ALFRED HITCHCOCK (FM2081)

The course analyzes the work of one of the greatest, most influential film directors in the history of cinema, whose prodigious career spanned the silent and sound eras. Hitchcock made major contributions first to British film, then to the classic Hollywood style. Students begin by establishing Hitchcock’s concept of pure cinema, and then trace the biographical origins of his fascination with “fright”. They also explore the major influences in his work. The director’s move to American cinema focuses on his volatile work relationship with his producer, David Selznick, in films like Rebecca and Spellbound. A study of this transition culminates in an in-depth analysis of Hitchcock’s debt to the Surrealists, the subsequent fascination of the French New Wave for his works and his role as an inaugural auteur. Hitchcock’s command of his craft and his technical innovation to create masterpieces of suspense transformed modern cinema.