The Mind Behind the Best Alfred Hitchcock Films: A Cinema Legend at Pera Palace

Pera Palace Hotel has always been a popular destination for important names in the world of culture and art. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the masters of horror and thriller cinema, is among these names. In the 1950s, before becoming a master director, Hitchcock traveled to the major cities of the world and also visited İstanbul. Hitchcock, who skillfully used the atmosphere of mystery, the element of curiosity and the unknown in his films, was nourished by the places he was in while using his extraordinary talents. Let’s take a look at the life and works of Alfred Hitchcock, who left a strong legacy in cinema.

Who is Alfred Hitchcock?

Hitchcock is a master director with his films that answer the question “Is cinema an art?” born with the invention of the camera. The director, who likes to keep the teachings, which are the essence of storytelling open, his films are more like a puzzle whose mystery needs to be solved rather than an ambiguous narrative. Unlike art films that impose responsibility on the audience at the end of the film, Hitchcock, who presents his own meaning, introduces the habit of keeping the teachings open to the industry.

Perhaps the best example of the saying “Scenarios are constructed from the end to the beginning,” Hitchcock not only surprises his audience and wins their appreciation. He places the teachings and messages, which are the essence of a good story, between the lines and also earns his place in an art cinema. Let’s check out four masterpieces of Alfred Hitchcock together, who is considered a “master director” by many critics and whose path once passed through Pera Palace:

Vertigo

Vertigo, shot in 1958, is one of the most important movies by Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock, who deals with deep subjects such as fear, self and character with his unique narrative language, manages to keep his audience on the screen with the element of curiosity that he creates. The effect of narrating height with the camera, which went down in the history of cinema as “Dolly Zoom” or “Vertigo Effect”, was invented by Hitchcock in the movie Vertigo. The rapid movement of the camera reflects the fear of heights that we are accustomed to even in cartoons today. You can watch Vertigo alone with your tea or coffee, or you can watch it with a few friends who love cinema and expand your cinema culture.

Rear Window

Rear Window, released in 1954, is among the masterpieces of Hitchcock. The film is one of Hitchcock’s best examples of creating tension, starting with a man who cannot walk after an accident and starts living in a wheelchair, begins to observe his neighborhood and notices intriguing details in the process. The character, who observes the relationship of his neighbors across the street, the woman who always walks her dog at the same time and the postman who always comes late, finds himself in the middle of a great mystery waiting to be solved.

Psycho

Psycho, shot in 1960, is among the films in which Hitchcock solidified his mastery of the world of cinema. Psycho, a cult film of the horror and thriller genres, is about a dual-personality individual’s struggle with his sense of self. Hitchcock captures the tense atmosphere well in the film, which he especially preferred to shoot in black and white and keeps his audience on the screen.

The Birds

The Birds is Alfred Hitchcock’s most important work. The masterpiece that he created during his mastery era was released in 1963 and became one of the cornerstones of modern Hollywood horror cinema. The movie is shaped around a flock of birds that attack people for an unknown reason and grow day by day, taking people captive in their homes or shops. The film, which tells the story of people’s struggle against this flock of birds, successfully addresses the psychological destruction and process that conditions can cause in an individual. The movie is considered one of the important turning points in the horror and thriller genres.

A Night at Pera Palace: Alfred Hitchcock Suite!

A hotel that defies history, where many names that have written their names in gold letters in history have stayed during their visits to İstanbul: Pera Palace. Pera Palace, which has also hosted the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, many times, has hosted great names such as Agatha Christie and Ernest Hemingway, who shaped the literary world with their pens. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the successful names of horror and thriller cinema, is also among the guests of Pera Palace.

This suite, which overlooks the Golden Horn and bears the name of Alfred Hitchcock, has specially designed historical furniture and books written about Alfred Hitchcock. You can stay in this special suite to follow the traces of Alfred Hitchcock films.