The Genius of Alfred Hitchcock

The bird attack on Benner house and the iconic struggle of Tippi Hedren (Melanie Daniels) and Mitchell “Mitch’’ Benner (Rod Taylor) depicted in the Alfred Hitchcock blockbuster of 1963 ‘The Birds’ show, as many might not know the detailing and meticulous manner of storyboarding which ultimately transpired in making the audience engross in the film’s depiction of horror and fantasy. It’s been over 50 years since Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ first flew the world of cinema and revolutionized on-screen horror. However this was not the only film in which he employed such an intricate method, it is believed that storyboarding was used in classic cults like Foreign Correspondent (1940), Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), Spellbound (1945) and the list goes on and on.

Many analysts believed that most of Hitchcock’s films were storyboarded to such exacting details that he didn’t even bother to glance through a viewfinder, however in his photos available to us by the paparazzi, he has been seen doing so. Much of the technical brilliance of Hitchcock relied upon the pre-production process rather than the actual production itself. His powers of pre-visualization of sequence of images through the systematic method of story boarding earned him laurels so much so that he was and still is considered as one of the best directors/producer of all time.

The Shower Scene- Saul Bass’ Storyboard:

Saul Bass prepared storyboards for the shower scene, and was on the set during at least part of the filming. After Hitchcock’s death, Bass asserted that he had directed the scene at Hitchcock’s invitation–a claim definitively contradicted by both Janet Leigh and Assistant Director Hilton Green. Bass’s partisans have subsequently held that Hitchcock merely mechanically filmed shots already laid out by Bass. Comparing the storyboards to the filmed scene shows that to be untrue. On the other hand, the most crucial elements of the scene, such as the drain-eye matchcut and the tracking shot that follows it, are in the storyboards. That proves nothing about the author of the scene, however, since Bass drew the storyboards after extensive discussions with Hitchcock about the design of the scene.

Bill Krohn, the American correspondent of ‘Cahiers du cinema Krohn’, has challenged this outlook of Hitchcock in his book ‘Hitchcock at work’. He after investigating several script revisions, beside inspection of storyboards, and other production material has noted the myth of storyboarding relative to Hitchcock. The rationale of his was that the fact in relation to years of commentators on his film who regurgitated his success to storyboarding, was utilized by Hitchcock himself or his publicity arm of studies to perpetuate his success and consolidate his position even further as the greatest and innovative director of his time.

Myth or not, the scenes of Cary Grant running through a desolate cornfield, pursued by a crop duster overhead; Ingrid Bergman risking her life to go into a wine cellar, looking for a secret ; and Eva Marie Saint clambering over the faces of the American presidents at Mount Rushmore, has eternally been etched on our mind, heart and soul. The passage of journey from being a simple east London boy to becoming the most distinguished director of all time who had the energy of Dickens and the facility of Picasso was quite an intriguing one. He was not only able to merely adapt his style to changing artistic values but he also shaped the entire culture of popular film.