Hitchcockian

Hitchcockian films are those made with the styles and themes similar to those of Alfred Hitchcock's films.

Characteristics

Elements considered Hitchcockian include:

• Climax twist.
• The cool platinum blonde.
• The presence of a domineering mother in her child's life (e.g. Psycho).
• An innocent man accused.
• Restricting the action to a single setting to increase tension (e.g. Lifeboat, Rear Window, Rope).
• Characters who switch sides or who cannot be trusted.
• Tension building through suspense to the point where the audience enjoys seeing the character in a life-threatening situation (e.g. Vertigo, the windmill scene in Foreign Correspondent).
• Average people thrust into strange or dangerous situations (e.g. North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much).
• Bumbling or incompetent authority figures, particularly police officers.
• Use of darkness to symbolise impending doom (dark clothing, shadows, smoke, etc.)
• Strong visual use of famous landmarks (Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, Forth Rail Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, Albert Hall, British Museum, Piccadilly Circus, etc.)
• Mistaken identity (e.g. North by Northwest, The Wrong Man).
• The use of a staircase as a motif for impending danger or suspense.
• Use of a macguffin or plot device that remains unexplained (e.g. the microfilm in North by Northwest).
• Referring to crime for mystery rather than presenting it explicitly (e.g. Dial M for Murder, Alfred Hitchcock Presents).

Films not directed by Hitchcock

Some films, or films with scenes, considered Hitchockian include:

Year	Film	Ref
1944	Gaslight	[1]
1956	23 Paces to Baker Street	[2]
1957	Witness for the Prosecution	[3][4]
1960	Midnight Lace	[5]
1962	Cape Fear	[6]
1963	Charade	[7]
	From Russia with Love	[8]
	The Prize	[9]
1966	Arabesque	[10]
1967	Wait Until Dark	[11]
1981	Road Games	[12]
1988	The Vanishing	[13][14]
1991	Cape Fear	[15]
1992	Basic Instinct	[16]
1995	12 Monkeys	[17][18]
2002	Panic Room	[19]
2010	Buried	[20]
2011	Crawl	[21][22]
	Unknown	[23][24][25][26]
2013	Stoker	[27]
	Side Effects	[28][29][30]
2014	Not Safe for Work	[31]
2015	The Gift	[32]
The films of Brian De Palma		[33]

See also

• Alfred Hitchcock
• Alfred Hitchcock filmography

References

1. http://trueclassics.net/2012/07/09/gaslights/
2. http://www.moviemail.com/film/dvd/23-Paces-to-Baker-Street/
4. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051201/trivia
5. TCM
6. http://spectrumculture.com/2012/06/10/re-makere-model-cape-fear-1962-vs-cape-fear-1991/
7. Decent Films Guide: Charade
8. Gilligan, Patrick. Alfred Hitchcock: A Light in Darkness and Light. New York City: HarperCollins, 2004. Print.
9. http://www.classicfilmguide.com/index8c64.html/
10. http://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/arabesque-1966.html
11. http://www.alfredhitchcockgeek.com/2012/07/wait-until-dark-audrey-hepburns-non.html
12. http://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/23/road-games-rewatching-classic-australian-films
13. http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=10707&reviewer=416
14. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/thevanishingrhinson_a0a9db.htm
15. http://spectrumculture.com/2012/06/10/re-makere-model-cape-fear-1962-vs-cape-fear-1991/
16. we're fighting back on Basic Instinct: "Basic Instinct owes a lot to Hitchcock's Vertigo, and the homage is so obvious as to be a bit embarrassing."
17. "…Hitchcockian…" — 12 Monkeys review from Time Out Film Guide
18. 'A time-travel thriller that dares to compare itself to Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo."… actually pays back its debt to Hitchcock…' — Salon.com
19. Review: 'Panic Room' Screams Hitchcock
20. http://www.mtv.com/news/2437548/buried-and-alfred-hitchcock-an-experts-perspective
21. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1848832/news
22. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1848832/news?year=2011
23. 'Unknown' review: Liam Neeson brings gravitas to pulpy Alfred Hithcock-style action thriller, Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News, February 17, 2011
24. The great ‘Unknown’, Lou Lumenick, New York Post, February 18, 2011
25. Unknown review, Roger Ebert, February 16, 2011
26. Neeson wakes up 'Unknown', Steven Rea,The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 18, 2011
27. Cangialosi, Jason. "Park Chan-wook’s ‘Stoker’: Hitchcock Thriller Splashed in Korean New Wave". Yahoo!. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
28. http://www.emanuellevy.com/comment/side-effects-making-of-hitchcockian-thriller/
29. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/11/07/soderbergh-side-effects/
30. http://honeycuttshollywood.com/sideeffects-review-2/
31. https://letterboxd.com/film/not-safe-for-work/
32. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/movies/review-the-gift-a-stalker-thriller-that-isnt-what-it-seems.html?_r=0
33. http://www.avclub.com/articles/brian-de-palma,52964/

Bibliography

• Michael Walker (2005), Hitchcock's motifs, Amsterdam University Press, ISBN 978-90-5356-773-9

External links

• Entertainment Weekly's EW.com feature: What, exactly, makes a film "Hitchcockian?"