Hitchcock Wins with Rebecca

I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock. I haven't seen all of his movies (though that is my next movie goal), but those I have seen have left me thoroughly impressed. I recently watched his 1940 Oscar-winning film, Rebecca and my reaction was no different: Hitchcock is freakin' awesome.

I don't like jumping on bandwagons, so the fact that I am willing to admit I agree with half the world and say Hitchcock is quite possibly the greatest director ever is a grand step for me. But I'm taking that leap. Rebecca was another example of how brilliantly artistic Hitchcock was with his direction. From the very first moment, as the credits begin, we see the name of the production company on an eerie, crooked sign, and we know something is wrong. This film is not a happy, lighthearted story; something is eerie and crooked.

It is not surprising to me that one of the Oscars this film won was Best Cinematography. The pictures Hitchcock creates are beautiful. The most memorable camerawork occurs in a scene close to the end, as Olivier is telling a story about his previous wife. The story describes her actions step by step: she was laying on the bed, then sitting up, then standing, then walking over to Olivier. As Olivier narrates each movement, Hitchcock traces the entire pattern with his camera so we see a camera pan, but no actors. No human. No ghost. We only hear Olivier's voice as we picture Rebecca in the shots the camera has just shown us. We are given a visual, but it is a visual that allows us to insert our own image of the character. Can we please say artistic brilliance?!

Which brings me to another thing I appreciate about Hitchcock's choices in this film: we never, ever see Rebecca. The film is titled after her and yet we are never given a visual of this woman whose haunting presence dominates the actions of every character. We are left to picture her in our mind, a fate far more frightening than if we just saw her on screen.

And with that, I throw myself onto the Hitchcock bandwagon, sit back, relax, and prepare to enjoy the ride.