Iconic Thriller Directors
- Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and Eileen Hitchcock (born 1892). Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing.
Trademark
Inspired the adjective "Hitchcockian" for suspense thrillers
In order to create suspense in his films, he would alternate between different shots to extend cinematic time (e.g. the climax of Saboteur (1942), the cropduster sequence in North by Northwest (1959), the shower scene in Psycho (1960), etc.) His driving sequences were also shot in this particular way. They would typically alternate between the character's point of view while driving and a close-up shot of those inside the car from opposite direction. The technique kept the viewer 'inside' the car and made any danger encountered more richly felt.
2. David Lynch
Born in precisely the kind of small-town American setting so familiar from his films, David Lynch spent his childhood bring shunted from one state to another as his research scientist father kept getting relocated. He attended various art schools, married Peggy Lynch and then fathered future director Jennifer Lynch shortly after he turned 21. The experience, plus attending art school in a particularly violent and run-down area of Philadelphia, inspired Eraserhead (1977), a film that he began in the early 1970s (after a couple of shorts) and which he would work on obsessively for five years.
Trademark
- Has a taste for low/middle frequency noise, dark and rotting environments, distorted characters, a polarised world (angles vs demons, Madonnas vs whores), and debilitating damage to the skull or brain.
- Use of slow-motion during key scenes of violence
- Red curtains, strobe lights, and extreme surrealism
- Close up shots of eyes
- Quirky, nasal voice
- Films are often sexually charged and graphically violent
- Many of his films examine the dark side of American suburbia.
- Never explains the meaning of his movies
- Very heavy use of black and dark lighting in order to augment colourful objects in scenes.
3. Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping to find something to interest his son, Jack introduced Stanley to chess, with the desired result. Kubrick took to the game passionately, and quickly became a skilled player. Chess would become an important device for Kubrick in later years, often as a tool for dealing with recalcitrant actors, but also as an artistic motif in his films.
Trademark
- His films often tell about the dark side of human nature, especially dehumanisation.
- Symmetric image composition. Often features shots down the length of tall, parallel walls, e.g. the head in Full Metal Jacket (1987), the maze and hotel corridors in The Shining (1980) and the computer room in 2001: A space Odyssey (1968).
- Extreme close-ups of intensely emotional faces.
- All of Kubrick's films feature a pivotal scene that takes place in a bathroom.
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2. David Lynch
Born in precisely the kind of small-town American setting so familiar from his films, David Lynch spent his childhood bring shunted from one state to another as his research scientist father kept getting relocated. He attended various art schools, married Peggy Lynch and then fathered future director Jennifer Lynch shortly after he turned 21. The experience, plus attending art school in a particularly violent and run-down area of Philadelphia, inspired Eraserhead (1977), a film that he began in the early 1970s (after a couple of shorts) and which he would work on obsessively for five years.
Trademark
- Has a taste for low/middle frequency noise, dark and rotting environments, distorted characters, a polarised world (angles vs demons, Madonnas vs whores), and debilitating damage to the skull or brain.
- Use of slow-motion during key scenes of violence
- Red curtains, strobe lights, and extreme surrealism
- Close up shots of eyes
- Quirky, nasal voice
- Films are often sexually charged and graphically violent
- Many of his films examine the dark side of American suburbia.
- Never explains the meaning of his movies
- Very heavy use of black and dark lighting in order to augment colourful objects in scenes.
3. Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping to find something to interest his son, Jack introduced Stanley to chess, with the desired result. Kubrick took to the game passionately, and quickly became a skilled player. Chess would become an important device for Kubrick in later years, often as a tool for dealing with recalcitrant actors, but also as an artistic motif in his films.
Trademark
- His films often tell about the dark side of human nature, especially dehumanisation.
- Symmetric image composition. Often features shots down the length of tall, parallel walls, e.g. the head in Full Metal Jacket (1987), the maze and hotel corridors in The Shining (1980) and the computer room in 2001: A space Odyssey (1968).
- Extreme close-ups of intensely emotional faces.
- All of Kubrick's films feature a pivotal scene that takes place in a bathroom.
