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Car chases through famous monuments, killers dressed in black leather wielding blades

in their black- gloved hands, icy blonde femme fatales, haunting musical scores, the MacGuffin

and 37 cameo appearances; these are a few of the elements found in the films of movie maestros

Alfred Hitchcock and Dario Argento. Hitchcock, the “Master of Suspense”, laid the groundwork

over the course of his sixty year career that made cult favorite, “Master of Horror”, Dario

Argento films possible.

Voyeurism, technical finesse, and seemingly impossible shots are hallmarks of both their

careers. Their work has influenced nearly every director working in the thriller, suspense and

horror genres; Hitchcock as the originator of style and Argento as its innovator.

Although forty-one years separates their births, and they only worked concurrently for six

years, (Argento’s first film as director was “The Bird With the Crystal Plumage” in 1970,

Hitchcock’s last film was “Family Plot” in 1976) the thematic elements and techniques used in

their films are strikingly similar. Their similarities are largely due to Argento’s masterful and

innovative take on Hitchcock’s inventive influence.

Hitchcock populated his sixty year career with iconic, genre defining classics such as,

“Rear Window”, “Psycho” and “The Birds”. He began his lengthy career in the 1920s as a title

card designer for black and white Silent films and ended his life’s work in stereo and

Technicolor in the late 1970s. His love of film was so encompassing that he met the other love

of his life, wife Alma Reville, a film editor and script girl on his 1926 film “The Lodger” on a

movie set. She would later become a screenwriter and trusted sounding board for Hitchcock’s

ideas until his death in 1980.

Born on August 13, 1899 Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was the third and last child of William

Hitchcock and his wife Emma. The family lived in the London borough of Leytonstone which
was technically not a borough and even more confusing not in London proper (Taylor, 25).

Hitchcock was a solitary child, mostly due to the age gap between him and his older siblings,

(the one nearest to him in age, his sister Nellie, was seven years older than he) who spent most of

his time playing alone. His obesity was also a problem. When it came to making friends, he was

constantly teased and bullied by the children of Leytonstone; it is believed that this coupled with

the sternness of his parents made him wary and watchful in his later life (26). One story that

illustrates the stern parenting of the Hitchcock’s occurred when Alfred was five or six years old.

In punishment for some minor transgression he was sent to the police station with a note from his

father. The officer in charge read the note and then locked the child in a jail cell for six minutes.

“This is what we do to naughty boys”, is what the officer told him while he waited in the cell

(28). Alfred’s mother is reported to have made him stand at the edge of her bed when he had

behaved badly, sometimes forcing him to stand there for hours (Wikipedia). The incident with

his father is a possible reason for Alfred’s reported fear and mistrust of the police (which may

explain why many of his characters operate outside the law) while the one with his mother seems

to be an obvious motivation for scenes in the movie Psycho.

He went on to study at the London County Council School of Engineering and

Navigation in Poplar, London. Upon graduating he became a draftsman and advertising designer

(Wikipedia). His first job was as a technical clerk with W. T. Henley Telegraph Company, a

firm that manufactured electric cable (32). He progressed in the company and by 1919 was one

of the chief estimating clerks at the cable company. A co-worker of his, who was a part time

actor, was fond of Alfred’s love of movies and got him a job as a title card designer in 1920 with

the motion picture studio; The Famous Players-Lasky, which would later become Paramount

Pictures, this was the beginning of one of the most prolific genre-defining careers in film history

(Rohmer, Chabrol 4). Hitchcock’s modest if not hardscrabble beginnings in both life and film
could not be more dissimilar from fellow auteur Dario Argento, who was practically born into

cinematic royalty.

Born on September 7, 1940 to top public relations executive of Unitalia, (Italy’s

government funded organization for promoting cinema) Salvatore Argento and his Brazilian wife

Elda Luxardo; who was a famous photographer of celebrities in the 1950’s, Dario Argento was

born into a life of film (Jones, 15).

“I can’t remember anything, apart from being in the film world. I seem to have lived

forever with actors, lights, scenery…I was definitely born into the movies.” (15). Dario was

taught at home by his parents and never attended college. He took his first job, as a film critic,

when he was eighteen years old. He lied about his age to work at the Rome based newspaper

‘Paese Sera’ as writers had to be twenty-one to work legally in the newspaper industry at that

time in Italy (15).

Fittingly, first job in the movie industry was as a writer. He was approached by famed

director Sergio Leone, the Spaghetti Western king, to co-write “Once Upon a Time in the West”.

