February 11, 2010, Filed Under: Film, Photography"North by Northwest": The Chase Across Mount Rushmore Alfred Hitchcock directed a string of masterpieces in the 1950s including Strangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Vertigo (1958), and Psycho (1960). At the height of this remarkable run came North by Northwest (1959), a unique marriage of Hitchcock’s trademark suspense… read more
February 10, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmExhibition: "Slack Nite" keeps it informal Early motion pictures were presented in arcades and amusement parks. Later, they were shown as short “acts” in vaudeville variety shows. The motion picture theater industry emerged in 1907 with the establishment of the “nickel show” or nickelodeon. By 1910, nickelodeons were everywhere, and after World War I they replaced… read more
February 9, 2010, Filed Under: FilmDirector: Alfred Hitchcock and Ernest Lehman plan Hitch’s final film Except for the actor, no other position in filmmaking is as much discussed or as little understood as that of the director. Directing a film requires sensitivity to the story, understanding of technical filmmaking processes, and coordination of these two skills. It also demands the ability to communicate, persuade, and… read more
February 8, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmPublicity: From painting to poster The star system emerged around 1910 when film producers began noting the public’s preference for individual actors. People wanted to know who the “Biograph Girl” was (Florence Lawrence) and the real name of the girl with the golden curls they knew as “Little Mary” (Mary Pickford). They also wanted their… read more
February 5, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmCinematography: The financial effects of Ingrid Bergman’s beauty The art of cinematography goes far beyond the simple recording of a scene or event. It is a creative and interpretive process that involves many skills and techniques, some that are shared with still photography and some that are unique to motion pictures. The cinematographer can manipulate the image through… read more
February 4, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmWriter: "Shakespeare in Love" screenplay shows Tom Stoppard’s edits Of all the elements of filmmaking, the screenplay is arguably the most important. It is also the element most debated, discounted, discarded, and arbitrated. More often than not, the screenplay is an adaptation of another work—a novel, play, news story, biography, or even another screenplay. The screenplay expresses character and… read more
