“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”—Alfred Hitchcock
Join us this fall as we celebrate the 110th Birthday of the Master of Suspense, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, who was born on August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, London, England, and died in 1980 in Los Angeles, California, having produced a remarkable body of work over his 81 years. We’ll be devoting our fall semester Monday Night Classic Cinema series to Hitchcock, squeezing in a few more titles here and there.
From his early British silents to the early 40’s work in Hollywood, to the major American films of his late period, we’ll be screening a total of fifteen of his greatest works, all in 35mm film prints, some of which haven’t graced our screens in decades.
Our celebration coincides with the Cornell course Studies in Film Analysis: Interpreting Hitchcock, taught by Hitchcock scholar Lynda Bogel. Her seminar considers Hitchcock as a major technical and stylistic innovator in the history of cinema, and views his films as texts for psychoanalytic and feminist approaches to study, inviting questions about film language, the ethics of spectatorship, and the nature of desire and sexuality. We invite audience members to do the same in what we’re calling Hitchcock 101.
In addition, we'll show the fascinating documentary directed by Sophie Fiennes (sister of Ralph and Joseph), The Pervert's Guide to the Cinema, in which Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek subjects several of Hitchcock's films, including Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds, to psychoanalytic scrutiny. Zizek is often filmed on the actual locations of the films he discusses, or on recreated sets, so you'll see him on a motorboat in Bodega Bay in northern California, site of The Birds, and walking around locations for Vertigo. We'll also be joined by three graduate students from the English Department, who will introduce screenings of Strangers on a Train, Rear Window and Vertigo.
A semester-long “course” on Hitchcock? Less than $100 (closer to $50 if you’re a student!). A lifetime of 35mm Hitchcock memories? Priceless.
Cosponsored with the Dept. of English and Dept. of Theatre, Film & Dance. Special thanks to Lynda Bogel, Brian Fox at Swank and Paul Ginsburg at Universal.