Alfred Hitchcock On Mastering Cinematic Tension

[WeaponXXIV]

This is proof that he is not only the Master of Suspense but the Master of film as an art form

[mdboop]

@MrJoshuaYoYo If you didn't learn this the first day in your film class, your professor was probably crap. Just saying, Hitchcock puts it very well, but anyone worth their salt knows this is fundamental.

[meNtor890]

@MrJoshuaYoYo so ask your teacher why that is so.

[DarkProphet94]

the man knows EXACTLY how to build tension. Rear Window is slow paced and very little actually happens outside of Jimmy Steward peepin other peoples windows. but within that time you understand who each character is, what the situation is, and by the time the film climaxes, you are biting ur nails in anxiety

[sake197]

holy fuck, no wonder he's a fucking veteran. he is fucking crazy!

an ideal director you might say

[MegaGhost151]

I want to be a film diector someday and with this, I am truly learning from the master. I fell honored to be able to hear how he made his movies.

[Da1uLyK]

So profound.

[BjornSvenson]

How can I view the entire interview?

I'm trying to write a paper for Uni about creating suspense in film

[straker2]

He's just explained the plot of The Shining. Only Jack Nicholson is the ticking time bomb who is waiting to go off and it's when his wife reads REDRUM that she realises the danger and runs.

[The80sKickAss]

As brilliant as it was at the time I think the more Hollywood uses this rule the less it becomes an effective means of manipulation. If the audience goes in expecting this then they know the bomb won't go off and there is no tension. Every once in a while you need to make the bomb go off just so they know it can happen, sometimes.

[mandowarrior123]

@The80sKickAss Actually, no. Its all about delivery. Whether the audience believes there is danger is up to the filmmaker's/storyteller's ability, because when there is danger the audience ALWAYS expects it to happen.

The only time a death lets say invokes an emotional response is when it is unexpected. For example, in the road you relate to the characters but there is less response than their could be as you know he is dying. on the other hand in the animated series claymore, a character is

[The80sKickAss]

@mandowarrior123 my point is that when the delivery becomes cliche everyone will know the bomb wont go off. much like how if everyone knows how a magic trick is done it stops being magic and takes people right out if. Back when Hitchcock came up with these ideas, they were brand new. You are completely incorrect that the audience will ALWAYS expect the bomb to go off. I am a member of that audience and whenever I see a scene like that I NEVER expect the bomb to go off.

[mandowarrior123]

@The80sKickAss [cont. part 2] shown in the film to be nigh untouchable and has no fear from anything, and in that moment has her arms cut off and beheaded in an instant. This style of disbelief also invokes emotional response.

Therefore films should not be out side by side to create expectations, film manipulates are ACTUAL expectations. if you were there you would expect the bomb to go off, therefore when immersed in a film you also expect so.

[The80sKickAss]

@mandowarrior123 Bullshit, your emotional response to the death of the character has nothing to do with how suddenly they die. It has to do with the fact that we are emotionally attached to a character. The sudden death of a character we no nothing about has almost no emotional effect on us. Where as there are plenty of movies where we know the character is going to die throughout the movie and we still feel sad for them when they do.

[neosoontoretro]

@The80sKickAss I'm not completely involved in the conversation, but I would have to disagree that there is no emotional affect with a character we know nothing about. There are several characters that I have seen die who I knew nothing about tha that had a emotonal effect on me. Granted it doesn't have the same effect as a character that I have been emotional affached to dies. But it is still an effect nonetheless.

[neosoontoretro]

@The80sKickAss The reason that it has an effect is because I can easily put myself in their shoes and say "Christ that could have be me." Characters that the audience knows nothing about can act as a blank slate where the audience can relate to that person in any way they see fit.

[The80sKickAss]

@neosoontoretro that's not an emotional response to the loss of a character. that's an emotional response to the situation. You're not feeling a loss of the character, you're imagining yourself dying that way. There is no artistry there. Not everyone places themselves in the shoes of the random people that killed on screen. They are just cannon fodder. If you place yourself in their shoes, that's not something the movie is doing. That's something you're doing.

