Post by phantomparticle on Jun 29, 2021 7:54:26 GMT
6 hours ago lune7000 said:
It occurred to me recently that I have never watched a Hitchcock film that made me feel. I don't know if it is the stories he likes to present or his manner of direction or casting (he always has a "cool" blonde), but his films seem very cerebral to me and folks always seemed consumed chasing some McGuffin instead of going through true emotional change. Spy movies seem the most suited to his style. The only actor in a Hitchcock film that ever moved me was Doris Day (of all people!) in the Man who Knew too much when she reacted to her son's kidnapping. Every film felt like a crossword puzzle- there is always a 100 foot distance between the audience and the cast.
Many people feel the same way about Kubrick, which is about as close a comparison as you will get between the two directors. You are correct, however, in looking at Hitchcock as a master of creating puzzles that are dealt with intellectually instead of emotionally, and he does that brilliantly for the most part (every director has their missteps). I don't think anyone ever felt an attachment to the characters in Vertigo, which has become one of his most celebrated films.
There is a great deal of "British stiff upper lip" in Sir Alfred's movies. Let's solve the problem quickly without a lot of unnecessary angst and move on. Even his rare foray into comedy, The Trouble With Harry, is underplayed with a Charles Adams tone of subtle grim humor, and is a precursor to Hitchcock's phlegmatic self promotion he developed so brilliantly on his tv show.
Watching Hitchcock is like watching on onrushing train wreck in which the passengers cooly deliberate who is going to survive and who is not, and the crash is avoided at the last moment by someone's clever calculation, after which everyone goes home satisfied that it all came out right.
