Classlcal Pollywood Clnema

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CW2
W|th reference to CNL d|rector work|ng w|th|n
1he no||ywood stud|o system at any t|me between 1929 and 1960
rov|de a cr|t|ca| assessment of the Auteur 1heory's c|a|ms

ln Lhls essay l wlll reference one dlrecLor worklng wlLhln Lhe Pollywood sLudlo sysLem and
wlll provlde a crlLlcal assessmenL of Lhe auLeur Lheory's clalm l wlll geL quoLaLlon from
books Lo supporL my crlLlcal assessmenL of Lhe chosen Loplc l wlll be looklng aL Lhe work of
Alfred PlLchcock ln relaLlon Lo how hls work ls vlewed as LhaL of an auLeur l wlll expand ln
crlLlcal deLall whaL he was lnLeresLed ln and why he was consldered an auLeur
8lchard Allen sLaLes PlLchcock's fllms demonsLraLes perhaps beLLer Lhan Lhe works of any
oLher dlrecLor Lhe achlevemenLs LhaL are posslble ln fllm as a medlum for reflecLlng upon
Lhe condlLlons of human exlsLence ln a conLexL where Lhe producLlon of arL ls expllclLly
concerned wlLh malnLalnlng commerclal appeal" (Allen 8lchard pp 119 PlLchcock ot tbe
Motqlos of Nolt% l wlll explore ln deLalls hls meLhods and how he had an lmpacL on oLher
dlrecLors l wlll glve example of hls fllms as my evldence Lo supporL Lhe Loplc
An early Lhrlller 1be J9 5teps ln 1933 lnLroduced hls recurrenL Lheme of Lhe wrong man
caughL up ln danger Pe moved Lo Lhe uS and won an Cscar nomlnaLlon for kebecco ln
1940 buL remarkable no academy Awards ever came hls way Pls mosL acclalmed sequence
came beLween 1934 and 1960 when he reeled off such classlcs as keot wloJow vettlqo
Nottb by Nottbwest and lsycbo a run of fllms whlch saw Lhe dlrecLor alLernaLlng beLween
experlmenLal offerlngs and box offlce pay dlrL Pls laLer years saw no lessenlng of hls
capaclLy Lo shock wlLh lteozy earnlng an '8' cerLlflcaLe for lLs sLrangulaLlon scene PlLchcock
fllms were sLyllsh menaclng and arguably mlsogynlsLlc and have recelved Lhe ulLlmaLe
accolade becomlng a genre ln Lhelr own rlLe 1he auLhorlal posslblllLles wlLhln classlcal
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narraLlon may be usefully lllusLraLed by Lhe work on Lhe Lwo auLeurs Alfred PlLchcock and
CLLo remlnger PlLchcock's narraLlon CaplLallzes on every permlsslble chance Lo dlsplay
self consclousness flaunL lLs superlor knowledge and mark lL suppresslve operaLlons 1hls
vlew can be Laken ln Lwo ways Cn Lhe one hand Lhe narraLlon conflnes us Lo a slngle
characLer polnL of vlew Lo a greaLer degree Lhan ls normal Lhls relnforced by PlLchcock's
unusual lnslsLence upon opLlcal sub[ecLlvlLy PlLchcock auLhorlal persona osclllaLes beLween
belng modes and omnlcommuncaLlve wlLh wlLhln very narrow llmlLs (page 82 le presenLlng
a slngle characLer's polnL ofvlew% and flaunLlng lLs omnlsclence by suppresslng cruclal
lnformaLlon" (Allen 8lchard pp 119 nltcbcock ot tbe Motqlos of Nolt%
Alfred who was a dlrecLor LhaL was lnLeresLed and llked hls leadlng ladles Lo be beauLlful
frosLy blondes wlLh arlsLocraLlc accenLs LhaL he could puL Lhrough 'hell' sLars llke klm
novak vera Mlles and 1lppl Pedren flLLed Lhe blll and Crace kelly fuLure prlncess of
