From: hist1261@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: scorsese & hitchcock
Date: 22 Jul 92 11:51:07 +1200
Distribution: rec
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

In article <1992Jul21.1489.24410@channel1>, "eric walker" <eric.walker@channel1.com> writes:
> HI>>      I didn't see that much Hitchcock to "Cape Fear" - other than the
> HI>>      Bernard Herrmann score, which is reminiscent of "Psycho."
> HI>The Saul Bass titles, the Henry Bumstead set design, the psychosis of Cady,
> HI>the thematic of a seemingly safe middle class existence suddenly threatened
> HI>and undermined, the visual allusions to "To Catch a Thief" (in the fireworks)
> HI>"North by Northwest" (American national iconography gently being sent up),
> HI>"Vertigo" (the colour symbolism, especially when Leigh applies lipstick),
> HI>and the notion of doubleness which is prevalent in numerous Hitchcock films
> HI>and which is reflected in the Cady/Sam relationship, the icy blondeness of
> HI>Leigh, and so on.  I might be pushing a little hard on one or two points,
> HI>but I have not even mentioned camera angles, have I?
> 
>      I stand corrected.  :)  I had indeed forgotten about the Saul Bass
>      titles.  I recognized the name as soon as I first saw it in the
>      theatre, but it slipped away as I was posting that message.
> 
>      However, I haven't seen "To Catch A Thief" yet, so I missed the bit
>      with the fireworks.  I also question the use of famous American
>      symbols such as we saw in "North By Northwest."  The only
>      "iconography" I can remember that really stood out in the movie was
>      the parade on Main Street, and the houseboat on the water.  (And
>      as far as Generic America goes, the idea of a houseboat as Truly
>      American is iffy.)
> 
>      I also disagree about the camera angles.  Scorsese's camera style in
>      "Cape Fear" differs strongly from Hitchcock.  Hitch was fond of using
>      very long takes and careful camera pans to relate the onscreen action
>      with his recurring formalistic patterns (lines in in "North By
>      Northwest," spirals in "Vertigo," etc.), while Scorsese's direction
>      was something entirely different.  The use of machine-gun-paced
>      editing, quick cuts, moving cameras to emphasize the action (most
>      noticeably the camera moving at a 360-degree angle during the chaos
>      of the final battle), in-your-face close-ups juxtaposed with wide-
>      angle vistas (such as the jail set against the ominously stormy sky),
>      and so on...the direction style definitely helped contribute towards
>      the edge-of-your-seat suspense of the movie - and it was markedly
>      DIFFERENT from Hitchcock.
> ---
>   SLMR 2.1a  "Ho! Ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! THRUST!"
> --
> Channel 1 (R)   Cambridge, MA
> 

My emphasis was on similarites, and quotations in "Cape Fear" - I'm certainly
not suggesting the film is exclusively Hitchcockian, and in fact I think
it would have been a rather different if the master had directed.  All I was
saying was that there are certain stylistic (and if we stretch it, thematic)
consistencies between the SCorsese film and Hitch's work and that, far from
being banal rip-offs, these quotes are self-consciously (self-reflexively,
if you like) made.

This having been said, I'm afraid I can't completely agree with your assessment
of "Hitchcock's style" - Hitch might on occasion have favoured long takes and
"careful pans" (the apotheosis of which was "Rope") but he was also as capable
of rapidly edited sequences as anyone in history - remember that certain scene
in "Psycho" - not also the rape in "Frenzy" and the increased pace toward the
end of "Vertigo"...

Go to go.

Richard.

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