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Thread: Favorite Director

  1. #161
    Senior Member Diamond Hubber kid-glove's Avatar
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    F_R,

    Actually, It comes as no coincidence to me that you like "Shadow of a doubt". Here's an excerpt from Hitchcock/Truffaut conversation:

    F.T: I take it that of all the pictures you've made, Shadow of a doubt is the one you prefer. And yet it gives a rather distorted idea of the Hitchcock touch. I feel that the film which provides the most accurate image of the ensemble of your work, as well as of your style, is Notorious.

    A.H: I wouldn't say that Shadow of a Doubt is my favorite picture; if I've given that impression, it's probably because I feel that here is something that our friends, the plausibles and logicians, cannot complain about.

    F.T: What about the psychologists?

    A.H: That's right, the psychologists as well! In a sense, it reveals a weakness. On the one hand I claim to dismiss the plausible and so the other I'm worried about them. After all, I'm only human! But that impression is due to my very pleasant memories of working on it with Thornton Wilder. In England, I'd always had the collaboration of top stars and the finest writers, but in America things were quite different. I was turned down by many stars and by many writers who looked down their noses at the genre I work in. That's why it was so gratifying for me to find out that one of America's most eminent playwrights was willing to work with me and indeed, that he took the whole thing quite seriously.

    F.T: Did you select Thornton Wilder or did someone suggest him to you?

    A.H: I wanted him. Let's go back a little into the history of the picture. A woman called Margaret MacDonell, who was head of Selznick's story department, had a husband who was a novelist. One day she told me her husband had an idea for a story but he hadn't written it down yet. So we went to lunch at the brown derby and they told me the story, which we elaborated together as we were eating. Then I told him to go home and type it up.
    In this way we got the skeleton of the story into a nine-page draft that was sent to Thornton Wilder. He came right here, to this studio we are now in, to work on it. WE worked together in the morning and he would work on his own in the afternoon, writing by hand in a school note-book. He never worked consecutively, but jumped about from one scene to another according to his fancy. I might add that the reason I wanted Wilder is that he had written a wonderful play called Our Town.

    F.T: I saw Sam Wood's screen version of that play.

    A.H: When the script was finished, Wilder enlisted in the Psychological Warfare Department of the U.S Army. But I felt there was still something lacking in our screenplay, and I wanted someone who could inject some comedy highlights that would counterpoint the drama. Thornton Wilder had recommended an M-G-M writer, Robert Audrey, but he struck as more inclined towards serious drama, so Sally Benson was brought in. *

    ---------

    *- The story of Shadow of a doubt centers on Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten), opening with his arrival in Santa Rosa for a visit with his family. The real purpose of his visit is to elude two investigators who are on his trail. The family, a doting older sister, her husband, and a young, adoring niece (Teresa Wright) who has been named after her uncle, welcomes him with open arms. BNut gradually the girl begins to suspect taht her beloved uncle may be the mystery man wanted by the police for the killing of several widows.
    Her suspicions are shared by a young detective (MacDonald Carey *k-g note: Hitchcock felt it was a case of miscasting. Truffaut brings up the "weak detectives" in his career and cites that the one in Shadow.. is again incompetent it terms of stature when put against Uncle Charlie. Hitchcock reveals that the real problem were to attract important actors to roles that were considered weak at the time.*) who enters the household by pretending to be a fact finder for a national poll. Meanwhile in the East, another suspect is accidentally killed just as at he police are about to arrest him, and the inquiry is officially closed.

    -------------

    Before the writing, Wilder and I went to the great pains to be realistic about the town, the people and the decor. We chose a town and we went there to search for the right house. WE found one, but Wilder felt that it was too big for a bank clerk. Upon investigation, it turned out that the man who lived there was in the same financial bracket as our character, so Wilder agreed to use it. But when we came back, two weeks prior to the shooting, the owner was so pleased that his house was going to be in a picture that he had had it completely repainted. So we had to go in and get his permission to paint it dirty again. And when we were through, naturally, we had it done all over again with birght, new colors.

    F.T: The acknowledgment to Thornton Wilder in the main credits of Shadow of a Doubt is rather unusual.

    A.H: It was an emotional gesture. I was touched by his qualities.

    F.T: In that case, why didn't you work with him on other screenplays?

    A.H: Because he was off to war and I didn't see him for several years after that.

    F.T: I was wondering where you got the idea of illustrating the tune of "The Merry Widow" with dancing couples. It's an image that appearers several times (*K-g note: Intolerable after a point, if I may add!*)

    A.H: I even used it as a background for the credits.

    F.T: Was it a stock shot?

    A.H: No, I made it up especially for the picture. I can't remember now whether Uncle Charlie is the one who first had the idea of whistling a few bars of "The Merry Widow" or whether it was the girl.