[neosoontoretro]

@The80sKickAss But the movis is the one creating the situation. If the writers create a frightening scenerio where the audience observe random people dying but in the comfort of their own home and theater then will most likely have a emotioanl response to it. Those edge of your seat situations is meant to create an emotional response and not just watching random people die. If the scene is written and executed well it make the audience feel as thou their in that situation themself.

[MrWoodworksfilms]

@LemmyDecaution - i couldn't agree more

[RavenofSorrow13]

Goddamnit, youtube gives me access to so many genius information from renowned directors as Hitchcock. I guess I owe the internet something...or something...

Listen and apply well?

[letsgetfinding]

Haha reminds me of the jewish family under the floor boards an the beginning of Inglourious Basterds..

[LeLimeLine]

@letsgetfinding That conversation about milk got important real damn quick ¦D

[027220]

1:09 - :37 I've decided 'not' to see Sabotage after hearing this.

[Deepworld10]

@027220

Really?....Sabotage it Brilliant!

[027220]

@Deepworld10 Not according to the director it isn't.

[thegiantpigeon]

A true titan of the movie industry

[Tones4me1]

My uncle used to stop off at a bar in Morrow Bay when he was in that area and Alfred would be there often. They would drink and talk and my uncle said Alfred was so funny and talked about a great many things. He said he was a great guy to pass the time with.

[027220]

:35 - :39 aka, showing the time, 5:00.

[027220]

Smart man.

[STONECOLD1987]

Hitchcock is brilliant! The key is to build tension to the audience, rather than just giving them blood all over the place, with a pretty young girl running all over the place! which can get old after a while. Learn from this man Hollywood! stop all the remakes on classics!

[ASDMarauder007]

the way he narrates the scene. Just suspenseful enough

[loverslush]

chris nolan def watched this

[flashportalnet]

He's simply saying::

Step one: Start with something as relaxing as a chat about baseball so that we can feel the contrast, when it comes.

Step two: Work the tension up to a climax.

Step three: Give the audience a relief/Breathing room. Else they'll get frustrated or annoyed.

Think of it as a workout session, what happens if you don't take breaks between sets?

[Tones4me1]

@flashportalnet I remember going to the show a few years ago and seeing some blockbuster summer movie. The first 15 minutes of the movie was nothing more than cars being blown up on the freeway. I literally was watching my watch because I was so bored by the whole thing. It was exhausting and I couldn't have cared less if the hero lived or died.

[brassmonkeyjew]

Duh? Thank you Dr obvious! This is kindergarten film school. We have evolved as film makers since the stone ages or Psycho...

[mia3571]

@brassmonkeyjew

I disagree. Too many filmmakers don't know what they are doing. Not sure what you do for a living, but I'm a video editor and I can tell you... more people need to study the basics.

[brassmonkeyjew]

@mia3571

Actually for your information i'm a film maker. And i never bother to learn the basics and it didn't hurt me. Cause if you do what everyone else does it will be boring and unoriginal! So instead of repeating what already has been done in the past, we should all move forward and continue the progress~!

[Tones4me1]

@brassmonkeyjew This technique only works if you have amazingly sharp instincts and if you do then we will see your work on screen. If it doesn't then, we won't. Formal education can not replace instincts or good taste. I've seen many educated filmmakers who have no story to tell.

[mandowarrior123]

@Tones4me1 Pretty doesnt mean emotional. Teaching technicals alone is just simply bad teaching. There is no such thing as film instincts, its something you taught yourself, but it doesn't have to be self taught at all. At least thats what i believe. teach a film maker to convey emotion and everything they produce on any topic will be brilliant.

[Tones4me1]

@mandowarrior123 Basic instincts are involved in every aspect of life. Some people show poor judgement on a daily basis. You can't teach good taste. On the other hand you need the technical aspect to bring your idea to the script and then to the screen. I know many classically trained professional musicians who can't play without reading charts. They lack the instincts to jam with others.

[Tones4me1]

Respond to this video... For years I went to the movies about once a week. There was always something interesting to see. Now I go every few months because there are so few good movies out there to see. I'm sure everyone involved with these movies have been to film school. So what is up with that?

