This video-essay examines the various themes and recurring techniques in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock’s career spanned over 50 years, beginning in Britain during the ‘silent era’ where he made films in black and white. He made his first sound film in 1929 (Blackmail), before moving to Hollywood in the 1940s. There he enjoyed the full support of the Hollywood studio system, attracting the biggest stars to his projects, and over the course of the next thirty-six he ventured into colour, employed different aspect ratios, experimented with 3-D, and even brought his brand to television. So long and rich was Hitchcock’s career that you can divide it into many different phases; silent/sound, Britain/America, black and white/colour; and collaborations; composers, Dimitri Tiomkin/Bernard Herrmann, cinematographers George Barnes/Robert Burkes, and editors Hal C. Kern/George Tomassini. But regardless of where he worked, or with whom he worked, Hitchcock left an indelible signature on almost all of his films. Using 40 of his films, this video-essay illustrates how he created and developed his own inimitable style.

This video-essay is part of a series I am uploading for education purposes and is protected under the Fair Use copyright laws of the United States.