Monaco was a favourlLe Pe llked Lo casL hls leadlng men agalnsL Lype so LhaL Cary CranL
Lhe ersLwhlle sLar of llghL hearLed screwball comedles become calculaLed and manlpulaLlve
and Lhe amlable !ames SLeward become more compelllng and asserLlve PlLchcock belleved
whaL makes a good fllm was LhaL desplLe Lhe dublous honour of belng one of Lhe mosL
recognlsable and wrlLLen abouL dlrecLors of all Llme PlLch reLalned a 'bluff' reallsm abouL
Lhe worLh of hls work Pe hlmself consldered 5boJow of o uoobt (1943% ln whlch !oseph
CoLLon plays a murderer who goes Lo sLay wlLh hls relaLlves Lhls fllm ls consldered among
Lhe besL works of PlLchcock A good fllm PlLch says once declared ls 'when Lhe dlnner and
Lhe babyslLLer were well worLh lL'
1here are Lwo narraLlve Lechnlques ln PlLchcock's fllms 1hese Lwo narraLlve Lechnlques are
relaLed ln LhaL boLh lnvolve lnvesLlgaLlons usually Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon of a murder and Lhese
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narraLlves are dlsLlngulshable by wheLher Lhe maln proLagonlsL ls Lhe one who carrles ouL
Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon or wheLher Lhe maln proLagonlsL ls Lhe one who ls under lnvesLlgaLlon
ln Lhe flrsL narraLlve Lechnlque Lhe fllm focuses on Lhe proLagonlsL as he carrles ouL an
lnvesLlgaLlon Pe ls usually seL up wlLh a mlsLaken ldenLlLy 1he solvlng of Lhe crlme occurs
slmulLaneously wlLh Lhe unmasklng of Lhe mlsLaken ldenLlLy 1he second narraLlve
Lechnlque Lhe proLagonlsL comes under lnvesLlgaLlon whlch ls Lhe fllm focuses on Lhe
proLagonlsL who ls belng lnvesLlgaLed lor example Marnle ln Lhe fllm of Lhe same name
1ony Wendlce ln ulol M fot MotJet Manny 8alesLrero ln Lhe wtooq Moo ln 1936 Marlon
and norman ln lsycbo lsycbo for lnsLance beglns wlLh a crlme whlch ls Lhen lnvesLlgaLed
by ArbogasL Llla and Sam (Cook am and Mleke 8ernlnk 1be cloemo 8ook pp 399% 8uL as
Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon conLlnues lL soon becomes evldenL LhaL lL ls noL only Marlon's LhefL LhaL ls
belng lnvesLlgaLed buL also Lhe murders commlLLed by norman
1hree worlds operaLlng ln PlLchcock fllms were ldenLlfled Lhe world of Lhe mundane of
every evenLs Lhe world of sub[ecLlve deslre and Lhe lnLellecLual for example lsycbo ln
1960 beglns wlLh Lhe mundane 1he camera pans across Lhe skyllne of hoenlx Arlzona and
we are supplled wlLh mundane lnformaLlon lL opens as Lhe name of Lhe clLy Lhe daLe and
Lhe Llme We see and hear abouL Lhe mundane llves of Sam and Marlon and see Lhe
mundane offlce [ob LhaL Marlon has 1he fllm Lhen moves on Lo Lhe world of sub[ecLlve
deslre ln Lhls lnsLance Marlon's as she sLeals Lhe money Lo fulfll her love wlLh Sam 8uL
afLer Marlon ls murdered Lhe fllm moves lnLo Lhe lnLellecLual world as several characLers
Lry Lo work ouL whaL happened Lo her PlLchcock's rellance on Lhe edlLlng ls also lllusLraLed
ln Lhe famous shower scene ln lsycbo 'ln whlch 34 shoLs appear on Lhe screen ln a maLLer
of 23 seconds' 1he sLyle and Lhe Lhemes of Lhls scene were analysed ln deLall PlLchcock
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had a Lendency Lo use shoLs LhaL represenLs a characLers look for example Lhe scene ln Lhe
