Hitchcock and Forman influences

Hitchcock and Forman influences:

both Forman and Hitchcock were influenced by film movements and by the context of the time they were active. they both reflect their influences through their films, where they convey subject topics that were important during their time of film making, and their different style of films are reflected through the use of the camera and other details.

New Hollywood (American New Wave) began from the mid 1960s to early 1980s. this changed peoples approach to film making. Hitchcock was active from the 1920s-1970s, meaning he had elements of new Hollywood and modern film movements as well as old Hollywood. He brought elements from movements like the French New Wave and German Expressionism into the traditional Hollywood studio format. The new Hollywood movement often used narrative which often constructed with classical norms.

Vertigo:

Vertigo, like all Hitchcock films, was influenced by the art-film movement of the 1920s, which stressed experimentation and strong use of imagery. Early in his career, when Hitchcock worked at the UFA studios in Berlin, Germany, he absorbed the style of German Expressionism; whose method of exposing the inner life of characters through unusual camera angles, moody lighting, and exaggerated mise-en-scène (stage-setting) influenced much of Hitchcock’s work. this is visible in scenes that can be considered expressionistic, e.g. the first time Madeline is introduced, and the colour surrounding her is bright red and gold. Hitchcock’s Vertigo, in turn, influenced the French New Wave School of film.

The notion of Vertigo felt by Scottie acts as a metaphor for the insecurities and uncertainties of men in post war American society.

Notions of voyeurism and watching are felt throughout the film, significantly when filming Madelaine. The first scene that she appears in uses a tracking shot to track her movements through the restaurant. This links to Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze, as the tracking shot presents Scotties fascination and infatuation with her. The idea of the ideal woman is shown through the tracking shots, as it contrasts with the single fixed shots of Judy. The story line uses a McGuffin structure, which was typical or Hitchcock. When the camera shows Madeleine watching the painting, the audience is made to believe that this is of significance, and therefore diverts their attention away from the important ending. 

Sigmund Freud's influence on modern society in the 1900s had much influence over Hitchcock and Vertigo. the film consists of peoples inner thoughts and their psychological health. this can be seen in the film through the expressionist style, in which peoples internal thoughts and emotions were shown externally through colour or setting. A diverse range of expressive camerawork includes the dramatic dolly-zoom Vertigo shot, long tracking shots as Scottie follows the ghostly Madeleine and the circling sweep when Scottie passionately kisses the newly transformed Madeleine/Judy.  

silent film also had an influence on Hitchcock. he valued the importance of visual storytelling, through editing and framing. 

One Flew Over:

McMurphy represents joy and freedom away from an oppressive institution.  Although he ends up dying as a consequence of his rebellious actions against the repressive system, his soul is never killed. Through the Chiefs escape, his influence lives on and conveys the power of spirit over death and a system which seeks to thwart patients of freedom and represses individuality. A person’s spirit lives on in the actions and mind of the living.

 Throughout the film, faces are filmed behind wire mesh and bars to emphasize the hopelessness of captivity. The glass of the nurse’s station represents the barrier between the individual and power—a barrier the patients are forbidden to cross, even though it appears more transparent than bars.

Forman, the film’s director, was influenced by the French New Wave movement which began in Europe and was a popular style after the Second World War. This style included natural and raw features, which were desired by film viewers during the post war period.  The directors of French New Wave often drew attention from audiences by discontinuity, reminding them that they are watching a movie. They would also shoot on location, as they were against the studio style which was glossy and perfect. They replaced the glossy studio light with natural and available light. Unlike studio film-making which remixing the sound, French New Wave directors recorded the sound during shooting and did not do any correction. The protagonists in the French New Wave films were considered as anti-authoritarian, much like McMurphy. 

-The anti-establishment and individualistic message of the film was underlined by hiring of Milos Forman, Czech director who had lived in the USSR controlled totalitarian regime of his native country and had more familiarity with often very subtle techniques with which the free will of individual can be broken. Forman was instrumental in helping create the Czech New Wave – a liberal arts movement critical of despotic government and inspired by similar New Waves in other countries around the globe.
 

mark scheme

mark scheme

exam question

Exam question:

One Flew Over (released in 1975, based on book set in 1962) Vertigo (1958)

1  1)     Compare how far your chosen films reflect their different production contexts

Both vertigo and one flew over the cuckoos nest (OFOTCN) reflect their production context through miss-en-scene, cinematography and performance.