    F.T: At first you showed the dancing couples and the air is played by an orchestra. Then the mother hums the opening bars and everyone at the table is trying to remember the title of the song. Joseph Cotten, who's a little disturbed, says that it's the "Blue Danube," and his niece then says, "That's right...Oh no, it's The Merry.." Whereupon Cotten spills his glass to create a diversion.

    A.H: Yes, because it's too close to the truth. It's also another indication of the telepathy between Uncle Charlie and his niece.

    F.T: Psycho is the only other picture in which your central figure is a villain; the character in Shadow of a doubt even has the public's sympathy, probably because you never actually show him in the act of killing the widows.

    A.H: That may be one reason, but aside from that, he's a killer with an idea; he's one of those murderers who feel that they have a mission to destroy. It's quite possible that those widows deserved what they got, but it certainly wasn't his job to do it. There's a moral judgment in this film. He's destroyed at the end, isn't he? The niece accidentally kills her uncle. What it boils down to is that villains are not all black and heroes are not all white; there are grays everywhere. Uncle Charlie loved his niece, but not as much as she loved him. And yet she has to destroy him. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde. "You destroy the thing you love".

    F.t: I'm puzzled by one detail of the picture. In the first scene at the station, when the train carrying Charlie is coming in, there's a heavy cloud of black smoke coming out of the engine's smokestack and as the train comes close, it darkens the whole station. I have the feeling that this was done deliberately because when the train is leaving the station, at end of the film, there's simply a small puff of light smoke.

    A.H: That's right, I asked for lots of black smoke for the first scene. It's one of those ideas for which you go to a lot of trouble, although it's seldom noticed. But here, we were lucky, the position of the sun created a beautiful shadow over the whole station.

    F.T: The black smoke implies that the devil has arrived

    A.H: There's a similar detail in "The birds" when Jessica Tandy, in a state of shock after having discovered the farmer's body, takes off in her car. To sustain that emotion, I had them put smoke in the truck's exhaust and we also made the road dusty. It also served to establish a contrast with the peaceful mood of her arrival at the farm. For that scene we had the road slightly dampened and there was no smoke coming out of the truck.

    F.T: With the exception of the detective, the casting is excellent, and I imagine you were pleased with the performances.Wright's portrait of a young American girl was outstanding, she had a lovely face, nice shape and her way of walking was particularly graceful

    A.H: She(Wright) was under contract to Goldwyn and we got her on loan. All the irony of the situation stemmed from her deep love for her uncle!

    F.T: In the final scene the girl and her detective sweetheart are standing in front of the church. From the background we hear the minister's tribute to Uncle Charlie, describing him as an exceptional person. Meanwhile, the girl and the detective are planning their future together and she makes a rather ambiguous comment, something to the effect that they are the only ones to know the truth.

    A.H: I don't remember in verbatim. But the suggestion was that girl would be in love with her Uncle for the rest of her life.
    ...an artist without an art.

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  3. #162
    Moderator Platinum Hubber P_R's Avatar
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    TA, probably the script you saw was 'after the fact'. It is difficult to conceive such perfection when writing it. Nor would it be advisable to constrain oneself that much.

    But I'd still like to think of a screenwriter as someone who has a visual sense (i.e. apart from the story, conversations etc.). After who sees whom, what pace someone is talking etc. have a huge impact on what is being written, isn't it? Anyway this is overagonizing on my part.

    My idea was not to diminish the role of a director. Only to say that if one starts with an ordinary piece of writing, it is going to be very difficult to enhance it much - this is being oversold. Or atleast those aspects of it do not independently suffice to make a film with weak writing appeal to me. However it is pretty crucial and dependent largely on a director to not botch up a well written script.
    மூவா? முதல்வா! இனியெம்மைச் சோரேலே

  4. #163
    Moderator Platinum Hubber P_R's Avatar
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    SPOILERS

    Excellent intree. Thanks kid_glove.

    []here is something that our friends, the plausibles and logicians, cannot complain about. [] remba baadhikkappattirukkAr

    On the one hand I claim to dismiss the plausible and so the other I'm worried about them.
    Hmm...why does he claim to 'dismiss the plausible' ? Something in the earlier part of the interview?


    F.T: The acknowledgment to Thornton Wilder in the main credits of Shadow of a Doubt is rather unusual.
    What was it, I don't recall? Do you?

    F.T: I was wondering where you got the idea of illustrating the tune of "The Merry Widow" with dancing couples. It's an image that appearers several times (*K-g note: Intolerable after a point, if I may add!*)

    oru theme meesic, image establish aaga vENdaamA.

    I thought the 'weak detective' came out well. More 'real' than the know-it-all confident cool character types who usually play detectives.

    And the way it is posed you are siding Cotten. That was made easier because the detective seemed like an wet-behind-the ears kid. So you don't respect his opinion. He seems like a pesky kid to you.

