107-440 Hitchcock, Film and Art

Strict enrolment deadlines apply to subjects taught during the Summer Semester. Any enrolment in, or withdrawal from, this subject for the Summer Semester must be made in line with HECS census dates, see HECS census date.

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth-year honours in cinema studies.

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the greatest directors of the 20th century. Recently a number of international exhibitions have documented the receptiveness of Hitchcock's films to the literary and visual arts of his time - from Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist paintings to the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, German expressionism, surrealism and modernism. Hitchcock's films have been influenced by artists such as Sickert, Klee, Magritte, de Chirico and Dali and have also exerted a powerful influence on contemporary artists and filmmakers such as Stan Douglas, Cindy Sherman and Chris Marker. This subject seeks to establish his place in art history as well as the film canon and to contextualise the Hitchcockian oeuvre both historically and aesthetically. It also asks the question - what are the factors which have contributed to Hitchcock's extraordinary genius and phenomenal popularity?

A class paper and a long essay totalling 5000 words.

A subject reader will be available.