1       Vertigo to a significant extent reflects the production context, the influence of the German expressionist movement through exaggerated mise en scene and thought provoking lighting. Bright red colour is used where the character of Madeline is introduced. The colour red represents lust, love, harm and blood, the combination of the opposing emotions that are attached to the same colour forebodes the volatility and unpredictability of their relationship, and of Madeleine character. The rich gold lighting in this scene emphasises Scottie’s infatuation and admiration as the colour gold symbolises affluence and luxury, which reflects the elusive nature and rarity of Madeline. These extreme colours in the mise en scene represent the inner life of the characters which is the core idea behind German expressionism, thus Vertigo as a film in this respect strongly reflects its production context. Hitchcock was strongly influenced by the German expressionist movement, which began to emerge in the film industry immediately after world war one. early in his career, Hitchcock worked at a studio in Berlin, which is where he was influenced by the style of German expressionism. 

Similarly, one flew over also to a significant extent reflects the production context. Forman was strongly influenced by the French new wave movement, which in fact was influenced by Hitchcock's style of film. this style of film was present in Europe after the second World War. Forman was born in the Czech republic, which is where he was influenced by European film movements before he brought it to America. This new movement wanted a raw and real feel to their films and this was often depicted through natural lighting and colour in this movement. this style is noticeable in the first group therapy session, where natural high key lighting provides an intense brightness which focuses the spectator’s attention on the moment and forces them to focus on the character’s facial expressions rather than any other distractions. The natural lighting gives the scene a raw and genuine expression which reflects the typical aspects of French new wave films, thus OFOTCN strongly reflects its production context in this sense. 

Vertigo reflects the context of the 1950’s/1960’s prominent feeling expressed by men after world war 2, as they experienced a lack of control which they formally held before the war. World war 2 left American society full of anxiety, discomfort and uncertainty, as when men were at war, women had to uphold order in society by taking on significant roles and thus gained more power and strength, which many men found intimidating. This is depicted through the character of Scottie and desire to obtain Madeline, as he seeks to have control over something significant and substantial in his life. this is shown through the constant reference and inclusion of spiral staircases in the mise en scene, for example the scene where Scottie chases Madeline up the spiral staircase symbolises the lack of control felt by Scottie. the symbol of the spirals represents Scotties spiral out of control and into a sense of powerlessness. the recurring spiral staircase image strongly reflects the lack of control men felt when returning from war in post war American society. the whole notion of Vertigo in fact, acts as a metaphor for uncertainty and insecurity. therefore through the themes of dizziness and Scotties insecurity, strongly reflects, and acts as a metaphor for society's uncertainties after the war.  

One flew over the cuckoos nest also presents its context through the power divisions between the characters. the black nurses controlled and held power over white patients. this portrays the freedom that black people were beginning to experience in america in 1975. this is shown through the facial expressions of the nurses when they talk to the patience. they express anger and dominate which suggests a role reversal, as black people were oppressed and looked down upon by white, male dominance previously. this is significantly presented during the pool scene when the nurse stands over Mcmurphy and tells him that he is going to be kept in the hospital for longer than he believes. the nurse is standing over Mcmurphy and therefore conveys his power over him and the other patience.through the low angle shot, the nurse literally takes power away from Mcmurphy by stripping his hope of freedom. this role reversal strongly reflects the context of 1975 America, where black people were only starting to experience equal rights and freedom.

