This is a paper/seminar that I wrote for my last bit of Film and Television assesment. I may have to take it down because it still need to be moderated at the end of the year. I got a B -.
For my seminar I looked at the auction scene in North by Northwest. North by Northwest was released in 1959 a year before the release of “Psycho”, Hitchcock’s most famous work. Featuring many techniques never seen before in modern cinema, North by Northwest was hailed as one of Hitchcock’s greatest films. His definitive style and the messages he portrayed in his films have influenced filmmakers for the last 30 - 40 years. Galenson and Kotin (2007 pg. 124) suggest that Hitchcock aimed to entertain a mass audience with his films. The auction scene is one of the most important scenes in the film. Roger Thornhill, the main protagonist in the film finally understands his place in the situation, he has his suspicions confirmed about Eve and starts to make things happen for himself whereas prior to this he has just reacted to the people around him.
The scene starts with an establishing shot of the main character, Roger Thornhill, entering the building where the auction is being held. This places the audience at the scene and lets them know where they are. This is followed by another very long (41seconds) establishing shot inside the auction room. This establishing shots starts with a close up of Mr Vandamm stroking the back of Eve’s neck. Wilson (1979 pg.1166 -1167) argues that the juxtaposition of this image and the sound of the auctioneer talking gives the impression that Vandamm is assessing her like a piece of artwork. This shot is important because it shows the relationship between the two. The shot then continues to track back and turn to show the audience the surrounding room. As the camera pans, we see Thornhill standing at the back of the room watching them. The shot is continuous and shows the two parties equally, there is no awkward cut to where Thornhill is standing. Hitchcock uses this shot to tell the audience where the characters are in relation to each other.
As we are able to tell from the establishing shot of the room, this is a very exclusive event. The room is decorated with expensive furniture, vases and a painted gold harp stands in the corner. The luxury of the furnishings and the elegant and the muted colours of the peoples clothing give connotations of conservativeness and reserve. Around the walls you can see many security guards, as well as Vandamm’s henchmen, making this a very risky scenario. The room is well lit, chandelier’s hang from the ceiling lighting the room well and minimising the amount of shadow, this could symbolise the lack of somewhere to hide. There are people situated all around the room, some sitting in the chairs facing the front of the room and others standing around the outside. The audience at the auction barely moves, emphasising Thornhill when he moves amongst the crowd. As Thornhill gets more and more irritating to the people around him, the crowd begins to fidget and move more to express their irritability.
For most of the scene we see the person who is talking as the main point of interest within the frame. This draws attention to the person and forces the viewer to pay attention so as to not miss important plot developments. The establishing shots use a long depth of field while the confrontation between the main characters uses a very shallow depth of field, the camera remains in focus on the person who is talking. When Thornhill and Vandamm are talking their bodies divide the frame into thirds, leaving talking space between them. In the early part of the scene Eve occupies the talking space of the frame and whenever there is a close up of Eve she is in soft focus. As Thornhill talks to Eve and Vandamm we see Eve from a high camera angle, showing that she is vulnerable and lower than the men that are discussing business above her.
There are some interesting cuts in this scene. Mostly the shot-reverse-shot action dominates the scene, giving it a feel of an argument. These long sequences are broken up with POV shots from Thornhill to the henchmen covering the exits. During the confrontation the camera maintains the 180-degree rule. When one of the main characters moves away from the confrontation tracking shots help the audience to maintain orientation. The Rhythm of the scene accelerates with each shot, showing that the scene is building up to a climax. For example when Thornhill is bidding the average shot length is a couple of seconds shorter than the confrontation with the main characters. Between each shot there is not much variety in transition. Each shot cuts directly to the next shot, there is no wipe or fade to distract the audience. The direct cuts between shots helps keep the quick pace.
The sound in the scene both diegetic and non-diegetic helps the scene to flow well. At the start of the scene we hear some generic background music, as we pan out and see the three ‘villains’ sitting around the music turns dark and suspenseful. We hear the auctioneer selling in the background. Half way through the establishing pan the music subtly fades out and we are left to concentrate on the dialogue of the auctioneer and the protagonists. Throughout the confrontation with Vandamm we can hear the auctioneer still talking in the background, this reminds the audience of the setting and lets them know something important is going to happen with the auctioneer. The music slowly builds again as Thornhill tries to leave the room. The sound in this scene is used in many ways, to create tension, remind an audience of elements of the setting and give a preview into what is likely to happen later on in the scene.
This scene in North by Northwest ties two halves of the film neatly together. It is effective in getting a response from the audience through its use of music, shots, mise en scene and cinematography. The scene and ultimately the whole film positions the audience in a place where they want Roger Thornhill to win and the ‘bad guys’ to be apprehended. Today North By Northwest appeals to almost everyone, when it was released it also had a very broad and international audience though it predominately related to American audiences because of it’s setting and context. A tagline from the trailer states that ‘Every staggering sight and sound is REAL’ showing that it was very modern for it’s time. Even today Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest is a very relevant film. International espionage is a concept that is fairly familiar to audiences across the world, and may well be for years to come.
