Alfred Hitchcock: The Difference Between Mystery & Suspense

[globehunter2]

Sadly many directors think shock and awe makes a good movie. But this is totally

inacurrate, its the suspense that holds a audience and creates a visual image not

scene on the screen.Alfred Hitchcock would be apalled at movie making of today.

He was truly a remarkable man and a brilliant film maker.

[coachfb18]

The Man!

[robshy1987]

Listening to Hitchcock speak, it makes me a film student and aspiring director/screenwriter realize just how much i have to learn.

[m420carbine4]

we are donating now on youtube? are you kidding me. how about we all donate to reinvest in america. but only if we can vote more than 4 years.

[impalabeeper]

@m420carbine4

It says "Donate to this organisation" not youtube. But I see your point, fuck corporate assholes.

[breaksystembse]

He's gotta a point about the differences, but I like to think mystery and suspense are the Ebony and Ivory of literature.

[TheEmbletini]

He wouldn't have liked LOST then

[thedeadhalo]

the late great

[BjornSvenson]

which film does he consider his only "who done it?"

[ShardsOfGlassCeiling]

@BjornSvenson I'd say To Catch a Thief.

[cheeriosinabowl]

To me, mystery and suspense go hand in hand.

[tobo86]

@cheeriosinabowl In a way, you're right, there is mystery in suspense, but it is possible to have no suspense in mystery. For instance, working out the 'w' questions of a scene (who, what, where, why etc) is not emotive alone, but when these directly effect the emotional stakes towards the character, that's when it become suspense. Hitch is distinguishing the two to cease the common confusion that mystery alone is as emotionally effective as suspense. I'd love to know what you think!

[Alectricify]

I find him mysterious... And yet watching him speak is just full of suspense.

[kafchenko]

they really got him with that question about mystery... jaja

Hes still the master

[mrshadows738]

i love alfred hitchcock :D most kids dont know who he is. my teachers freak out when i talk about him. they just tell me "your only 16 how do you know him." therefor i tell them "i dont know him, i know about him."

[STONECOLD1987]

Master of Suspense 

[027220]

Mystery - Who done it?

Suspense - Emotion.

[deljefe]

what a fucking genius so much to learn here

[smithhedgehog]

In "the lady vanishes" dosen't the main character go missing; and therefore it's a mystery because we don't know where, why, or how she dissapeared...?

[dwinklet]

Hmmmm. I don't know about this answer here. HIs reply seemed a bit contradictory, though I think I understand the gist of what he's trying to say. I mean, one can't say that a mystery has no emotion, except the emotion of curiosity. And one can't say, I've never made a mystery, but I've made a whodunit, when he defines a mystery as a whodunit.

[film23790]

i oppose Hitchcocks cinematic philosophy i think. He says mystery is an intellectual journey and suspense is emotional it is not that black and white but i can agree with that in principle but when he says that it is a waste of footage when the audience are left guessing until most of the movie is done, i find that very disrespectful to the audience and also very arrogant. Mulholland Drive by Lynch mixes mystery and suspense and the emotion felt by the end for me has been completely unrivalled.

[MindlessInvalid]

@film23790 You're overthinking it. Suspense requires a person to connect with a film on an intuitive level. They have to enjoy a scenario enough to want to know more. Suspense is essentially wanting to know what happens next. Mystery on the other hand, is a process of trying to intellectualize the possible outcomes of a given scenario. Emotion and Thought are fundamentally different. Suspense and Mystery are the respective results of a informational vacuum in a work. Feeling and Thinking.

[13Orcun]

@film23790 indeed David Lynch gives a very limited things you to not have any chance to think about possibilities. He only gives unconnected visuals to see. Then he said '' meaning depends on people ''. There is no any suspense and mystery.

[hisunand]

the meaning of suspense died with him now a days movies forgot the word's meaning

[GeorgeVreelandHill]

He knew his stuff.

No wonder why Hitchcock is the legend he is.

George Vreeland Hill

[jewellmiket]

I pay FULL TRIBUTE to HITCHCOCK and BERNARD HERRMANN with my movie, WE ALL DO DUMB THINGS (posted above). This is a suspense-filled little movie I made with these two names in mind when I set out to make it.

[Gencturk92]

hopefully one day, I will be the second Hitchcock. If you look at my videos, you can see where im trying to get.

[silvpetros]

you want suspense? browse on youtube for THE ADMIRER - PETROS SILVESTROS.

good luck

[silvpetros]

hello there



[tomatoherb]

It's like he knows how much of a genius he is, and I ain't even mad.

[GOreelz]

why wouldn't psycho be a "whodunit'? Doesn't the audience want to know who killed Janet Leigh's character?

