At the Movies (Researching Film): Media

Film director Hitchcock discusses his life and career in long talks with (1) Pia Lindstrom (newscaster and daughter of Hitchcock star Ingrid Berman) and with (2) film historian William Everson. Excerpts from several films iillustrate these interviews.
 

Hear a discussion of Hitchcock's painstaking editing process for "Spellbound" and "Psycho."
 

In 1940s American cinema, they were made for each other. This magnificent program captures how Frank Capra used James Stewart to project a message of an ideal America, perhaps best illustrated in their 1946 collaboration, It’s a Wonderful Life.
 

Known as the "Master of Suspense", English director Alfred Hitchcock became popular in the United States during the 1940s. Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman also became incredibly popular in the United States, winning three Oscars during her career. Bergman and Hitchcock worked together on three films.
 

Capra won three directing Oscars in the '30s. View a clip from "Meet John Doe," in which Gary Cooper plays a common man during the Depression. Medium shots illustrate character reactions.
 

Spike Lee studied at NYU Film School after college. He shot "She's Gotta Have It" in 12 days with funding from a small grant.
 

In this 1964 interview, Alfred Hitchcock discusses the impact of horror films on society and human behavior while exploring the building blocks of cinematic storytelling—for example, analyzing Arbogast’s death in Psycho and demonstrating the power of film editing with his own simple shot choices.
 

One year after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans, director Spike Lee presents a four-hour, four-part chronicle recounting, through words and images, one of our country’s most profound natural disasters.
 

General George C. Marshall enlists Frank Capra to be a morale builder for American soldiers. Marshall understands the power of films. Capra creates a series of films to inspire American troops.