Alfred Hitchcock on the filmmaker who was a “century ahead” of him
Few directors have been as significantly lauded as Alfred Hitchcock, whose career spanned many of cinema’s most significant changes. He was making films before sound had even been invented, though he successfully transitioned to talkies and pioneered techniques that made him the Master of Suspense.
As colour became more dominant, Hitchcock used it well, and a movie like Vertigo is a prime example. Shot in gorgeous Technicolour, the film uses vivid colours as part of the plot, allowing bright greens to bathe certain scenes. By doing so, Hitchcock created an unforgettable piece of cinema that exemplified his ability to work with cinematic progressions as they occurred—or he simply led the charge himself.
Vertigo also contained the first proper computer animation used in a film, while Psycho was pioneering for various reasons. From breaking the Hays Code to show substantial amounts of skin and violence (something that was not done in Hollywood at the time) to showing a flushing toilet for the first time on screen, Psycho was monumental. The movie paved the way for the slasher genre and transformed horror, too.
Hitchcock took influence from lots of contemporary filmmakers all across the world, like Fritz Lang, the Austrian director responsible for movies such as Metropolis, M, and The Big Heat. His influence is evident in Hitchcock’s work, with both harnessing a penchant for suspense and crime themes.
Then there were the Italian directors that Hitchcock felt particularly compelled by, specifically Michelangelo Antonioni, who directed the classic swinging sixties staple Blow Up. The film is interesting since Antonioni presents us with an outsider’s view of London during a time of supposed cultural prosperity and opportunity. What he shows us is a man rather disillusioned by the way images and items are consumed.
The main character, a sleazy photographer called Thomas, becomes obsessed with the idea that he might have captured a murder on camera while analysing his images. Unable to spend enough time on his artistic passion projects, he instead gets by through working as a fashion photographer – something he visibly hates. Attempting to fill the void of his meaningless existence, he has casual sex and fixates on trying to solve the murder.
Antonioni comments on the commodification of images, the isolation of capitalism, and the blurred lines between reality and fantasy, setting these themes against a backdrop of a fantastic Herbie Hancock score and vibrant imagery.
When Hitchcock saw the film, he was deeply impressed. He reportedly told the screenwriter Howard Fast (via BFI), “My God! I’ve just seen Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up. These Italian directors are a century ahead of me in terms of technique. What have I been doing all this time?”
As a result, he rewatched the movie several times and used it as inspiration for a new film, to be titled Kaleidoscope, although it would never come to fruition. David Hemmings, the star of Blow Up, was even considered for the main role.
However, the movie was shelved and Hitchcock worked his ideas into something slightly different – a movie which would become Frenzy, set in central London. However, after multiple rewatches of Antonioni’s stunning film – and after Kaleidoscope was dropped – Hitchcock claimed to no longer be much of a fan.
