On Friday 18th November, Lower Sixth Film Studies students visited the BFI Southbank for a study day on Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Vertigo, one of their set films in the Film History component of their A Level.

It was the first time the students had watched the film, so being able to view it in all its cinematic glory was certainly an exciting prospect.
The students were given an introductory talk on the film, exploring auteur theory and why Hitchcock is considered one of the most famous and influential directors, analysing his craft using clips from The Birds and one of his earlier films, Sabotage.
After the film screening there was time for a spot of lunch before being treated to a series of talks and sequence analyses, exploring the aesthetic of the film and the representation of its more interesting and dynamic characters, which helped to develop the students’ understanding of the film’s themes and introduced them to Hitchcock’s signature style.

Mr Dunley (Head of Film, Teacher of English)