"The Birds"

" The Birds"

What is the film, "The Birds" about?

A beautiful, wealthy blonde woman from San Francisco meets a potential boyfriend and follows him to a small town in Northern California. The town slowly takes a bizarre turn for the worst as hundreds and hundreds of birds of all kinds start attacking people from the small town of all ages and both genders. The bloodthirsty, vicious, plotting birds increase in numbers and attack anyone who comes near. 

Who helped with the making of "The Birds"?

The Director: Alfred Hitchcock
The Writer: Daphne Du Maurier (Story) and Evan Hunter (Screenplay)
The Stars: Tippi Hedren as Melanie Daniels
                 Suzanne Pleshette as Annie Hayworth
                 Rod Taylor as Mitch Brenner

In this film the external threat is from nature, whereas in North by Northwest and Psycho the external threat was from people.
The petrol pump scene in this film was fast paced and full of action, this is what characterises a thriller.
Mitch soon becomes the protector for the 2 women and the little girl. He keeps calm and boards up the house, and soon after drives them all to safety. So Mitch, the resourceful hero, tries to thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains. In this case the birds are better equipped as there are more of them.
It's a villain driven plot, as all the birds intend and plan to hurt and kill all the people in the small town.
There was a cliff hanger at the end of the film as we all thought that the birds would attack the car, and we are left wondering.
 It is also a MacGuffin as the story line is forgotten as at the beginning it was a practical joke which turned into a fight for their lives.

Interesting Facts:

• The first day the film was released was in Argentina on the 30th May 1963
• The genre is a Thriller/Horror
• The minimum age to watch this film is 15
• Box office made $11,403,529 in the USA on this film
• 119 minutes is the running of the film
• The production company used in the production of "The Birds" was Universal Productions and Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
• The scene when Tippi Hedren was viciously attacked by birds near the end of the film took a week to shoot. The birds were attached to her clothing by nylon threads, so that the birds couldn't get away. This was to make it look like she was getting attacked and smothered by the birds. The birds were also real and at one point actually cut her face in one of the shots.
• When the audience left the film's UK Premier at the Odeon, in Leicester Square, in London, they were greeted by loud screeching and bird squawking noises.
• Alfred Hitchcock did not end the film with the words "The End" as he wanted to give the impression that the terror didn't end.

 

"Psycho"

"Psycho"

What is Psycho about?

A young woman runs off with $40,000, which she stole from her employer's client. She got caught in a storm whilst driving to her boyfriend's store in California, so she stopped at The Bates Motel and only planned to stay for the night. A young man managed the motel business but seemed to be dominated by his elderly mother.

Who helped with the making of this film?

The Director: Alfred Hitchcock
The Writer: Joseph Stefano (screenplay) and Robert Bloch (novel)
The Stars: Anthony Perkins starred as Norman Bates
                Vera Miles starred as Lila Crane
                John Gavin starred as Sam Loomis
                Janet Leigh starred as Marion Crane

A cliffhanger used in Psycho would be near the end of the film, when the audience assume that Sam won't recover from the bash on the head by villain with a split personality Norman Bates.
Sam Loomis and Lila Crane had to use their initiatives to find out what happened to Marion Crane. Whilst trying to find clues they had to use their brains and think of ways to overcome the villain and not get caught sneaking around.
Norman Bates mislead the audience into thinking that his mother was alive, this is otherwise known as a Red Herring.
The MacGuffin was used in this film. I noticed that the real reason of the plot of the story was the $40,000 that Marion Crane stole from her employer's client and that she planned to start a new life with her boyfriend Sam Loomis. However this gets over shadowed by the death of Marion and everyone forgets about the $40,000 as they want to know who Marion's killer is.
Suspense is built up throughout Psycho, as Alfred Hitchcock does a good job of keeping his audience guessing. An example would be how the audience thought Norman's mother existed, when she didn't.
Thrillers are fast paced this is shown through the famous shower scene, the link is on the bottom of this page, why not have a look!

Facts:

• The film was released on the 8th September 1960
• Psycho made $500,000,000 on Box Office worldwide
• The production company used to produce this film was Shamley Productions
• The approximate running time of the film is 109 minutes
• It was a huge box office hit              

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4

"North by northwest"

"North by Northwest"

So, What is North by Northwest about?

North by Northwest, a film from 1959, a thriller, a chase, a confusing nightmare for an innocent New York advertising executive as he is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies. He is chased all over America to look for a way to survive.

Who helped with the making of this film?

The Director: Alfred Hitchcock

The Writer: Ernest Lehman

The Stars: Cary Grant starred as Roger O. Thornhill

                 Eva Marie Saint starred as Eve Kendall

                 James Mason starred as Phillip Vandamm

Cliffhangers are used, for example when Mr. Thornhill is drunk and he is put into a car and made to drive.

Mr. Thornhill had to think on his feet many times, this is when he out smarts the more powerful and better equipped villains  For example when he causes a scene and gets arrested in the auction.

When the audience are mislead, this is a Red herring. For example when the blonde woman tried to help Mr. Thornhill, but we find out she's plotting with the villains  but we are mislead because she's a secret undercover agent.

Most of the time the villains had the upper hand but Mr. Thornhill turned it around and used initiative on many occasions, for example when he was kidnapped, this became a villain driven plot, the kidnapping was fast paced this is typical of a thriller.

North by Northwest also contained an element called the MacGuffin. The MacGuffin is a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction. for example in this film we cared more for the heroes safety rather than what the villains were really after.

Interesting Facts:

• The film was released on the 22nd November 1959
• $13,275,000 was made in the USA on the showcasing this film
• The production company is: MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
• The film is approximately 136 minutes long
• "Singin' in the rain" was whistled by Cary Grant in the film

About my blog

I am.....IRON MAN!

Just kidding i am Lucy Allen, and you have now officially visited my Blog site, Welcome!

I am a Robert Clack sixth form student and I'm currently studying the following subjects:

-Legal Studies

-Legal Secretary

-Sport and not forgetting Media!

I am studying Legal Studies and Legal Secretary at Eastbrook, Sport at Warren and Media at Robert Clack.

This Blog is about Thrillers, and my thriller coursework.

So i hope you find what you're looking for.

ENJOY!!!