Faire obstacle à la vérité et tromper les attentes : Hitchcock et Wilder comme on les connaît peu

Hitchcock’s and Wilder’s aesthetics and preferred themes seem so different that the two European-born directors have rarely been compared, although they were at the height of their fame at about the same period in Hollywood. And yet, they have much more in common than what might appear at first sigh...

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Main Author: Julie Michot
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses universitaires de Rennes
Series:Revue LISA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/10968
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author Julie Michot
author_facet Julie Michot
author_sort Julie Michot
collection DOAJ
description Hitchcock’s and Wilder’s aesthetics and preferred themes seem so different that the two European-born directors have rarely been compared, although they were at the height of their fame at about the same period in Hollywood. And yet, they have much more in common than what might appear at first sight. Their detective films, in particular, are never pure entertainment, and they always imply a significant share of social critique, as is the case with The Paradine Case by Hitchcock (1947) and Witness for the Prosecution by Wilder (1957). Both movies appear to highlight the flaws in the English judicial system—since the action takes place in London—while in fact it is clear that the filmmakers’ judgment is much wider and also applies to their adopted country, the USA. This article intends to study the numerous similarities in style and content between these two unusual films—Hitchcock deciding to mix suspense and surprise; Wilder experimenting Hitchcock’s methods—, and it also seeks to analyze the various strategies developed by the directors to manipulate their public brilliantly.
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spelling doaj.art-29740b0dd775499685f4dcb6214751aa2024-02-13T14:35:39ZengPresses universitaires de RennesRevue LISA1762-61531710.4000/lisa.10968Faire obstacle à la vérité et tromper les attentes : Hitchcock et Wilder comme on les connaît peuJulie MichotHitchcock’s and Wilder’s aesthetics and preferred themes seem so different that the two European-born directors have rarely been compared, although they were at the height of their fame at about the same period in Hollywood. And yet, they have much more in common than what might appear at first sight. Their detective films, in particular, are never pure entertainment, and they always imply a significant share of social critique, as is the case with The Paradine Case by Hitchcock (1947) and Witness for the Prosecution by Wilder (1957). Both movies appear to highlight the flaws in the English judicial system—since the action takes place in London—while in fact it is clear that the filmmakers’ judgment is much wider and also applies to their adopted country, the USA. This article intends to study the numerous similarities in style and content between these two unusual films—Hitchcock deciding to mix suspense and surprise; Wilder experimenting Hitchcock’s methods—, and it also seeks to analyze the various strategies developed by the directors to manipulate their public brilliantly.https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/10968Hitchcock AlfredjusticeWilder BillyThe Paradine CaseWitness for the Prosecution
spellingShingle Julie Michot
Faire obstacle à la vérité et tromper les attentes : Hitchcock et Wilder comme on les connaît peu
Revue LISA
Hitchcock Alfred
justice
Wilder Billy
The Paradine Case
Witness for the Prosecution
title Faire obstacle à la vérité et tromper les attentes : Hitchcock et Wilder comme on les connaît peu
title_full Faire obstacle à la vérité et tromper les attentes : Hitchcock et Wilder comme on les connaît peu
title_fullStr Faire obstacle à la vérité et tromper les attentes : Hitchcock et Wilder comme on les connaît peu
title_full_unstemmed Faire obstacle à la vérité et tromper les attentes : Hitchcock et Wilder comme on les connaît peu
title_short Faire obstacle à la vérité et tromper les attentes : Hitchcock et Wilder comme on les connaît peu
title_sort faire obstacle a la verite et tromper les attentes hitchcock et wilder comme on les connait peu
topic Hitchcock Alfred
justice
Wilder Billy
The Paradine Case
Witness for the Prosecution
url https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/10968
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