    You don't want Cotten exposed. That's because earlier in the movie you don't know who he is. But even as the movie progresses and the viewers' doubt incrases, you are still ambivalent about what you want to happen !! That was done very well.

    Finally does it actually seem as comeuppance to us that he died but is remembered well? She didn't even mean to kill him. The only time we 'see' Cotten's evil shade is the tussle in the train that ends unfortunately for him.

    But its like she (and we) want to ignore it.
    மூவா? முதல்வா! இனியெம்மைச் சோரேலே

  5. #164
    Senior Member Diamond Hubber kid-glove's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by P_R
    why does he claim to 'dismiss the plausible' ? Something in the earlier part of the interview?
    Yes. I remember Equa posting few quotations available in net. Will try to post the full conversation. It's quintessential Hitchcock.

    F.T: The acknowledgment to Thornton Wilder in the main credits of Shadow of a Doubt is rather unusual.
    What was it, I don't recall? Do you?
    I don't either. Perhaps couple of lines at end of main credits.

    I thought the 'weak detective' came out well. More 'real' than the know-it-all confident cool character types who usually play detectives.
    A little more competence would have made it more "plausible". :P Seriously though, Hitchcock could have made the scenes involving the detective little less mundane and it would have kept the ending in suspense. Hitchcock also acknowledges the weak detective-type in Saboteur.
    She didn't even mean to kill him. The only time we 'see' Cotten's evil shade is the tussle in the train that ends unfortunately for him.
    Actually she does. Call it 'momentary impulse' by the way of "accident". I recollect the image of young Charlie in Uncle's clutches looking down to see changing tracks, and, with the inertia of the train's turn, moves the other side while pushing him outside. Need to watch the scene again. But the ambiguity's being underlined by the way Hitchcock renders the 'tussle' in formal terms. All the while it was inevitable, as Hitch puts it, "And yet she has to destroy him. ".
    ...an artist without an art.

  6. #165
    Senior Member Diamond Hubber kid-glove's Avatar
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    While we are on Welles, Hitchcock and "Shadow of a doubt", here's an excerpt from "This is Orson Welles",

    Peter Bogdanovich: What do you make of Hitchcock? (A short silence.) You once said he was the first director to make you want to direct movies.
    Welles: That was when he made those English pictures like The Man Who Knew Too Much and The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps - especially 39 Steps.
    PB: That's his best English film.
    Welles: The American movie I liked most was the one Thornton Wilder wrote. Jo (Cotten) was in it...
    PB: Shadow of a Doubt - it's his favorite too (*KG note: which remains the widely held misassumption as Hitch clarifies. Hitch actually called it the most pleasurable experience.*)
    Welles: Thornton's natural warmth was a big help. (*KG note: recognized by Hitch as well*) There's a certain icy calculation in a lot of Hitch's work that puts me off. He says he doesn't like actors, and sometimes it looks as though he doesn't like people.

    -----------------
    Hitchcock quiz on Saturday 13th 7 PM IST. To be conducted by me, here:
    http://twitter.com/kweezzz
    ...an artist without an art.

  7. #166
    Moderator Platinum Hubber P_R's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by [url=http://mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?p=2288653#2288653
    kid-glove[/url]]Like in case of Welles-Mankiewicz. Hub's flowchart goes like, it's good, it's Sujatha, if it's bad, it's Sangar.
    All I said was:

    I watched Kane. Liked it. An all time fav. film. Compelled to read a lot into it, but checked myself after seeing other films of the maker.
    I watched The Trial. Disliked it.
    I watched Touch of Evil. Disliked it.
    Demoted Welles.

    Moreover I saw nothing common between Kane and Trial-ToE.
    So I speculated that perhaps what I liked in Kane did not come from Welles. Perhaps Mankewicz.
    Whether I should promote Mankewicz will depend on his non-Welles films which I am yet to watch.

    What I wanted to understand was specific directorial touches in Trial, ToE which you felt owed to Welles.

    I found the basic material (story!) in Trial and ToE too weak to make the film engaging for me. Nothing in the directorial efforts that would overcome this weakness.

    To quote an example: 'Tresspassers will be prosecuted' sign in passing in Kane. That's pretty much what we do throughout the film. I stood up and took notice rightaway. Absolutely nothing like that in Trial and ToE.

    It is not like I think writer is everything. I know 'bringing it to life' is the magic of film. My respect for action-directors owes to this. My favorite Tarantino film is Kill Bill 1, not RD. KB2 or Pulp. When I saw them I understood why I liked KB1 has perhaps little to do with what is seen as his universal appeal (the conversations, lon-ninearity estra).