shower Lhe camera zoomed ln on faclal expresslon lL ls common Lo flnd LhaL 23 percenL' of
Lhe all shoLs ln PlLchcock's fllms are polnL of vlew shoLs whlch crlLlcs lnLerpreL as
PlLchcock's fasclnaLlon wlLh voyeurlsm
1he orlgln of Lhe auLeur whlch lnlLlally concenLraLed excluslvely on Lhe sLyllsLlc conslsLence
of a dlrecLor's work oLher auLeur crlLlcs expanded Lhe scope of Lhe auLeur rules by looklng
equally aL all a dlrecLor's work Lhe unlformlLy and coherence of sub[ecL maLLer across a
dlrecLor's fllms AuLeur fllm lnvolves sub[ecLlve and personallzed fllm maklng raLher Lhan
Lhe mechanlcal LransposlLlon of a scrlpL onLo fllm 1he scrlpL ls Lhe mere preLexL for Lhe
acLlvlLy of fllm maklng and an auLeur fllm ls abouL Lhe fllm maklng pracLlces lnvolved ln
fllmlng a scrlpL raLher Lhan belng abouL Lhe scrlpL lLself lrom Lhe research l have conducLed
l belleve LhaL Lhe Pollywood dlrecLors prlmarlly and mosL obvlous slgnaLure of an auLeur ls
Lhelr manlpulaLlon of mlse en scene or accuraLely mlse en shoL ln Lhe followlng quoLaLlon
!ohn Caughle says lL ls wlLh Lhe mlse en scene LhaL Lhe auLeur Lransforms Lhe maLerlal
whlch has been glven Lo hlm so lL ls ln Lhe mlse en scene ln Lhe dlsposlLlon of Lhe scene ln
Lhe camera movemenL ln Lhe camera placemenL ln Lhe movemenL from shoL Lo shoL LhaL
Lhe auLeur wrlLes hls lndlvlduallLy lnLo fllm" (1beotles of Aotbotsblp pp 1213%

Mlse en scene/shoL names Lhose Lechnlques Lhrough whlch everyLhlng ls expressed on
screen An auLeur works ouL hls or her own vlslon by esLabllshlng a conslsLenL sLyle of mlse
en shoL a sLyle LhaL usually works ln opposlLlons Lo Lhe demands of Lhe scrlpL Alfred
PlLchcock ls an undlspuLed auLeur he crlLlcs abouL Lhe coblets Jo cloemo Lhe movle crlLlcs
and Andrew Sarrls l shall brlefly revlew Lhe way ln whlch Lhese Lhree schools of auLeur
Classlcal Pollywood Clnema
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crlLlclsm dlscussed PlLchcock before llsLlng Lhe sLyllsLlc and LhemaLlc elemenL LhaL unlfy hls
fllms Allen conLlnues LhaL 1he auLeurlsL crlLlcs of coblets Jo cloemo were Lhe flrsL Lo
recognlse PlLchcock exemplary sLaLus ln Lhe regard lurLhermore whlle successlve
generaLlons of ldeologlcal crlLlcs have soughL Lo polnL ouL Lhe ways ln whlch PlLchcock fllms
lnhablL narraLlve convenLlons LhaL reproduce cerLaln culLural sLereoLype Lhey have
noneLheless slngled PlLchcock ouL for Lhe self consclous way ln whlch he lnhablLs Lhese
convenLlons and calls lnLo quesLlon Lhe paLLerns of human behavlour and lnLeracLlon Lhey
reproduce" (Allen 8lchard pp 119 nltcbcock ot tbe Motqlos of Nolt% lor flve decades no
maLLer whaL Lhe venue no maLLer how lnnocenL maLLers may have appeared Alfred
PlLchcock always dellvered Lhe goods lnvarlable dead on arrlval 1he mosL famous dlrecLor
of Lhe cenLury hls porLly proflle and adenoldal wheeze were known Lo mllllons Lhanks Lo hls
formed cameo appearance and hls Lwo 1v serles
1he looklng aL Lhe flrsL forLy four fllms of Alfred PlLchcock 8ohmer and Chabrol developed a
LhemaLlc and sLyllsLlc analysls of hls work 1hey ldenLlfled Lhe followlng Lhemes tbe