furthermore, the notions of voyeurism and the male gaze presented in Vertigo was a common occurrence in film, especially during the 1950s, where womens roles within films would often be used only to covey ideas of lust and obsession. through the scene where Madeline is being watched by Scottie in the flower shop, the idea of the male gaze is presented. Hitchcock uses a wide angle full body shot when focusing on Madeline, and the audience are given the perspective of Scottie watching. this type of shot allows the audience to 'gaze' at Madeline's body through the eyes of Scottie, which conveys ideas of objectification and the 'male gaze'. the male gaze was commonly presented in films in order to objectify women and suggest that their only use to the film was their sexuality and appearance. Hitchcock's use of wide angle full body shots in his films can be suggested to reflect him as an auteur, as notions of voyeurism can be noted in many of his films, most significantly in 'rear window'. therefore, in this respect, Vertigo can be seen to strongly present its production context, as the use of full body shots and male point of view shots were commonly used in films during this period in order to present women as sexual objects of the male desire. however, due to the fact that Madeline holds power and dominance over Scottie due to her elusive nature and desirability, it can be argued that the representation of women in the film contrast with the context of this period, as women were usually depicted as submissive and vulnerable. Madeline however, is suggested to posses power, even if its through her sexuality. therefore it could be aruged that the full body shot was used in order to convey Madelines power and dominance, rather than to objectify her or diminish her to a sexual object.       

changes in American film

Changes to American Film Industry:

the dramatic changes that occurred in film style over the decades are significant when looking at both Vertigo and One Flew Over. they have very visible differences, and these differences are a result of the cinematic changes. One Flew Over provides a much more natural and raw feeling than Vertigo. 

-post war period- people became desensitised to violence, and wanted a more raw and authentic style of film.
-Italian Neo-realism and French new wave began using real areas to film rather than studios. Hollywood style continued to be challenged around the world especially in Europe, by smaller budgeted and unique films.
-Independent films were European based as they faced the greatest suffering during the war, meaning they were ready for a change.
-Milos Forman was Czech, and was influenced by the new wave of film.
-the changes of cinematic style can be seen through the lighting in Vertigo compared to One Flew Over. Vertigo uses artificial lighting whereas One Flew Over uses natural low key lighting.

film production context

Film Production Context


the differences of production between the two films. their differences reflect the time period in which they were made. The films produced between the later 1960s and later 1980s can all be seen in terms of 'New Hollywood'.


Vertigo:
-between 1930 and 1948, the 8 major studios controlled 95% of films exhibited in US
-The studio system was financially successful because each studio cultivated its own particular ‘identity’, developing standardised specialisms in genre, stars and so on. 
-1958-cold war- communist fear
-made at the end of the studio film system
-wanted A-list actors  and big big hollywood studio gave money
-Hitchcock- world famous director
-safe story line- audience would be please
- actors ad no freedom to improvise-structured and controlled

One Flew over:
-After World War II, cinema attendance declined, the 1950s seeing the rise of home entertainment 
- was originally a play
- low budget
- director wanted it to be as real as possible
- wanted Nurse Ratchet to believe that she was helping patience- less obviously evil
- wanted unknown faces/ actors
- filmed in a real mental hospital
- director wanted little acting- actors took their own interpretations of characters
- lots was improvised
- lots of creative freedom for actors
- director wanted distinct and unique faces

OFOTCN symbolism and mise-en-scene

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest:

throughout the film, symbolism is used to portray significant elements of the films context, or to convey the meanings behind creating the film. the films symbolism is important when understanding metaphorical messages and morals that the creators want to illustrate to the audience.  

-McMurphy represents joy and freedom away from an oppressive institution.  Although he ends up dying as a consequence of his rebellious actions against the repressive system, his soul is never killed. Through the Chiefs escape, his influence lives on and conveys the power of spirit over death and a system which seeks to thwart patients of freedom and represses individuality. A person’s spirit lives on in the actions and mind of the living. His clothing consists of bright colours, which symbolises the life of the outside world. he gradually ends up in the same dull outfits as the rest of the patients, symbolising how he is becoming institutionalised. 

- Throughout the film, faces are filmed behind wire mesh and bars to emphasise the hopelessness of captivity. The glass of the nurse’s station represents the barrier between the individual and power—a barrier the patients are forbidden to cross, even though it appears more transparent and more inclusive than bars.

-The film was made at a real mental institution, which gave the film a natural and realistic feel. this also allowed actors to connect with their characters, as they had a sense of what it was really like to live in a mental hospital.