HITCHCOCK Content vs Technique

[TheKcsmithy]

some great inforamtion here thanks

[mai1992]

I LOVE the way his face moves when he talks. I cant help but smile.

[DaRunningMan]

If more people would understand this message (that includes so called critics and wannabe film makers) then we wouldn't have this shaky cam obsession that we do now. The shaky cam boom exists and continues to exist precisely because critics and audiences have totally lost the ability to recognize cinematic direction and therefore so called directors capitalize on that by using that cheap and lazy technique to pass off as "film making". Thinking where to put the camera is hard, shaky cam is not.

[MrJonkelp]

i enjoyed this vid

[starwarsfatkid]

jesus how high up are his pants! lol good video though

[Banes500]

Thanks for this.

[vontrier1]

Jesus Hitchcock we need you back. The Hollywood you knew is gone my friend, they have crap stories and crap filmmaker's. All the decent films that are made in Hollywood are made by non-American's.

[Transformers2themax]

@vontrier1 So Tarantino's a non-American? There are far too many good American filmmakers these days for you to just dismiss it by saying "All the decent films that are made in Hollywood are made by non-American's...." which, I might say, has some poor grammar in itself. The fact that you narrow it all the way down to that just reflects how ignorant you are and how little you know about American filmmakers and cinema.

[JiyanTV]

00:50 Push push push

[GilbertSmith]

This guy is like the Alfred Hitchcock of suspense.

[elunicocalvo]

They took your words literally Sir, pure technique, no content. Full of shit nowadays.

[imb3cile]

mechanical engineer

[mscinematic40]

Such GREATNESS :D

[popaddict]

I'm a film student and an aspiring filmmaker and I love the psychological thriller genre. Have always wanted to make psychological thriller film someday and I remember realising once that no matter what I make, I'm never going to come close to the masterpieces created by Hitchcock. A very humbling realisation.

[impalabeeper]

@popaddict

he is THE shakespeare of filming

[SparkyMK3]

@popaddict "You cannot imitate a master, but you are a fool if you ignore him."--Chuck Jones

Keep up to good work fellow filmmaker, combine technique with your point of view, and someday you may get to make your own masterpiece.

[Healthypig1423]

To me style is just the outside of content, and content the inside of style, like the outside and the inside of the human body. Both go together, they can't be separated.

-JLG

[TRINZINI]

Good thing Hitch didn't see that clumsy editing at 0:52 'cause he too would have said : I HATE IT !  ;)

[STONECOLD1987]

wow Hollywood nowadays needs to learn & listen to Mr. Hitchcock

[m420carbine4]

@STONECOLD1987 they won't. they enjoy making money off of bad scripts and pictures. it's more challenging for them to turn something bad into success. and it's the viewer's fault for failing for it time and time again.

[STONECOLD1987]

@m420carbine4 Then somebody needs to step up & make a change in Hollywood because alot of films that being made today suck.

[m420carbine4]

@STONECOLD1987 hope so

[VideoMask93]

@STONECOLD1987 Challenge accepted.

[killerrodan]

@STONECOLD1987 Too many remakes.

[STONECOLD1987]

@killerrodan Yes but even remakes being made today can come out so much better if they just learned from masters like Hitchcock, Kubrick, Q. Tarantino.

[killerrodan]

@STONECOLD1987 I do see what you mean but I find remaking a film that's already is good will be completely pointless unless the film had a good idea going for it but was poorly done.

[STONECOLD1987]

@killerrodan I do understand that, but productions today need to maybe go back to remaking the horror movies from the 20's 30's & 40's that weren't so good then & improve on them now. Not remaking excellent classics like Wes Craven's A Nightmare On Elm. Street, Psycho, Friday The 13th, Halloween. I mean those were classics that need to be untouched & left alone.

[killerrodan]

@STONECOLD1987 I agree with you on that.I am a horror purist at heart but they need to maybe go back to remaking the horror movies from the 20's 30's & 40's that weren't so good then & improve on them now.

[STONECOLD1987]

@killerrodan :D I'm a horror fanatic as well LOL my favorite horror film is Psycho 1960 ofcourse & The Birds they were so terrifying. Theirs too many for me to list though

[killerrodan]

@STONECOLD1987 LOL Nice.The Birds,scary film.Just wish that they would make them like they use to but I guess that's asking for too much.

