Digital platforms bet on the movies of the suspense magician in their offer. Thus, it is possible to review practically in full his brilliant filmography
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One of Romans, one of the west, one of laughter, one of fear, one of war, one of science fiction ... popular slang has always been very precise and direct to define film genres. What was important to the public was always, and will continue to be, the what, not the who. Except in one case, that of the British director Alfred Hitchcok (London, 1899-Los Angeles, 1980), whose films, mainly suspense and / or horror thrillers, were, are, and will be "one of Hitchcock's".
In other words, we are talking about the Author in capital letters of the History of Cinema , as the members of the French Nouvelle Vague (François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer ...) already claimed in unison of the 50s and early 60s. At that time, he was considered, especially in Hollywood, simply a director who knew how to sell himself better than anyone and capable of hitting the public's tastes. As if it were easy ...
Because, yes, Hitch (as he was popularly known) was always waiting to please the public and, especially, to make his films as profitable as possible . Among other things, because he produced the majority himself, so the higher the collection, the greater the benefit. But that did not stop him from developing, at the same time, a personal, personal and non-transferable style that, as the aforementioned French directors tried to point out, has greatly influenced filmmakers around the world during the last seventy years. And those to come.
What exactly does that style consist of? Well, without extending ourselves excessively, that the thing has given for several monographic books and many documentaries, in putting the technique at the service of a story, in giving images total dominance over dialogues, in playing with sounds and noises , in seeking the complicity of the viewer sharing with him information that the characters do not have, in splashing here and there vitriolic drops of very British black humor, in betting on an exacerbated romanticism bordering on delirium ...
Stylistically, the list of innovations and experiments he faced would be endless , from shooting only the plans that he considered would go in the final montage so that nobody would manipulate it, to using the lighting to create suspense ( Suspicion's glass of milk), through exercises like a film in a single plane ( The rope ).
“Making a movie,” he said, “is nothing more than telling something and that something must be well chosen. My intention is not to bring real situations to the screen because people have all the real situations they want off the screen, in the streets or in front of the cinemas, and without having to pay. What is told must be credible and, at the same time, be out of the ordinary; It must have drama without losing its naturalness. The drama is life itself, excluding the most insignificant events ».
Perhaps because he was a neurotic and obsessive, unfriendly and perfectionist type, in mecca cinema, where he moved to at the beginning of World War II after succeeding in his native Britain, he never quite liked him. As proof, the shame that will always accompany the Hollywood Academy: despite being nominated five times as best director (for Rebeca , Castaways , Remember , The indiscreet window and Psychosis ), he never received the Oscar . It is true that in 1968 he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Honorary Award for his career, but no, it is not the same. As it is always said, what gives prestige to some awards are the winners and not those who award them, and in this case the comparative grievance is bleeding: Mel Gibson, Robert Redford or Ron Howard have won it.
Much more could be said about Hitchcock, from his invention of the macguffin to his appearance in all his films, through his fixation on blonde actresses, who today would probably have earned him the name of stalker and would have ruined his career. But the best thing is to let the filmmaker himself and his films do the talking.
For this, there is nothing better than taking advantage of the dead hours that a confinement that seems to go a long way gives us to review its practically complete filmography on platforms such as Filmin, Movistar + or Amazon Prime . Just put the first four letters of your last name in the search engines ... Some films are available in several and others, only in some.
The most recommended is to follow a chronological order, with four distinct periods. To begin with, the silent period, in which they can find their first great titles, The Enemy of the Blondes (1927) or that rare bird that is The Ring . The second stage runs from the advent of the sound to the late 1930s. During that decade, Hitchcock signed several masterpieces: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934, of which he would make a Hollywood remake in 1956), 39 Steps (1935) , Innocence and Youth (1937), Alarm on the Express (1938) and Posada Jamaica (1939), which marked the debut of the wonderful Maureen O'Hara.
The third period, between 1940 , with Rebecca , and 1964, with Marnie, the thief , is the most prolific and the brightest. To him belong Chained (1946), The indiscreet window (1954), Catch a thief (1955), Vertigo (1958), With death on his heels (1959), Psychosis (1960) and The birds (1963). It is the period when Hitchcock turns Cary Grant and James Stewart into his fetish actors and works with several of those blonde actresses who drove him so mad : Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, Eva Marie Saint and Tippi Hedren.
Between 1966 and 1974 , very focused on the world of television because there was more money, he barely made four more tapes : none was a success and Frenzy (1972) is the most remarkable. To complete the tour, two documentaries: Alfred Hitchcock, fiction without limits (Carlos Rodríguez, 1999, Movistar +) and 78/52. The scene that changed the cinema (Alexandre O. Philippe, 2017. Amazon Prime), about the murder of the shower of Psychosis .
We live in uncertain times dominated by suspense that is more than unpleasant, and sadly very real. The one Hitchcock proposes is less real and much less unpleasant . But, above all, much more enjoyable. Let's take advantage of it.
Further reading
Edited in 1966 and considered the best film book ever written , reading François Truffaut's The Cinema According to Hitchcock (Editorial Alliance) is essential to delve into the master's filmography and his very personal way of understanding cinema and life same. Other highly recommended posts to learn more about The Thriller Wizard are Charlotte Chandler's Just a Movie (2005, Ma Non Troppo), about her more human side, and Donald's Hidden Face (1985, T&B Editors). Spoto, who reveals his secrets and obsessions.
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