Hitchcockian

See also: Remakes of films by Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcockian films are those made by various filmmakers, with the styles and themes similar to those of Alfred Hitchcock.

Characteristics

Elements frequently included in Hitchcock's films which lead to Hitchcockian comparisons include:

• Climactic plot twist.
• The cool platinum blonde . ^[1]
• The presence of a domineering mother in someone's life. ^[2]
• An innocent person accused (e.g. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog , Blackmail , Murder! / Mary , Young and Innocent , The 39 Steps )
• Restricting the action to a single setting to increase tension (e.g. Lifeboat , Rope , Rear Window ).
• Characters who switch sides and/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 ).
• Average people thrust into strange or dangerous situations (e.g., Psycho , North by Northwest , The Man Who Knew Too Much , Secret Agent ).
• Bumbling or incompetent authority figures, particularly police officers.
• Use of darkness to symbolize impending doom (dark clothing, shadows, smoke, etc.; e.g. Rope )
• 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 , Frenzy ).
• The use of a staircase as a motif for impending danger or suspense. ^[3] (e.g. The Man Who Knew Too Much , Number Seventeen )
• Use of a MacGuffin plot device. ^[4]
• Referring to crime for mystery rather than presenting it explicitly (e.g. Dial M for Murder ).
• Train scenes (e.g. North by Northwest , The Lady Vanishes , Strangers on a Train , Shadow of a Doubt , The 39 Steps ).
• Bus scenes (e.g. Sabotage , To Catch a Thief , The Man Who Knew Too Much )
• Belfry/bell tower sequences (e.g. The Man Who Knew Too Much , Vertigo , Secret Agent )
• Rooftop-borne demises, especially from very tall buildings (e.g. To Catch a Thief , The Man Who Knew Too Much , Blackmail , Jamaica Inn )
• The color red provoking a fearful, and potentially self-destructive, reaction. (e.g. Rear Window , Marnie )
• A beautiful woman needlessly embezzling her employer's money
• Voyeurism and surveillance. ^[5]

Notable examples

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

• Gaslight (1944) ^[6]
• Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) ^[7]
• Niagara (1953) ^[8]
• 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956) ^[9]
• Witness for the Prosecution (1957) ^{[10] [11]}
• Chase a Crooked Shadow (1957) ^[12]
• Midnight Lace (1960) ^[13]
• Peeping Tom (1960) ^[14]
• Cape Fear (1962) ^[15]
• Charade (1963) ^[16]
• From Russia with Love (1963) ^[17]
• The Prize (1963) ^[18]
• Mirage (1965) ^[19]
• Arabesque (1966) ^[20]
• Blowup (1966) ^[21]
• Wait Until Dark (1967) ^{[22] [23]}
• Duel (1971) ^[24]
• Play Misty for Me (1971) ^[25]
• Sisters (1972) ^[26]
• The Last of Sheila (1973) ^[27]
• Phantom of the Paradise (1974) ^[28]
• Jaws (1975) ^[29]
• Obsession (1976) ^[30]
• Halloween (1978) ^[31]
• Last Embrace (1979) ^[32]
• Dressed to Kill (1980) ^[33]
• Maniac (1980)
• Blow Out (1981) ^[34]
• Body Double (1984) ^[35]
• Blue Velvet (1986) ^[36]
• Fatal Attraction (1987) ^[37]
• Frantic (1988) ^[38]
• Arachnophobia (1990) ^[39]
• Misery (1990) ^[40]
• Cape Fear (1991) ^[15]
• Basic Instinct (1992) ^[41]
• Shallow Grave (1994) ^{[42] [43]}
• 12 Monkeys (1995) ^{[44] [45]}
• Bound (1996) ^{[46] [47]}
• The Cable Guy (1996) ^[48]
• Double Jeopardy (1999) ^[49]
• What Lies Beneath (2000) ^[50]
• Mulholland Drive (2001) ^[51]
• Panic Room (2002) ^[52]
• Femme Fatale (2002) ^[53]
• Phone Booth (2002) ^[54]
• Disturbia (2007) ^[55]
• Bad Education (2004) ^[56]
• Funny Games (2007) ^[57]
• Passion (2012) ^[53]
• Side Effects (2013) ^{[58] [59] [60]}
• Stoker (2013) ^[61]
• Not Safe for Work (2014) ^[62]
• Crimson Peak (2015) ^[63]
• The Gift (2015) ^[64]
• Don't Breathe (2016) ^{[65] [23]}
• Nocturnal Animals (2016) ^[66]
• A Kind of Murder (2016) ^[67]
• Split (2016) ^[68]
• Thoroughbreds (2017) ^[69]
• Gerald's Game (2017) ^[70]
• A Simple Favor (2018) ^[71]
• The Invisible Man (2020)
• Eileen (2023)
• Drop (2025)

Filmmakers

The following is a list of filmmakers who have directed multiple Hitchcockian films:

• Dario Argento ^[72]
• Park Chan-wook ^[73]
• Henri-Georges Clouzot ^[74]
• Brian De Palma ^[75]

Films by country

Australia

• Roadgames (1981) ^[76]
• Crosstalk (1982) ^[77]
• Coffin Rock (2009) ^[78]
• Blame (2010) ^[79]
• Crawl (2011) ^[80]
• Bad Blood (2017) ^[81]

France

• Les Diaboliques (1955) ^[82]
• Plein Soleil (1960) ^[83]
• The Bride Wore Black (1968) ^[84]
• La Piscine (1969)
• Mississippi Mermaid (1969) ^[84]
• Le Boucher (1970) ^[85]
• The Vanishing (1988) ^{[86] [87]}
• Love Crime (2010) ^[88]
• Elle (2016) ^[89]
• Personal Shopper (2016) ^[90]
• L'Amant double (2017) ^[91]

Germany

• Unknown (2011) ^{[92] [93] [94]}

India

• Andhadhun (2018)
• Sookshmadarshini (2024)

Italy

• The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) ^[95]
• Terror (1978) ^[96]
• Tenebrae (1982) ^[97]

South Korea

• Mother (2009) ^[98]
• The Handmaiden (2016) ^[99]
• Decision to Leave (2022) ^[100]

Spain

• Buried (2010) ^[101]

See also

• Alfred Hitchcock
• Alfred Hitchcock filmography
• Giallo
• Krimi
• Thriller film

References

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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?"