Alfred Hitchcock, United States, 1959, Théâtre du Temple
Comment
In this scene we see the voyeuristic impulse in its purest form. Norman has installed a very ‘technical’ device in his office which allows him to watch the women staying in the adjoining rooms, without being seen himself. He has drilled a hole in the wall and then concealed the hole behind a painting.
Looking through this hole, Hitchcock lights his eye so that it takes on the light from the room on the other side of the wall, but in reality the light we see is far in excess of what would really be there, being so precisely framed and shaped. It’s as if the filmmaker wanted to bring to life the psychological mindset of voyeurism and the emotions of the voyeur themselves, rather than representing the scene being watched.
In this voyeuristic situation, at no cost is the voyeur to be seen, otherwise that would popthe bubble of desire.
Comment
In this scene we see the voyeuristic impulse in its purest form. Norman has installed a very ‘technical’ device in his office which allows him to watch the women staying in the adjoining rooms, without being seen himself. He has drilled a hole in the wall and then concealed the hole behind a painting.
Looking through this hole, Hitchcock lights his eye so that it takes on the light from the room on the other side of the wall, but in reality the light we see is far in excess of what would really be there, being so precisely framed and shaped. It’s as if the filmmaker wanted to bring to life the psychological mindset of voyeurism and the emotions of the voyeur themselves, rather than representing the scene being watched.
In this voyeuristic situation, at no cost is the voyeur to be seen, otherwise that would popthe bubble of desire.