Alfred Hitchcock
阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克
British-American director, 1899–1980. He began in British silent films, moved to Hollywood in 1939, and directed more than fifty features. He worked chiefly in the thriller, and built suspense by giving the audience information the characters do not have.
Career
Hitchcock entered the industry in Britain in the 1920s, designing title cards before directing from 1925. Blackmail, in 1929, was the first British sound feature. He moved to the United States in 1939 at the invitation of the producer David O. Selznick and worked in Hollywood thereafter.
He distinguished surprise from suspense: the first depends on the unexpected, the second on the audience knowing more than the characters do. Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho, made between the mid-1950s and 1960, turn largely on watching, identity and guilt. He also presented the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents between 1955 and 1965. He never received the Academy Award for Best Director.
Suggested Viewing Order
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