Alfred Hitchcock's Pure Cinema and Film Noir

Course description

Alfred Hitchcock defined the concept of pure cinema, during his career in the time of silent films, developing ways to tell stories using only pictures. He stated that he was putting pieces of film together like notes of music in a melody. His films used montage to create ideas but also to create action and emotions, becoming a master of using the camera’s gaze, revealing what characters in his stories were looking at, and what they were thinking. We will examine six public domain classic films by Hitchcock that showcase his style, and his work in the style of film later called film noir. You will gain insight into the techniques that Hitchcock employed, and the impact his work had on cinema.

The films include:

The 39 Steps (1935), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Rebecca (1940), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Notorious (1946) and Strangers on a Train (1951).