    It is the mesh of the lines and action, the mix of formats, music, the comic-book feel of KB1 that I found excellent. The bride being shot, close range in mid-sentence in the opening scene. Waking up and tapping her temple to get a sonorous sound All these do not exist in paper. I do get that.

    It is just that I am put of by basic material, if it is not made interesting enough that finishes the movie for me. In fact every clever 'movie thing' after that only works against it. I start feeling like 'you fire your writer and think you can get away with all this dazzle eh?'.

    Apples oranges notwithstanding, I like Coens for burn after reading, even Hudsucker Proxy NOT Barton Fink (and I won't even bring up 'no country').
    மூவா? முதல்வா! இனியெம்மைச் சோரேலே

  8. #167
    Senior Member Diamond Hubber kid-glove's Avatar
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    Will keep the response brief.

    Slight misunderstanding for I brought up W-M for Equa's statement on the need to dissect Sujatha's overbearing signature in Shankar's script (not just dialogues!) to keep check on over-crediting Sujatha in that particular collaboration. To a much larger degree, I find CK to be more of W's signature. Now what's common about CK, Trial and ToE, they are all cinematic. Work of a filmmaker who understands the language of cinema. Not "illustrated texts". Illustrated best in his adaptation of "heavy" literature (Kafka's Trial) - now normally I'm against it. For I think in great works of literature, the form it's given in writing couldn't be visually rendered in contracted duration and default structure of film. Mini-series best compares to works of literature. The expansiveness is important in case of, let's say, "Crime and punishment" (700 odd pages with thousands of words, each playing a function) that isn't feasible as a 3-hour film. In fact, the best works of literature had already found its best form. The "roundness"(that would be lost if it were adapted and constricted to 120 page script.) is vital and whole point of its existence. Raison d'etre. In that respect, film best compares to short fiction in narrative depth. Now take Kafka, Welles gives a whole different treatment to one of the shorter works (which was edited, compiled in different order and published by one of Kafka's friends after his death), "The Trial". It's largely unfilmable for its Kafkaesque maze-like narrative.

    Like Camus's reading of Sisyphean struggle, Welles interpretation of K's new-found boldness, vanity at end of it(rather than crumbling down), is superbly spun 'absurd' ending, which originally is of K's solemn submission in the book. Deliberate rearrangement of chapters makes it a different animal altogether. Kafka's black comedy is elusive in words, while Welles is able to get that mood and feel easily, for films is easy to immerse and readily apparent. Acting is key to this. Welles also renders the epistemological drives & existential feel in tight-edged fashion, that's not easily reduced to binary terms, serious or farce. Many films would fall into this quirky little genre (A Serious Man, Barton Fink Synecdoche NY, for eg.) In The Trial, The sets range from Paris to Zagreb, but the overall middle-eastern Europe feel is key as I see it. Casting Perkins as "K" also brought out the Jewish anxiety (and obscure sexuality) of Kafka's novel. Of course, it's not a stretch to say that Kafka had anticipated the holocaust. It'd not be the first time he contemplates antisemitism. Welles picks on this subtext, and builds sets that evokes concentration camps. And not to mention the way his camera looks at the prisoners(?) waiting for their judgment in the alley. Yet, he carefully makes the "Totalitarian" world less specific. It could stand as a microcosmic model (labyrinth-like with the buildings, from flat to commercial spaces, secretive court, etc as one compact unit) of a failing system that seems perfect and works mechanically from outside.

    Welles captures K's journey like a dream (ever wondered how we jump to many different places in our dream without fuss.) In all this, Welles never resorts to exposition. It plays on surreal dreamlike fabric, but never tries to work out the symbol-hunter's brain (as revealed by Welles in his book. He hates symbolism.). But it's still a visceral experience. We begin the film with K sleeping on his bed, and end with his death. Perhaps what we are seeing is "Cobb" (who would have woken up in another level of 'reality') whose inescapable anxiety and guilt is compounded by lack of real information about the 'crimes and misdemeanors'. But it's also abuse of power and control, authoritative plutocracy, and therefore a real perversion of "self" that it drives one to. The film works on multiple levels to me.

    Normally I'd not liken his work in "The Trial" to CK or ToE (it'd be pompous to suggest that there are direct parallels), but I find many similarities in terms of high contrast, deep focus, and overall filming/editing style. I rate him only behind Griffith in terms of influence. A feeling that is shared by critics of Cahiers, from Bazin, to Godard and my personal fav. Rosenbaum. Bazin dissect's Welles directorial style of C.Kane in "What is cinema?", chapter "Evolution of the language of cinema". Bazin and Rosenbaum are of such influence that I'd end up paraphrasing both if we want to take this discussion further...
    ...an artist without an art.

  9. #168
    Moderator Platinum Hubber P_R's Avatar
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    Very well written post k_g.
    Will read again and respond later.
    மூவா? முதல்வா! இனியெம்மைச் சோரேலே

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