HARRY WHITFIELD

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was born on 13 August 1899 and died on 29 April 1980. He was an English film director and producer, often named “The Master of Suspense”. He spearheaded many aspects of the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He had a hugely successful career in British cinema and became renowned as England’s best director. Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939 and became a US citizen in 1955.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His career overlapped half a century, Hitchcock had a unique style that helped him in his directorial roles. His trademarks include the use of camera movement that mimic’s a person’s gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism. Alongside this, he filmed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative forms of film editing.

 

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades and is often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker. He came first in a 2007 poll of film critics in the Daily Telegraph, which said “Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from viewers) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else.”

 

Some of his more recognised work includes Rear Window, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Alongside others like North by Northwest and Vertigo.