[STONECOLD1987]

@killerrodan Yes it was a big shocker. I don't think its asking for too much Directors & Producers today just need to broaden their horizons! Instead of being stereotyped making all these horror movies the same with which i hate (jump scares!!) its more what you don't see that scares you (hint) Plus can you imagine what Mr. Hitchcock could & would use to his advantage with the technique and effects we have in films today??? I don't think he'd use much because he was more psychological.

[thekiwiman2]

He would have loved Memento.

[MartinPerssonDotName]

Steven Spielberg must have seen this and disliked our of jealousy.

[HangTheDJ16]

It's interesting that Hitchcock did actually consider what he was doing to be a form of art. Rightly so, admittedly, but interesting nonetheless..

[tham1chen1IND]

one of the few videos ive seen in youtube, with no dislikes in it :)

[schoolmornings]

@tham1chen1IND sadly since your comment, someone has disliked the video :(

[GeorgeVreelandHill]

Hitchcock is the best director ever.

He made movies into an art form.

George Vreeland Hill

[silvpetros]

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

good luck

[charmander4533]

What a drawn out way of speaking

[BoothJudas]

@charmander4533 he belongs to a past era. More eloquent and self aware

[vittoriostoraro]

@charmander4533

So, Hitchcock speaks too slowly for you huh ?

Another child of the future opines !

I really fear for a world run by stunted beings with no attention span and movies as video game mentalities.

[marino1487]

genius

[dcolby5]

What he says certainly makes sense, but I would think it is the content from which the technique flows. Right?

[TheDavelogan]

@dcolby5 The point he's making, I think, is that even if the content is questionable, it can be made into something great through technique. He's not interested in coming up with some story, he's interested in translation of that story from words into images. He wants to rewrite the story with a camera and film, instead of pen and paper. Using editing techniques instead of punctuation etc.

[idiotsrus92]

this is one of the most brilliant and revelatory things ive ever heard

[mysterymediacorp]

who was the greatest suspense writer of all time - Hitchcock or Rod Serling ? just curious what you guys thought

[WWE09FAN]

this argument on "content vs technique" sounds pointless (to me)

you don't begins the production until the content is right, once the production starts you worry about the technique

[bigpunholla]

Being 24 it sucks trying to watch a Hitchcock film now. The guy was so revolutionary because he perfected the suspense and thriller genre so beautifully that everyone has copied it. So his films come off as somewhat tame nowadays thanks to everyone practically ripping off his entire process.

[August138]

@bigpunholla Your age shouldn't matter — your experience is what matters — these films are timeless and this is why we are still talking about them today. Most of the films that have "ripped" off Hitchcock will be forgotten, and decades from now, people will still be talking about PSYCHO, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST...

[infinitism]

GENIUS!

[Keithj136]

yes hes great .....your so right LCFCT Travis....so right

[brianpadraic]

I think what Al is talking about is EXECUTION of your cinema can be more important that the actually story at times because people watch a movie... THEY DON'T READ THE SCRIPT.

[carma9090]

He might have eased up on this opinion about content if he lived in the age of Avitar.

[LordCustard]

YES.

[TheCounsilDotCom]

I love this. Check out our video on our home page, we were inspired by Bergman and Hitchcock. Shot on 7D in Black and White.

[brianpadraic]

I believe what Al is saying is that even IF you have a the "greatest story ever" but you fail in executing this story cinematically... you fail.

[Zingerphile]

@brianpadraic I think you nailed it.

[BlackMoonLilith]

@brianpadraic This is why Watchmen fails as a film. It's got most of the story of the wonderful comic, but Snyder has no idea how to film something other than faux-Matrix darkly lit slow motion with CGI gore added everywhere. It fails as a piece of cinema first and foremost.

[simonsex]

his movies are boring just watch two of em.. i fell asleep honestly. steven spielberg and james cameron is more genius than alfred. nothing interest me other than the catchy music theme he had.. meh.

lol i almost fell asleep watching this clip zzzzzzz... totally overrated director!!!!

how old are you guys? 50? 60? ROFL

[GameMiestro]

@simonsex

Good lord. Using James Cameron and "genius" in the same sentence? Why don't you learn a little culture before making ignorant comments about the masters of movie making?

[simonsex]

dude if he is soooo great. why did he not win any oscars ?

dont preach about taste im just being honest.