[mandowarrior123]

@brassmonkeyjew Doing what everyone does is WHY people go back to the basics. Because it is essential to find the most important parts in a good film. what is your name then? Credit where credit is due if i know you as a director then your argument is one to also take account on. But until then the merits of hitchcock overrule you.

[mia3571]

@mia3571

I guess my point is that as an editor I cut things other people are doing. And it's amazing how bad most projects are and many times it's because people are making really horrible basic mistakes that just feel wrong to the viewer. Besides, that's a seminar from over 40 years ago so you have to take it into context. He's not giving that class now, so you can't really accuse him of not keeping up with the times. I mean, he's dead!

[dog2547]

learn from this man hollywood, im geting sick of horror remakes.RIP

[RabbiPabblo]

Michael Bay is a troll for pressing the dislike button!

[m420carbine4]

@RabbiPabblo nice

[500ncb]

Who the hell would dislike this. The person must be "better" than hitchcock.

[AceProductions91]

That is true genius.

[film23790]

some terrific points but one reservation i have is if the plot warranted the bomb to go off it should go off. If the throwing the bomb principle was applied throughtout the movies i think it becomes rather cliched and predictable because it is not ever going to blow up. i think (generally speaking) the filmmaker needs to trust the story more instead of making the story fit the audience, but that is just my opinion, he is still a master.

[snakevillefilms]

@film23790 but then again, hitchcock was explaining this back in a time where audiences were not as calm...today people laugh at movies like SAW...back in hitchcocks days people would be fainting in the cinema...

[LegendShadesXiphius]

@film23790 The story is the master, not the storywritter. It does not matter what the audience wants, or what anyone else wants, but what the story wants. What Alfred said is true. If the tension had been building for a few miniutes and the bomb went off, I would be pretty upset.

[EonPeon]

Brilliant.

[Clockwork55Orange]

This guy is cool

[mariomguy]

Hitchcock puts it better than anyone else does. Suspense isn't about surprising the audience, it's about building tension, and getting the audience involved in what's going on.

[MrRemorseless]

Absolute genius.

[hisunand]

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

[Gencturk92]

Hitchcock not only made suspense, he made the cinema. Hes better than Steven Spielberg.

[London667568]

@Gencturk92 by 0.0000000000000000000000000000­00001

[GeorgeVreelandHill]

Alfred Hitchcock was a master.

Pure genius.

He is the best director ever.

No question.

George Vreeland Hill

[silvpetros]

wanna be thrilled? browse in youtube for: the admirer - petros silvestros

good luck

[LittlPussi]

Hitch has it exactly right as usual, but nowadays bombs go off all the time and we never see them coming. I keep on going to sleep during modern movies.

[Metamusik]

It's easy to see why this explanation of suspense has become so wildly quoted. It's brilliant in it's clarity.

[sexysteveontour08]

Looks fuckin retarted

[oorgah]

Sounds correct but in the end it s mechanistic view of drama and art and life.. kind of robotic programming..

[TurtleWhiskey]

Roger Ebert quoted this adage in his review of The Hurt Locker; a movie which, in my opinion, perfectly demonstrates how to set the stakes early and constantly build tension to a near breaking point.

Film is a medium in desperate need of another luminary.

[TheScrewball1982]

@TurtleWhiskey - It could be argued that we may have one in Mr Nolan, just gitve it time

[tuntitommosille]

If the bomb never goes off, there's no tension left after a couple of movies.

[entertherat]

@tuntitommosille It would be tensionless for an ordinary director -- but Hitchcock's genius was in making the "bomb" go off only in very unexpected ways, whenever it did.

In "The Man Who Know Too Much", the killer's shot is fired, but only a flesh wound because of Jo's distraction. In "Vertigo", Scotty finds out Judy's secret, but in a way that kills her. And so on throughout his movies.

He wasn't Alfred Hitchcock for nothing.

[LetTheRightOneIn19]

what an intimidating man..fuck ,

[koreybishop]

@LetTheRightOneIn19 haha yeah, he doesn't seem at all capable of smiling, i don't know how people in the room were laughing at all... he was SO serious (i'm pretty sure none of those lines were jokes either...)

