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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page research paper that analyzes the cinematography in Alfred Hitchcock's film Topaz (1969). The writer particularly focuses on the scene where a woman in a purple dress is shot, which is particularly powerful. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khtopaz.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Alfred Hitchcock had more than mastered the new lexicon of filmmaking. Audiences, however, found the film to be disappointing. Critics felt that Topaz lacked the trademark element of edge-of-your-seat
suspense that generally characterized films directed by Hitchcock. Rather than the usual Hitchcock thriller, Topaz offered a film adaptation of Leon Uris sprawling novel, complete with convoluted plot and multiple
story-lines. While Topaz is rated as one of Hitchcocks lesser films, critics have pointed out that the film constitutes an experiment in "light and color" that allowed this great director
to adjust to new filmmaking styles (Miller, 2004). This point is particularly evident in the famous scene where a principal character, a Cuban woman, is shot. This scene, particularly, demonstrates
the one area in which the film excels, which is design. Topaz is a montage of espionage, romance and betrayal, as different stories unfold during the 1962 Cuban Missile
Crisis (Miller, 2004). Andre Devereaux (Frederick Stafford) is a French espionage agent who has been having an affair with a Cuban woman (Karin Dor). This woman betrays her country by
giving information concerning the Russian missiles to the United States. Her death scene epitomizes the cinematic elements that make up the overall design for the film. Hitchcock was greatly
aided in this aspect of the film by production designer Henry Bumstead, who "carried the masters color ideas out in ingenious designs," ranging from a Harlem hotel to a Cuban
mansion to two international airports (Miller, 2004). Working closely with Bumstead, Hitchcock created a carefully constructed visual plan for the film that carried key thematic colors and floral references throughout
the mise en scene in a manner that paralleled the narrative development (Miller, 2004). By far, the strongest effect in the film is when Dors character is shot (Miller, 2004).
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