Experimental Structures & Hitchcock

[wcmartell]

I think in the past I've posted some links to my Fridays With Hitchcock series on my blog...

I've expanded some of those entries and added a few new films, all that look at Hitchcock's wild experimental films.

Contained Thrillers like “Buried”? Serial Protagonists like “Place Beyond The Pines”? Multiple Connecting Stories like “Pulp Fiction”? Same Story Multiple Times like “Run, Lola, Run”? HITCHCOCK DID IT FIRST!


We all know that Alfred Hitchcock was the Master Of Suspense, but did you know he was the most *experimental* filmmaker in history?


This book focuses on 18 of Hitchcock’s 53 films with wild cinema and story experiments which paved the way for modern films. Almost one hundred different experiments that you may think are recent cinema or story inventions... but some date back to Hitchcock’s *silent* films! We’ll examine these experiments and how they work. Great for film makers, screenwriters, film fans, producers and directors.


Films Examined: “Rear Window”, “Psycho”, “Family Plot”, “Topaz”, “Rope”, “The Wrong Man”, “Easy Virtue”, “Lifeboat”, “Bon Voyage”, “Aventure Malgache”, “Elstree Calling”, “Dial M for Murder”, “Stage Fright”, “Champagne”, “Spellbound”, “I Confess”, and “The Trouble with Harry”, with glances at “Vertigo” and several others.

http://www.amazon.com/Hitchcock-Expe...cretsofactions

The idea was not just to point out the experiments (a monkey could do that), but figure out why and how the experiments work so that others could successfully replicate them. There are hundreds of failed films with serial protagonists, but PLACE BEYOND THE PINES *works* because it uses the same method that Hitchcock used, rather than the methods the failed films used.

Yeah, this is spammy. Sorry. But here's one of the blog entries that doesn't show up in the EXPERIMENTS book as an example. NOTORIOUS...
http://sex-in-a-sub.blogspot.com/201...ious-1946.html

Bill

[hscully]

I'm a huge Hitchcock fan too. I've just recently watched Rebecca. I was surprised how fast and far some of those push ins are - looks like American Hustle! And those camera rigs on that were HUGE! I have Vertigo sitting beneath the flat screen. That's next.

I read the "Look Inside" stuff on Amazon and it is pretty well written. Good stuff. I picked it up. I'm looking forward to reading it but I'm in the choir ;)

BTW, I don't this is too spammy - it's welcome information and relevant and a bargain. Guys point up camera accessories they manufacturer and are welcome. So why not your book? If this were your first post I would feel differently.

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

I think in the past I've posted some links to my Fridays With Hitchcock series on my blog...

I've expanded some of those entries and added a few new films, all that look at Hitchcock's wild experimental films.

Contained Thrillers like “Buried”? Serial Protagonists like “Place Beyond The Pines”? Multiple Connecting Stories like “Pulp Fiction”? Same Story Multiple Times like “Run, Lola, Run”? HITCHCOCK DID IT FIRST!

I bought the book and am going through it...

I just read through the "Topaz"(1969) section and did wonder what you thought of "Cloud Atlas"(2012)... I think of the Wachowskis as 'experiemental'... and since you mention "Lola Rennt"(1998), and the "Cloud Atlas" being a collaboration between the Wachowski's and Tom Twyker, director of "Lola Rennt"...

Were they 'successful' or did they fail for other reasons...

I'm predisposed to 'like' the film, and so I'll have to watch it again in light of the "Topaz" analysis to check some of your criticisms of that film.

[mail4joeg]

Thanks, Bill. Did you ever get your low budget project off the ground, from a couple years back? And, does it have some experimental structure we should know about?

[wcmartell]

Thanks you to everyone who bought it or buys it and even thank you to people who decide not to (hey, I'm happy with whatever you decide).

I liked CLOUD ATLAS (which may put me in the minority). Did not read the book. Though some of the stories were more compelling and interesting than others, I liked the way they turned each of the pieces into a whole. That ends up the problem with many multiple story films, they don't seem to add up to one story or the parts don't seem to connect to each other, and the idea of "story flow" pops up in a couple of chapters of the book.

Bill

[xhridhar]

Liked the sample pages so much, I bought this book and the blue books as well. :-) Looking forward to reading them this weekend

[wcmartell]

On sale now! Save $3 for the next 14 hours. http://www.amazon.com/Hitchcock-Expe...cretsofactions

Free Kindle reader app for your computer, laptop, tablet, phone, watch...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...cId=1000493771

My film project... keeps falling apart. The reason: part of this is doing a film with 2 of my oldest friends, we all used to make super 8mm films together. Well, one is a workaholic, the other is a flake. So each time we get close, something falls apart. Still waiting on the poster from the flake (who has been a professional fine artist for decades and used to do storyboards for feature films). New scheme is to do a web series, since that would be easier to fit into our schedules (and would require less from the flake). Since the workaholic is out of state on a job until close to the end of the year, plan is for me to do some prep for first five eps, and then we shoot them at the end of the year. Story is about a handful of survivors *after* the aliens have taken over Earth... kind of RED DAWN meets INVASION OF THE BODYSNATCHERS.

Bill

[Charli]

Good timing. I have some things I need to buy on Amazon so I will add this to my list. I still love your how to write action book. Wish I still had a copy. Maybe another time.