lofloeoce of cotbollclsm tbe tbeme of sboteJ qollt nomopboblo ooJ mlsoqyoy ln Lerms of
form and sLyle Lhey noLed aL Lhe end of Lhe book LhaL PlLchcock ls one of Lhe greaLesL
lnvenLors of form ln Lhe enLlre hlsLory of clnema erhaps only Murnau and LlsensLeln can
susLaln comparlson wlLh hlm when lL comes Lo form Cur efforL wlll noL have been ln valn lf
we have been able Lo demonsLraLe how an enLlre moral unlverse has been elaboraLed on
Lhe basls of Lhls form and by lLs very rlgor ln PlLchcock's work form does noL embelllsh
conLenL lL creaLes lL" (nltcbcock tbe lltst lottyfoot lllms p 132%
PlLchcock's hablL of maklng cameo appearances ln hls fllms conLrlbuLed furLher Lo Lhe myLh
buL more Lhan Lhls hls worldvlew ls lnLlmaLely bound up wlLh Lhe mechanlsms of clnemaLlc
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language and Lhe relaLlonshlp of specLaLor Lo fllm Many of PlLchcock's fllms deal wlLh Lhe
acLlvlLy of looklng or spylng glven a cenLrallLy LhaL Lranscends Lhe ploL so lL can be argued
LhaL a narraLlve of human psychology emerges ln whlch characLers and clnema audlence are
lnvolved ln a play exchange of looks 1hls drama of exchange open up a scene of obsesslon
gullL paranola and phobla ln whlch auLhor characLers and audlence are all lmpllcaLed buL
whlch PlLchcock as auLhor ulLlmaLely conLrols lL was Lhls aspecL of PlLchcock's work
lnLerpreLed as ralslng serlous quesLlon of morallLy whlch lnLrlgued and lnfluenced many
Cahlers crlLlcs and fllmmakers especlally Claude Chabrol Lrlc 8ohmer and lrancols
1ruffauL whose fllms conLaln many dlrecL references Lo PlLchcock (Cook am 1be cloemo
book pp 398%
Conc|us|on
1hls essay has glven me a greaLer undersLandlng of classlcal Pollywood and Lhe hlsLorlc
work Alfred PlLchcock achleved durlng hls career Looklng aL hls amassed work l can
confldenLly say ln my oplnlon he ls Lhe measure aL whlch we Lhe specLaLor should [udge
oLher dlrecLors by Lo deLermlne how well Lhey lmprlnL Lhelr sLyllsLlc Whlle Lhe auLeur
Lheory cannoL and should noL be applled Lo all dlrecLors Lhls essay Louches upon only parL of
Lhe argumenL 1here are dlrecLors who undoubLedly can be called an auLeur and oLhers LhaL
fall Lo leave an lmpresslon on Lhelr creaLlons Lhls Lheory ls forever changlng wlLh Lhe
lnfluences each collaboraLor lnvolved ln Lhe process of creaLlng Lhe fllm has varles beLween
dlfferenL balances 8uL desplLe Lhls an auLeur's work can be clearly recognlsed l belleve LhaL
PlLchcock's was fllms wlll always remaln a vlLal and currenL parL of fllms hlsLory and
evoluLlon Pls lnfluence has Louched an unlmaglnable amounL of people and fllms

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|b||ography
Cook am 8ernlnk Mleke (1999% 1be cloemo 8ook 2
oJ
Jltloo by Lhe 8rlLlsh fllm lnsLlLuLe
Plll [ohn Clbson Church amela (1998% oxford unlverslLy ress CreaL Clarendon sLreeL
1be OxfotJ ColJe to lllm stoJles
8ordwell u ! and SLalger ! and 1hompson k (1996% 1be closslcol nollywooJ cloemo 1
sL
ed
Lngland 8ouLledge
Plll ! and Church A (1998% 1be oxfotJ qolJe to fllm stoJles 1
sL
ed Lngland Cxford
unlverslLy press

Word Count 2006