The movie went on to be a huge international success and Argento, upset with the paltry

payment he received for his work, refused to work for Leone again (16). He continued to write,

however, and became a popular screenwriter, but he always felt that his ideas were never

followed as closely as he would like; frustrated with the situation he decided to become a

director to ensure his ideas would be presented exactly as he envisioned them. This decision

began a career that although influenced by his contemporaries; Fritz Lang, Andy Warhol,

Federico Fellini and, of course, Alfred Hitchcock he would become and innovator himself,

greatly influencing the thriller and horror genre. Argento would command world-wide attention

and acclaim for a then little known sub-genre of thriller known as Giallo. Similar to Hitchcock,
Argento met the love of his life, actress Daria Nicolodi. His lover and muse, the couple never

married but do have a child who not surprisingly has grown up to be a part of the film industry

(even starring in her father’s films); actress, screenwriter, director, Asia Argento (Jones 69).

Like his artistic mentor Hitchcock, Dario Argento’s filmography compiles films that are genre

influencing, decadently visual and almost too prolific to list.

To go over the individual films of these two movie legends would be an exhaustive affair.

Hitchcock alone is credited as director on nearly sixty films and Argento, less prolific, has

twenty films (and counting) to contend with. These eighty films do not include both directors’

forays into television. Hitchcock, again the more prolific of the two, enjoyed a seven year stint

on television with “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” while Argento had a short lived series called

“Dario Argento’s Door Into Darkness”, and more recently collaborated with other horror icons

on Showtime’s “Masters of Horror” anthology series. Instead, we will concentrate on a small

selection of influential films from both directors. Two films that highlight Hitchcock’s

originality and his influence on Argento are “Rear Window” and “Vertigo”. These two films

show Hitchcock’s thematic and cinematic brilliance; Argento’s “Opera” and his direct homage

“Do You Like Hitchcock?” are easily contrasted against the two aforementioned films and show

innovations of Argento to the established Hitchcockian formula.

The first, and most obvious, comparison between the two directors is their visual flair.

The two craftsmen found ways to use their cameras as an extension of their stories. Hitchcock’s

famous shot from “Vertigo”, affectionately called the ‘Hitchcock zoom’ became a standard in

cinematography. The technical term for the effect that Hitchcock pioneered is the Dolly zoom.

The effect is achieved by using the settings of a zoom lens to adjust the field of view

while the camera dollies towards or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject
the same size in the frame throughout. During the zoom there is a continuous perspective

distortion the most notable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to

the subject (Wikipedia).

As the human visual system uses both size and perspective cues to judge the relative size

of objects, seeing a perspective change without a size change is an unsettling effect (Wikipedia).

Hitchcock used this technique in “Vertigo” at the climax of the film; visually illustrating the fear

and dread “Scottie” (played by James Stewart) had of heights. The shot gave the viewer insight

into the nauseating affects of vertigo and saving it for the final climatic scene was a stroke of

brilliance. The driving score by Bernard Herrmann (a staple of Hitchcock films made in

America) combined with superb acting and directing made this one of the most influential shots

in film history. Hitchcock had established a high-water mark for cinematography and style with

his 1958 masterpiece.

A little more than thirty years later, Argento would mesmerize film aficionados with the

dazzling, birds-eye view camerawork of his 1987 film “Opera”. In an interview about the film

and the techniques used in it Argento says: “When using these techniques (Dolly techniques) the

camera, in reality, becomes a performer, a performer with acrobatic skill. And one begins to

play with the camera. This is not a means to an end, for when the camera is placed way up high,

or way down low, or when it is penetrating into holes, or panning the hands, or entering the

mouth, it is still only a technique, a way of telling the story.” (“Dario Argento’s Door into

Darkness”: Extras: Dario Argento –Master of Horror). The finale of “Opera” was highly

complicated. Dario had built an enormous mechanical arm that allowed the camera to fly over

the heads of the audience in his shot; simulating the flight of the crows that attacked the

antagonist in the scene (“Dario Argento’s Door into Darkness”). The camera was placed on an

Alexander Caulderesque mobile suspended from the ceiling of the opera house that could be
raised, lowered and accelerated remotely. Where Hitchcock had given the audience insight into

the nausea of his protagonist, Argento gave the audience insight into the flight of the crows in his

film which has an equally nauseating effect. Hitchcock’s Zoom stands as the original trick shot

in film; it has been used regularly by directors since, serving as a standard of filmmaking.

Argento’s flight –cam is a rarely used shot (especially in modern films as digital effects

constitute most of the difficult camera shots) that innovates the original dolly zoom but is not

necessarily a standard.

Voyeurism as a thematic element is another common factor in the work of Hitchcock and

Argento. Voyeurism is defined as deriving sexual gratification from observing others in secret.

