AlfredHitchcock, Essay

Final Paper Mamet and Hitchcocks Suspenseful Similarities While comparing the take ons Strangers on a Train, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and The Spanish captive directed by David Mamet, two nail-biting mysteries unfold. In this essay I will compargon twain directors use of themes, feels, and camera effects to gestate the thrilling story of a chiselfused and tortured protagonist. While they argon different plotlines, both stories overlap in musical compositiony directions. Perhaps Mamet may have even made an homage to Hitchcocks Strangers on a Train by mirroring various scenes and themes in The Spanish Prisoner.Strangers on a Train is the story of two strangers that meet on a train, only if it is hardly that simple. integrity a tennis star, twat Haines, and the some other, a pie-eyed psychopath Bruno Anthony. Bruno proposes a scheme to true cat to kill someone the other person wants to dispose of, a criss-cross. Unknowingly, Guy agrees to kill Brunos opponent and vi ce versa. Bruno kills Guys wife that he had been trying to divorce, and expects Guy to kill his father. They get mixed up in a reproduce a dog chase of murder and confusion, which ended with Brunos demise and Guy marrying the women he passiond, Anne Morton.The Spanish Prisoner is titled from a con game that traps a mark into turning over thousands of dollars to scam artists. David Mamet showcase Joe Ross is a math genius that devised a exercise that will collect his company billions of dollars. The process is the maguffin (a typical trait of Hitchcock) we n perpetually find step up what the process is, only that rival Japanese corporations will do anything to buy it. Joe Ross ends up happily ever after identically to Guy Haines. twain stories reflect one another in multiple ways.One is that Bruno the tender-hearted villain in Hitchcocks Strangers on a Train that we love and hate is very similar to that of Julian Jimmy Dell who in an elaborate way tried to steal the proce ss. We grow relationships with Jimmy Dell and with Bruno Anthony they argon both the catalyst of all bad that comes to the protagonist, yet each director cites them harmonic and loveable. Both plotlines are obviously different, but Joe Ross is a similar formula of Hitchcocks creation of Guy Haines as considerably. Both men are mixed up in what they thought were brief encounters with ice or eccentric strangers. Yet both men get fooled along the way and get entangled in a web of lies, murder, and deceit. Mamet mirrors Hitchcock storyline in various ways through show up the films with character similarities again and again. On the shroud ride back to the States, Susan asks Joe the films signature question Who in the world is what they seem? In this scene, instead of a train they are on an airplane, and instead of Bruno asking Guy a question, it is Susan to Joe. Inevitably they are the same.Susan endows doubt and a motive to do something out of character, much handle Brunos quest ion to Anthony, My theory is that everybody is a potential murderer. Didnt you ever want to kill somebody? Say one of those useless fellows Miriam was cut around with? each character is stricken with a striking exposition that unravels the rest of their fate. In the same scene in the airplane Joe responds to Susan by retreating to the planes bathroom to unwrap Dells gift, which turns out to be a first edition of Budge on Tennis. The tennis theme is another similarity echoed in Strangers on a Train.Guy Haines is a pro tennis player and many of the scenes have resource of tennis. Metaphorically it could re grant the mental state of characters or plot, the back and out of sense and logic. Later when Joe is trying to meet up with lawyers to discuss the process in Central Park, he goes onto a carousel. Mamet does no mistake by copying Hitchcocks carousel tool as a dizzying climactic point. The spinning of the carousel signifies the mental state of both protagonists at the time. Each is on the verge of a breakdown, not knowing who to trust or what to do next.Camera angles enhance the scene in Hitchcocks variant because he uses high angle shots and differential focus on the faces of the patrons travel the carousel while the background spins quickly it creates a highly suspenseful and memorable scene. Hitchcock as well used that little carnie man who crawled under the move carousel, I was in awe of the camera angles end-to-end this scene, it made me toy with my breath. The scene from The Spanish Prisoner where Joe was in the carousel was not as thrilling, the tone was different, he just walked around it slowly.The tones of the two scenes are same(p) night and day. Hitchcocks is loud and scary, while Mamets is eerily hush and somber. Thematically they both explain the mental state of the protagonist, but Hitchcocks tone is intense, fast paced, and surreal at times, while Mamets tone is cerebral and realistic. Not only are the characters, the themes, and el ements comparatively similar, but also many of Hitchcocks trademarks are found in both movies. One is the falsely accused man. This is present in Guy Haines, as well as in Joe Ross. Each protagonist is being chased for a crime they didnt commit.It is a classic trait of suspense thrillers and is rebelliously a major part of each film. The second trait is the discredited woman. This is present in Susan in Spanish Prisoner, and in Miriam in Strangers on a Train. Both directors convey police as idiotic throughout the movie as well, which is another Hitchcock trait. The final element is the pathological deviant. This is present in Bruno Anthony and in Julian Jimmy Dell. This is the figure that spun the web of lies and created a trustworthy bond while in reality being entirely crazed for a purpose that is unattainable.While both movies are similar in their theme, tone, characters, and director traits, they also vary in ways that fabricate them unique. Both the stories are well conveye d due to the directors blank point of view. One was referencing the other, both were gripping and suspenseful tales of an innocent man trying to fix a problem that they cant seem to solve. Mamets mirroring of Hitchcock was done well, but Hitchcocks surrealistic shots and character like the carnie make it more interesting and compelling of a movie to me.