[TMVGee]

Tell it like it is Hitch!

[adelacarmen]

if he would live now .... i bet was the king of horror movies ..:P

[dcolby5]

@adelacarmen As I understand, Hitchcock was not a fan of the horror genre. He preferred to hide the violence and bloodshed from the audience, to create suspense, instead of glorifying it as horror films do. But I admit he probably would have been a master of the genre if he had chosen it.

[mauijim662000]

ok,first of all, 'suspense' IS a noun-(suspenceful-adjective, suspencefully-adverb). the "whodunnit" -- ok, i started to say it must have been the one with gregory peck and ingred bergman. what was the other question?

[epicvlas]

GREAT GREAT DIRECTOR !!!!!!!

[GNoodle]

Both Mystery and Suspense when done properly  can be an absolutely amazing experience.

[pyrrho314]

one of the best philosophers of authorship ever, not to mention perhaps america's best filmaker (among another dozen artistic geniuses).

[pyrrho314]

@pyrrho314 : yeah yeah, he was a brit... :) ANYONE CAN BE AMERICAN!

fine, world's best... grrmamdmfmbmblb

[yournotrandom]

He's amazing! I hope to be like him some day!: )

[houserulez2008]

hitchcock or kubrick?

[yutu34]

He says so much with so few words...brilliant

[paulod27]

Good to know the differences, but you can mix mystery with suspense. This can make a story doubly exciting.

[robonez]

Great point from Hitchcock there!

[Jtp101z]

best director ever!

[MrFacundo7]

@Jtp101z I agree,he was the best,he is the best and he will be the best.He was a real artist and a genius.Alfred Hitchcock,We salute you!

[bethal1998]

i'm glad i watched this video from the master himself b/c i always thought mystery and suspense were somewhat the same. thanks for posting this video

[mattman2900]

@bethal1998 well, I only partially agree with Mr. Hitchcock here. We need to remember he was in several different eras and films change as eras change. but an example he gave in another interview is: Two leads sit at a table at a restaurant, seconds later, about 7 tables back, a bomb goes off-this would be 'mystery' b/c it's a surprise element. Take the same scene except you see someone place the bomb, now you know what's going on-this would be suspense.

(cont)

[mattman2900]

@bethal1998 (cont) Suspense and mystery elements are in countless movies today. So i think the two genres are closer than they are in todays cinema than they were say 30,40,50 years ago. But an example of Hitchcock's film "Shadow of A Doubt" is a definite suspense by his definition is a suspense b/c most of the information is given to the audience.

As a screenwriter I like to write clue-based films, giving the audience info as we go, but they have suspense elements based on the clues.

[NotRegret]

in video games suspender is nonexistent and the plot is designed to hold as many '5 second revalations' as possible. since the player is supposed to feel like he is a character the player is frustrated when he must knowingly guide his character into a trap and not act on his knowledge of the plot. surprises have more of an impact on the audience in game environment however because the player has an emotional investment in the playable character and doesn't want to see bad things happen to him

[MaxxUS08]

Im not completely sure which film he referred to as the 'Who dunnit". It has to be Under Capricorn, not his best at all.

[stoldtnamen]

It's really important that people can distinguish between these two concepts, and now that we listen a huge master like Alfred Hitchcock to talk about it, no one that claims lo love cinema, specially mystery or suspense cinema, should miss the oportunity to have a clearer view of these two kind of films.

[MaderoWood]

he is a damm genius!

and suspense can also be an adjective

[oxymomo]

Sorry, but "suspense" is a noun, too.

[CYBERSURF88]

Hitchcock is my favorite. However, in this clip, H is stating the obvious. Simply put, "Mystery" is a noun. When applied to film, it is a catagory / genre of film. In a Mystery, there is a puzzle that must be solved. In contrast, "Suspense" is an adjective. It is an action word which evokes emotion. Holding your breath in anticipation is an act of Suspense. As I've earlier said, H's earliest films were his greatest. The suspense thrillers of the 30's. JAMAICA INN is one of the best.

[MTFDarkEagle]

this guy is a genius!

[shockingpinks]

Bomb ticking. He makes a great point...then loses it in the end when he says mystery results in curiosity which is an emotion. Suspense is created by set-ups. BOOM!

[in2universe]

wow, totally agree with him!!!

[nexttimewelove51]

Alfred "Genius" Hitchcock

[artformeandyou]

Einstein of Cinema

[brianpadraic]

@artformeandyou Agreed! His analysis of the new media (and TV!) makes him an Einstein or Marshall McLuhan of sorts, too.

[Deathriken]

@artformeandyou the creator of Slashers

[SalamiKing7]

Gotta love Hitch!