AlfredHitchcock, Essay

Final Paper Mamet and Hitchcocks Suspenseful Similarities While comparing the fritters Strangers on a Train, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and The Spanish prisoner directed by David Mamet, two tense mysteries unfold. In this essay I will comp be some(prenominal) directors use of themes, notions, and camera effects to bring in the thrilling story of a swindlefused and tortured protagonist. While they argon different plotlines, both stories overlap in whiley bearings. 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, except it is hardly that simple. hotshot a lawn tennis star, true ditch Haines, and the different, a moneyed psychopath Bruno Anthony. Bruno proposes a scheme to roast to kill someone the other person wants to dispose of, a criss-cross. Unknowingly, Guy agrees to kill Brunos opponent and vice ve rsa. Bruno kills Guys wife that he had been trying to divorce, and expects Guy to kill his father. They get mixed up in a cat a dog chase of murder and confusion, which ended with Brunos demise and Guy marrying the women he deard, 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 piece Joe Ross is a math genius that devised a butt against that will take a shit his company billions of dollars. The process is the maguffin (a typical trait of Hitchcock) we n eer find come forward what the process is, only that rival Japanese corporations will do anything to err it. Joe Ross ends up happily ever after standardisedly to Guy Haines. both(prenominal) stories reflect one another in multiple ways.One is that Bruno the compassionate villain in Hitchcocks Strangers on a Train that we love and hate is very similar to that of Julian Jimmy Dell who elaborately tried to steal the process. We gr ow relationships with Jimmy Dell and with Bruno Anthony they be both the catalyst of all bad that comes to the protagonist, yet each director straighten outs them kindly and loveable. Both plotlines be obviously different, but Joe Ross is a similar thoughtfulness of Hitchcocks creation of Guy Haines as substantially. 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 step up the films with character similarities again and again. On the tabloid 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 identical Bru nos question 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 path around with? from each one character is stricken with a striking color 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 mental imagery of tennis. Metaphorically it could re fork over the mental state of characters or plot, the back and onwards 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 p rotagonists 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 adaptation because he uses high angle shots and differential focus on the faces of the patrons go the carousel while the background spins quickly it creates a highly suspenseful and memorable scene. Hitchcock also used that little carnie man who crawled under the touching carousel, I was in awe of the camera angles end-to-end this scene, it made me nourish 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 handle night and day. Hitchcocks is loud and scary, while Mamets is eerily ease 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 cha racters, the themes, and elements 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 shamefaced 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 only 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 act upon them unique. Both the sto ries are well conveyed due to the directors make headway 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.