Often the object of voyeurism is undressed or engaged in some kind of sexual activity. The key

factor in voyeurism is that the voyeur does not interact personally with the person being

observed.

Movie-making and movie-viewing have long been analyzed as voyeuristic practices.

Horror films in particular are strongly voyeuristic, in that they characteristically identify the

viewer with the point of view of the monster. Voyeurism and the gaze are major themes in

Hitchcock's movies as well as elements of his technique. The most direct treatment of voyeurism

is in “Rear Window”, where the main characters are a photographer and a fashion model. With

“Rear Window”, the gaze becomes a catalyst for the unweaving of both the cinematic narrative

and the collective community commentary that the apartment complex represents. In “Rear

Window”, it is Jefferies (James Stewart) who adopts the position of voyeur. Immobile, bored,

and most likely sexually frustrated as a result of both his immobility and repressed desires,

Jefferies spends his recently acquired leisure time looking through a rear window at the

situations and peoples in the apartment complex that lay across from his building. As Zizek

claims, Jefferies' immobility reduces him to "a being of the gaze, confronted with the enigmatic
signs in the building opposite his rear window" (143). This concept of voyeurism as a thematic

device that purposefully, structurally, and deliberately advances the plot is something in which

Hitchcock excelled in. He is the originator of this stylized form of cinema. But where Hitchcock

was the architect, Argento was the innovator; he took Hitchcock’s themes on voyeurism and

turned them into stylized macabre theatre.

As with another cinematic text in which the camera is employed as a device that

perpetuates both the gaze and the plot of the narrative; Argentos’ “Opera” also exemplifies this

idea of frustrated sexuality. Argento adopts the idea of the gaze and transforms it into a form of

sadistic-voyeurism.

The act of sadistic-voyeurism by the spectator or character occurs once the controlling

‘gaze’ is not enough and punishment is metered out to the female. This method of forced gaze is

employed upon Betty by the killer, Alan Santini. When Betty is bound and subjected to look, she

is objectified by the spectator, which reinforces the view of the use of the gaze. The oscillation

between various points of view within the scene, allows the voyeur to completely occupy Betty

through the killer’s eyes. Like Hitchcock’s Jeffries, the killer completely employs sadistic-

voyeurism, which means trying to make the woman admit her guilt, getting her to re-enact the

traumatic event, aggressively pursuing, investigating and demystifying the victim. Following his

direct usage of voyeurism in film, the auteur makes use of it once more, although in a more

symbolic manner, when he paid respect to Hitchcock.

Argento paid homage to his artistic mentor with his 2005 film “Do You Like Hitchcock?”

The film makes several nods to Hitchcock and his fans. Hitchcock, who famously made cameos

in all of his American films, even “Lifeboat” which was shot entirely on a lifeboat makes several

cameo appearances in “Do You Like Hitchcock?” He is pictured prominently on the window

next to the entrance of the video store frequented by the main character and he is the subject of a
montage on the main charades television. The film is “…a shocking whirlpool of fiendish

bargains, double-cross, MacGuffins and mistaken identity culled from the entire Hitchcock back

catalogue navigating themes contained in “Rear Window”, “Vertigo”, “Psycho”, “Family Plot”

and “Dial M for Murder…” (Jones, 329).

Hitchcock’s iconic status is secured. His films live on and are considered classics. He was

made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1980

(just before he passed away). The Screen Directory considers him the Best Director of All Time,

“Vertigo” is considered the number one mystery film all time by AFI (The American Film

Institute) and six of his films are in the national film registry (Wikipedia). His influence helped

shape the career of Argento who is not nearly as recognized by the governing bodies of the film

industry. His accolades come from those who he has influenced with his work.

“Quentin Tarantino adores him. Best selling horror author Clive Barker has always

wanted to be him. John Carpenter directed “Halloween” in homage to his work. However, if not

a member of the splaterrati --- the term for the fanatical Italian horror buff, it’s likely that you

won’t know who Dario Argento is.” (Jones, 13). His relative obscurity can be traced to his

subject matter and his chosen genre of Giallo (mostly Italian films characterized by extended

murder sequences that feature copious amounts of blood, stylish camerawork and elements of

suspense). It is an interesting fact that Giallo, as a genre, is directly related to Hitchcock, as the

first Giallo film, Mario Bava’s “The Girl Who Knew Too Much” was a response to Hitchcock’s

“The Man Who Knew Too Much” (32). Both The Icon and the Cult-Classic share much, with

the clear explanation being Hitchcock’s influence on Argento, but if one looks past the genre-

conventions and the stylistic elements; what you will see is two men who loved movies and have

tried, whether successfully or not, to share that love with their audiences.