man Who Knew Too Much " was released in the United States. The film was a remake of the film of the same name released by Hitchcock in 1934. The film won the 9th place after its release. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes International Film Festival, and Hitchcock was nominated for the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Directors Guild of America for the film; in the same year, he served as the director and producer of the suspense film " The Wrong Man " and was creating the film At the time, the documentary method of documentary was adopted. In 1957, he directed and acted the suspense drama "Hitchcock Theater Season 3"; on September 30, directed the suspense drama series " Suspicion " premiered ; joined the United States in the same year and retained British nationality .

In 1958, the suspense drama "Hitchcock Theater Season 1" directed by won the 15th Golden Globe Awards for Best TV Series Award; in the same year, he served as the director and producer of the thriller suspense film " Vertigo ", in addition to In addition to using MacGuffin to design suspense , it was the first time to use photography technology to quickly adjust the distance and near lens to shoot dizzy scenes ; the film was selected by the British film magazine "Viewing and Hearing" as the first "Top Ten Films in Film History" and was awarded by American Films. It was selected as the first place in the "Top Ten Suspense Movies" by the Society . In addition, it was also selected as the "80 Best Director's Works" list by the Directors Guild of America .

In 1959, Hitchcock served as the director and producer of the suspense film " North by Northwest " . He adopted the montage editing style to shoot the film, and incorporated suspense, black humor and other elements in the film; after the film was released, not only Won the Silver Seashell Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and was named "No. 7 in the Top Ten Suspense Films" by the American Film Institute , and was selected as the "80 Best Director's Works" list by the Directors Guild of America , And Hitchcock was nominated for the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Directors Guild of America for the film; in the same year, he directed and acted in the suspense TV series "Hitchcock Theatre Season 5".

In 1960, he participated in the suspense drama "Hitchcock Theater Season 6"; in the same year, he served as the director and producer of the psychological thriller " Psycho ", and used the Russian language of Freudian psychoanalysis in the film. Dipus plot and unconscious doctrine ; after the film was released, not only did it score more than 15 million US dollars in the box office , Has also had an impact on the subject matter and style of horror films, making psychological thrillers formally a sub-genre of horror films ; in addition, the film has also been selected into the list of "80 Best Directors' Works" by the Directors Guild of America . The scene in which the heroine was killed in the bath was selected by the British film magazine "TOTAL FILM" as "the most thrilling death scene No. 1" , and Hitchcock was personally nominated for the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Directors Guild of America for the film. , Nominated for the 33rd Oscars Best Director .

In 1961, the self-directed and self-acted suspense drama "Hitchcock Theater Season Seven" was broadcast. In 1962, he produced and starred in the suspense drama series "Hitchcock Long Story Collection". In 1963, he filmed the thriller " The Birds ", and used black humor and surrealism in the film ; in the same year, he signed a contract with Universal Pictures .

In 1964, he directed and participated in the thriller " Marnie ", and once again introduced psychoanalysis into the movie . In 1966, he voted for the thriller " Torn Curtain ". In 1967, he won the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences .

In 1968, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Directors Guild of America; in the same year, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the University of California. In 1969, he directed the crime film " Topaz ", and won the Best Director Award from the American Film Council for this film; in the same year, he was elected as a council member of the French Literati Association .

In 1971, he was awarded the Knight Medal of the French Legion of Honor; in the same year, he won the American Golden Laureate Award for Best Director and Producer. In 1972, he won the 29th American Golden Globe Cecil B. Demir Award ; on June 21, Hitchcock's thriller " Frenzy " was released in the United States. He adopted realism when shooting the film style ; the same year, he received an honorary doctorate from Columbia University.

In 1973, the directed thriller "Frenzy" was nominated for Best Picture at the 30th American Golden Globe Awards, and Hitchcock was nominated for Best Director at the 30th American Golden Globe Awards . In 1975, Hitchcock began to suffer from illness. In the same year, he directed the thriller " Family Plot ", which was the last film he directed .

In 1978, began planning to shoot the documentary " Short Night ". In March 1979, he won the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award ; in the same year, he gave up his job due to poor health. On January 1, 1980, he was awarded the title of knight by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ; on April 29, he died in Los Angeles, USA due to renal failure .