[toddgreer]

oscars mean shit

kubrick never won an oscar either

[simonsex]

well kubrick was overrated too. a lot of people prefer george lucas over kubrick.

i see tim burton as kubrik - high budgeted dark and stale. tim burton will never win an oscar imo.

FYI both kubrick and hitchcock attended the oscars, so to them it was of great importance, you moron

[toddgreer]

George Lucas ?  LOL

[hadoukenyourface]

Tim Burton? George Lucas?

Jesus fucking Christ mate, I think you're late for school.

[Y2JROCKFAN]

Well Spielberg and Lucas both kept praising Kubrick... The Oscars are not the best... they are overrated...The most important critic is a filmmaker with experience... And ask almost every filmmaker and they will tell you that Kubrick was better than Speilberg and Hitchcock was better than Cameron.

[stewieandhomerrule]

@Y2JROCKFAN I agree, I feel Spielberg is a bit overrated. Not that I don't like his films, just he is not quite as much a film genius as mr. Hitchcock.

[stewieandhomerrule]

@simonsex You know nothing about film, or the real art of it!! You sound like you are just some retarded stereotypical-American dipshit who thinks the best thing about a movie is if it has boobs or guns!! George Lucas isn't bad, but Kubrick isn't bad either!! Tim Burtons great!

[simonsex]

Lol. Your username says it all. If Jurassic Park and Rearwindow came out at the same time, Im very sure you will watch Jurassic Park first. You look like that kind of guy. Stop being pretentious

[stewieandhomerrule]

@simonsex Okay, I apologize, I did sound a bit arrogant, but I don't think it's right to say something against Hitchcock, and Rear Window (IN MY OPINION) is better than Jurassic Park. But, you are entitled to your opinion, so sorry dude.

[blingberrystew]

@simonsex could you be any more ignorant?

[cowboyzfrhell666]

if ur watching spielberg ur watching hitchcock

[simonsex]

oh ok then lmk what hitchcock movie that is like indiana or saving private ryan. NONE!

hitchcock = lynch = twilight zone

spielberg>>>>hitchcock

jaws is waaay better than the birds btw.

anyway im done here. there is a saying "you cant teach old dogs new tricks"

[LCFCTravis]

@simonsex I'm 22. Hitch was a genius. Speilberg and Cameron are 2 of the most over rated directors of all time. Speilberg makes films for thick people. Hitch made films over 50 years ago that are still loved today. Jurassic Park etc are already dated.

[mysterymediacorp]

@LCFCTravis ' Speilberg makes films for thick people" - what does that mean ,just wondering

[TheForgottenFlesh]

@mysterymediacorp Meaning he makes films that really don't make you think or wonder. It's simply there without any overtones. Hitchocock could tell the same story but have overtones and alagories that are so subtle that it causes repeated viewings and essays.

[August138]

@mysterymediacorp "Thick" = "Dense" = "Stupid".

[TheForgottenFlesh]

@LCFCTravis Everything before hand is felt dated by a modern audience. In the 50s people felt old haunted house flicks were dated and wanted giant bugs and aliens...then in 70s./80s people thought those were dated and wanted gore and slashers...now those are dated and people want simply gore. It's sad, but it's the way it goes.

[August138]

@TheForgottenFlesh Not entirely true. Superior films, no matter what genre they fall into, will always garner an audience — whether it is in release or afterwards — the studios decide what people want, which is why they jump around all over the place, trying to catch lightening in a bottle. Big hits decide what the smaller companies will imitate. People follow trends whether they are good or not. The studios decide those trends.

[August138]

@TheForgottenFlesh "Check out Hitchcock interview from 1964 (part 1)".

[WatchMyAwesomeVideos]

A very wise conversation from one of America's greats

[brianpadraic]

"It is not just the great story, it is what you do with it." How true! Look at James Cameron. Some bland stories but GREAT and creative execution of the stories!

[ghostoftheunion]

Technique is important in the same way morgan freeman can make anything sound interesting.

[SayVarRee]

@ghostoftheunion

that is strangely compelling

[brianpadraic]

I know what you mean, but you still have to work on creating great material, writing, et cetera. Like Don Rickles with timing...

[Borbatr]

Whithout a doubt, the technique is what is able to create the emotions and feelings in arts, a good story whithout technique might suck. And a film whithout a story, full of technique, is just boring. It's not about making a choice between technique or content, but about being able to unite the two, and that's what Hitchcock does.

