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A Thank You to Our Faculty in This Great MOOC Perhaps this adds a nice coda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFVxX3RtyhQ

1. In your own words, please describe the effect of watching the POV dolly shots / POV tracking shots in this scene? The most striking is the end of the scene when the young lady (the accuser) is being watched by the young man who was accused. AH "leans in closely" so you can see the anger in the oung lady's face. The use of POV is a stroke of genius because situations like the one depicted make viewers have to read nuances of facial expression to try to ascertain which of the two (the accuser and the accused) is "sincere," or "credible. The POV where the two young men go forward to see the (dean, schoolmaster, vicar, i.e.) who is a symbol of authority symbol and judge adds a sense of dread. 2. Why do you think Hitchcock uses the technique of a POV tracking shot? What does it add to his visual storytelling? In my opinion it is the ultimate mise-en-scene taking you into the world of the character. In addition, AH takes total control of your viewing of the film and adds an element of determinism. You only see what he sees. (This technique is what I think made "Lady in the Lake" such a fascinating movie. Ditto "Dark Passage." 3. What connections (visual techniques, images, motifs, themes) do you notice between films that came before this (The Pleasure Garden, The Lodger) and a film that came after it (The Ring)? Please cite specific examples. As regards films that came before this I see how AH literally compartmenalizes characters by putting them in different rooms in the same scene, e.g in "The Pleasure Garden" the chorus girl and the old gentleman are offstage while the burlesque continues, and, in "The Lodger" the scene when three characters are downstairs and peering up to the ceiling which is the lodger's floor. As regards "The Ring" this same use of physical barrriers is used when the boxer is in one room with his manager and trainer versus the party going on in the living room versus shots of the boxer's wife in another room with another man.

1. How does Hitchcock use montage or expressive editing to add vitality and rhythm to this scene? One way is that AH cuts back and forth between the bacchian-like party in one room and the discussion between the fighter, the trainer, and the manager in another room. The juxtaposition shows how professional sports is essentially entertainment in which the athlete pays the price (e.g. "North Dallas Forty"). In other words, AH is not creating "Pride of the Yankees." 2. As is the case with a lot of German Expressionist films, in this scene, there are many shots that are very subjective and put us into the psychological mind of a main character. Please note the various techniques Hitchcock uses to create that feeling of subjectivity. The shots where the party dissolves into the hands playing the piano. 3. How does Hitchcock stage the action, use set design, and editing techniques to increase the stakes in the rivalry between the two gentlemen? By putting them into two different rooms.

1. Compare the opening of The Lodger to the opening of The Pleasure Garden - what similarities and differences do you see between the two films? In each case there is an opening scene with a woman on display - a chorus girl ("The Pleaseure Garden") and a female corpse being looked over by policemen and the woman who found her ("The Lodger"). Both films begin at night and use a public place: a pub ("The Lodger") and a burlesque club ("The Pleasure Garden"). 2. Identify elements of the "Hitchcock style" in this sequence? Please provide specific examples. Even if you are not sure if it is the "Hitchcock style," what images or techniques stand out in your mind as powerful storytelling? Or images that provide an excess of emotion? Showing how terror strikes everyone reminds me of "The Birds." 3. Even though this is a "silent" film, the opening image is one of a woman screaming. What do you notice in how Hitchcock frames that particular shot that makes it work in a silent film even though no audible scream that can be heard. And what other screams like that come to mind from Hitchcock's later work? Psycho, Psycho, and Psycho )

1. Do you see the beginnings of the "Hitchcock touch" in this sequence? Please provide specific examples. The use of the descent from a staircase reminds me of how AH used heights such as in "North by Northwest," "Vertigo," "Rear Window," "Saboteur," and "To Catch a Thief." 2. Do you agree or disagree with Strauss, Yacowar, and Spoto assessments that this sequence contains elements, themes, or approaches that we will see throughout Hitchcock's 50-year career? Yes, I agree with that assessment. For example, the old lech thinks the chorus girl is probably a woman with lose morals or a prostitute but she rebuffs the advance, i.e. appearances can be deceiving. In addition, the whose scene involves voyeurs which one finds in "Rear Window." 3. Since this is a silent film, do you feel there were any limitations on these opening scenes due to the lack of synchronous spoken dialogue? No. The adage (a picture is worth a thousand words) comes to mind.

The use of POV always seems to divide viewers. Some find in distracting others dislike it. It reminded me of Lady in the Lake.

What wonderful comments!!! I agree that the opening scene offers a study in the use of juxtaposition ... reminds me of the "The Third Man" in which Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles have an incredible scene while in a ferris wheel

In film noir ordinary people get swept up into extraordinary events by sheer chance or because of their fatal flaws.

So many wonderful comments! I really have nothing I could add. The opening scene reminds me of a key scene in "The Third Man" where a child begins to cry out "murderer" at Joseph Cotton who is then chased by a mob.