Personal Life

family situation

Alfred Hitchcock is ranked third at home. His brother is William Hitchcock Jr. and his sister is Irene Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock's father, William Hitchcock, is the owner of a greengrocer and his descent comes from the Catholic Church in England. On December 12, 1914, William Hitchcock died. Alfred Hitchcock's mother, Emma Jane, has Irish descent. Emma Jane died in England on September 26, 1942 .

Love life

In 1921, Alfred Hitchcock met and fell in love with film editor Irma Revere while working at Laski Star Company. In 1924, Alfred Hitchcock was engaged to Irma Revere. On December 2, 1926, the two officially signed their marriage. On July 7, 1928, their daughter Patricia Hitchcock was born in Kensington, London, England .

Character Evaluation

Alfred Hitchcock is a great director , Is also a world-renowned master of film art . His humorous and suspenseful shooting technique not only swept the world film scene , but also was imitated by many younger directors. . As early as the silent film period, he made great contributions to the British film art . After entering Hollywood development in the United States, he gave full play to his personal talents and talents, not only leaving behind many handed down works , Has become synonymous with suspense thrillers . He is good at creating tension on the screen, and through clever processing to allow the audience to participate in the plot of the film . He has made great changes in the film's suspense technique setting, aesthetic effect, etc. . In addition, he is also actively exploring the narrative language of movies, introducing Freudian psychoanalysis, and even leading the way in special effects production . "New Films" Critic).

Alfred Hitchcock is an extraordinary genius . He is a well-deserved pioneer in the two fields of horror film and suspense film , and has played a huge role in promoting the development of the film industry. . As a world-recognized master of horror, he created the film genre of "thriller" . He blended horror, suspense and other elements into pure horror, and then raised the horror film to the height of art film through editing, audio-visual coordination and other means. . As a master of suspense films, he has devoted his life to the creation of suspense films and opened up a broad path in the field of this genre film . As the founder of psychological suspense movies , He broke through the shackles of the Hollywood production system , created and perfected the art of creating suspense . Steven Spielberg, Review)

As a master of film technology , Alfred Hitchcock's use of film skills reached the pinnacle . Many of his film skills are not only required courses for academics, but also become models of commercial films . He cleverly set up the structure of the work to form a "Hitchcock Mode" with twists and thrills at the end of the story, but no lack of black humor . As a film-conscious director, he has never forgotten the diversified function of film language because of the pursuit of a certain concept . The elements he often uses in movies include blondes, suspense, peeping, sexual abuse, crime transfer, marital crisis, black humor, clue props, stairs, shadows, and McGeffen, so he also has a "world film technology expert" and Known as the "skills treasure box" . In terms of film narration, he not only explored and developed the narrative methods of suspense films, but also enriched the expression methods of suspense films, so that film narration can be innovative while avoiding loopholes. . In terms of image design, he is a genius who uses visual language to express suspense. His method of dealing with tyrannical scenes through editing art is not only breakthrough and avant-garde, but also reflects his distinctive personality . "People's Public Security", "Film Art", "News Morning News" review)

Alfred Hitchcock has a unique style , Hailed as the pioneer of "author and director" by the outside world . He can not only accept aesthetic ideas created by others, but also creatively apply them to his own works. In his works, the two techniques of expressionism and montage are separated from the original source, but they are more tense. . Hitchcock's contribution to film art is not only in technical aspects , he is also an artist with a high degree of concern for the human spiritual world . As a director who is good at understanding audience psychology, he skillfully uses lens language to integrate suspense plots, psychological science, and personal thinking about the real world into movies . Therefore, he is not only a master of psychology, but also a master of philosophy in movies. Few people can perceive the absurdity of life and the fragility of human nature as deeply as him. Under Hitchcock’s meticulous design, his films are a contradictory unity of life and death, crime and punishment, reason and madness, innocence and temptation, suppression and resistance. Therefore, he is also known as the “Father of the film industry”. Lloyd" . Criticism Netease Review)

Extended Reading

The Paradine Case reviews

Loyce 2022-06-28 14:38:23

A Fantasy

This is one of the few Hitchcock films I haven't seen, and my overall impression of the film is not bad.
First of all, I had high expectations for it and I was not disappointed after reading it.
Second, because of time and energy, I read it in two parts. For a long time after I watched the first...
Terence 2022-06-28 17:51:26

Loyalty and Jealousy

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Female The protagonist, jealous of the servant's loyalty to the master, poisons the old and...