[futurestoryteller]

"The bomb must never go off!"

F--king hysterical.

[bloodySunday77]

It seems so simple, so "why didn't I think of that before?", but it really takes a genius to see and describe things in their most direct and simple way, taking away everything that's complicated and unneccesary...

[Quertasin]

He wants the audience to feel, even if it's anger.

[steveygee7]

The bomb must never. Go. Off.

[paulod27]

Christopher Nolan must have realized this when he made The Dark Knight. The bomb didn't go off. In your face Joker man!

[lafucil]

This is a classic case of shut the f33k up when grown folks are talking....for all filmmakers.

[vanishy0urself]

"stop talking about baseball, there's a bomb under there."

[guywiththerockfistup]

It's the fact that it is so basic that makes this advise great.

[lukeloseth]

"stop talking about baseball, there's a bomb under there."

[61vanilla]

_SPoTTeD !!!

[Horridfilms]

this sounds like the tavern scene and opening scene of inglourious basterds, perfect examples

[xTazerx]

Why does he look like Rev Al Sharpton?

[LemmyDecaution]

A genius has spoken

[mradamcooley]

love your username

[bombtom512]

@LemmyDecaution and the coolest thing is we get to hear it

[impalabeeper]

@LemmyDecaution

Correction, THE genius has poken

[LemmyDecaution]

@impalabeeper

Yeah yeah yeah... I know he's THE genius, we all know everybody knows... I thought it sounded better.

It was more of a call like "Hey folks, a genius among others has spoken... and he has taught you something important... and did you learn anything?"

[impalabeeper]

@LemmyDecaution

i see ur point.

[danimalo007]

Great advise but find YOUR own original ways to scary the audience. Hitchcock's advise is good but find your own ways to scare people. A great director doesn't copy but rather invent something new.

[Fapsamup]

Soo true my friend.

[teadrinkor]

I disagree, a great director learns what has come before them, learns why it was so effective and then manipulates that idea into something great.

If more people applied Hitch's basic principles for making a good thriller there would be a lot more good movies out there

[eggbertsmith]

@teadrinkor Well said!

[lavista2013]

@teadrinkor, a great director creates his own style by directing films, as for making thrillers, directors need to apply other great director's principles which I totally agree with you but ultimately directors must find their own technique and style :)

[TheDavelogan]

@lavista2013 but that style could be a reflexive style and therefore they can use the style of past directors. So in some cases developing a style isn't necessary for becomming a good director. But the best (which in my opinion means the most innovative) develop their own styles, this doesn't mean that you can't make a great film by copying a style.

[Rockmaster2112]

@teadrinkor Unless you take this advice quite literally and make a shot for shot remake of Psycho :)

[ollymcguirk]

fantastic little quote. it changes everything that the bomb doesn't go off. in most movie now the fucking bomb does go off.

[Zlagie]

@ollymcguirk And now people's legs go off with the bomb. People nowadays make dumbed-down Horror movies for money. "Hey, it's gory enough, people will watch it."

[Tangetastic]

That's genius! :D So really, it's all about what information you give the audience that creates the tension. See, this is why Hitchcock remains a legend, even today - his films don't merely rely on special effects, they're based on real psychology.

[GEVMM]

Sign the petition to stop Universal Pictures from remake The Birds!

The link is on my profile.

[zp3peo101]

Hitchcock is a genius. Especially with his idea of that there is only suspense leading up to the disaster, not the actual disaster

[Threeballer97]

So that is what Hitchcock sounds like? I imagined different.

[tbarton00]

I know he's the master and all, but I have to say - the bomb going off in Sabotage is what made that movie so great for me. Who would have the balls to do that today?

[SanityLapse]

I agree tbarton00. I've seen more than 30 Hitchcock films, and that part in Sabotage is one of the most shocking, yet memorable moments in all of his films, IMO.

[Mcrlover2death]

This is some good advice. this will help me when I become a director!

[ollymcguirk]

a director of bullshit.