[jovossuck123]

"boring" is a subjective word...and can never be used in an objective analytical conext

saying "a film whithout a story, full of technique, is just boring"....says more about you and your taste, than it does about this subject

take Ozu for example, he took the simplest of simple stories (some even question the existence of a plot at all)...but it was his technique (way of telling it) that made his work so universally praised

[blingberrystew]

@jovossuck123 Thank you for the Ozu mention... I was wondering when someone would make that statement regarding technique.

[Siluval]

No, Hitchcock was a pioneer in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. Never did any pornography.

[brianpadraic]

@Siluval That we know of. ;)

[superkulmedkniv25]

@Siluval i'm sorry, what? Porn? Because he was called HitchCOCK?

[generalcircle]

@Siluval What are you talking about?  I get turned on whenever this guy speaks!

[findingmiddlegrey]

no he did not.

[rorypadgett]

Everything doesnt start with story. It starts with a prevailing theme and a purpose. Without those, you wouldnt have a story. Whats more is that these determine whether or not the film will even need/have a story. Films from directors such as Bunuel, Brakhage and, Deren are more compelling and interesting than narrative based films. These films only employ cinematographic techniques and shirk narrative.

[RawPower]

I dunno, Bunuel's films are all grounded in a narrative with the exception of his first; and as much as I love Deren, I would prefer watching a Fellini or any well done narrative film, and I would include Ozu in that

[LemmyDecaution]

A master has spoken

[meliries]

"A painter who paints a tree, a landscape or even a bowl of fruit. I'm sure that the painter is not in the least bit interested in the kapples for themselves, but in the technique of his work which stimulates the emotion of the viewer of his picture. After all, all art is experience."

"A Talk with Alfred Hitchcock". Telescope. Toronto: CBC. Dir. Fletcher Markle. 1964.

[AdioEmerica]

A compelling idea, but it leads to shitty artsy films and poor story lines. I'll take a good story over technique any day.

[brianpadraic]

Technique? You still have to have a great story! Great tech will not save an uncompelling story.

[jovossuck123]

If you want a great story read a book. Cinema is much more than "story" it provokes its own experience. Plenty of cinematic masterworks have reduced story to its bare essentials. Technique is more relevant to cinema than story. if you have a great story, shouldnt the story be good enough on its own? Why make a film out of it? Cinema does much more than telling a story, modern cinemas biggest threats is filmmakers obsession with story telling and not understanding cinema as a medium of its own

[jovossuck123]

are* not is...

[brianpadraic]

Obsession with storytelling? When have you seen a great story in a lot of film? Everything starts with a story! That is the BLUEPRINT. Could you build without one? No. Most movies do not have stories but gags, explosions, blood and more "effects." Hitchcock had GREAT STORIES TO TELL. Could you say different? Art films belong on campuses where the "elite" (in their own minds) can view them and laugh at the "rabble."

[jovossuck123]

Hitchcock's techniques are what makes him immortal. just take an Ozu film for instance, his films barley had stories what so ever. His techniques and how he portrayed his characters was his form of authorship. Tokyo Story to this day is recognized by Critics, audiences and film-makers as one of the greatest/most influential films of all time. Late spring was shown at the BFI cinema in London and it sold out

[jovossuck123]

if you would like me to name more film-makers and films that opted for technique over story (and becoming very successful) I'd be happy to

[findingmiddlegrey]

I don't understand your point.

[blingberrystew]

@jovossuck123 Here Here.

[bscottb8]

Don't worry. Attempted remakes of Hitchcock, like the frame-by-frame 1998 'Psycho', invariably fall flat, and only prove how much greater the original is.

[GEVMM]

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

The link is on my profile.

[nuggetstorm]

Damn he's smart!

[genesisx100]

@nuggetstorm If you study the content of what he's saying , it's really just common sense. You are being swayed by his accent. 

[mr1981z]

Thank you for posting this

[stevenb19871]

He's so right. The master can't be wrong in this sense.

[bbdupon]

Pardon the pun, but Hitch is dead on.

[jjrutchik]

Interesting... I don't know if I agree, but it's hard to argue with his movies.  They're brilliant.

[stevespielberg]

How clever. It's true.

[R4Zi3L]

Yeah... people just watch movies... they dont experience them :(

[WingzOFaDove]

I agree!