> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Hitchcock and the Art of Brevity - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/hitchcock-and-the-art-of-brevity/ - Published: 2012-06-08T16:42:08.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:48:53.000Z - Description: As a filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock understood the value of time. Throughout his career he sought to always be mindful and respectful of the audience in this regard. One of his many strengths, to be sure, was his ability to maximize each minute, never drawing out scenes when he deemed it unnecessary. - Author: Juan Vidal - Tags: Opinion, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 06:51 (2012, 2013, part 1) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2012/06/hitchcock-bladder-640.jpg "hitchcock-bladder-640") As a filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock understood the value of time. Throughout his career he sought to always be mindful and respectful of the audience in this regard. One of his many strengths, to be sure, was his ability to maximize each minute, never drawing out scenes when he deemed it unnecessary. For decades he has been hailed for the various techniques he employed, such as texture, psychological complexity and his mastery of a sort of voyeurism. Rarely, though, is he cited for being a proponent of brevity in storytelling. !["Vertigo" poster](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2012/06/vertigo_ver2_xlg-320.jpg) Movie poster for Hitchock's "Vertigo" (1958, image via http://www.impawards.com, click to enlarge) These days, few (considering how many are actually made) feature films tend to run strong passed the two hour mark. Explosions, exaggerated digital effects and camera tricks have become somewhat of a crutch for many filmmakers, masking dense plots and paper-thin character development. For all that technology has enabled us to do, perhaps we have forfeited something in the process. This is not to discount longer films as a whole, taking into account the fact that numerous classics (*Les Misérables*, 279 minutes; *The Godfather*, 175 minutes; *Schindler’s List*, 195 minutes) were able to capture attention spans and keep audiences engaged for several hours. It is simply to point out what Hitchcock was able to achieve in shorter spurts. Tension and suspense are at the crux of Hitchcock’s filmmaking, yet he was careful never to drag sequences past what was fundamentally needed, what the story called for. It’s an important element in his work, this ability to create compositions that draw you in straight away. He explored the inner workings of the human mind in such a manner that you sympathize with his characters, are able to see things from their point of view, no matter how scandalous; yet it’s never overdone or sensationalized to the point of exhaustion. Perhaps some of us have simply grown weary of three-hour films carried completely by special effects and void of meaning. While many of them are entertaining on the surface (who doesn’t like a good explosion?), they ultimately fail to capture the raw emotion and nuance unique to the human experience. Do we need three-plus hours of computer-generated firework displays in order to keep our eyes glued to the screen? And in 3-D? Have we been reduced to sloths with the attention spans of goldfish? True to form, when Hitchcock accepted the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1968, he gave the shortest acceptance speech in Oscar history. “Thank you,” he said. The art of filmmaking, while alive and well, could always draw from the wisdom of one of its masters. Some might argue that it’s imperative we do. Thanks to Hitchcock for pointing out that sometimes, well, you just really have to pee. **Alfred Hitchcock Filmography and Length of Films:** *No. 13* (1922) – lost film, length unknown *Always Tell Your Wife* (1923) – 20 minutes *The Pleasure Garden* (1925) – 75 minutes *The Mountain Eagle* (1926) – 57 minutes *The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog* (1927) – 80 minutes *The Ring* (1927) – 89 minutes *Downhill* (1927) – 80 minutes (UK), 74 minutes (US) *The Farmer’s Wife* (1928) – 129 minutes *Easy Virtue* (1928) – 89 minutes *Champagne* (1928) – 93 minutes *The Manxman* (1929) – 129 minutes *Blackmail* (1929) – 84 minutes *Juno and the Paycock* (1930) – 85 minutes *Murder!* (1930) – 104 minutes *Elstree Calling* (1930) – 86 minutes *The Skin Game* (1931) – 77 minutes *Mary* (1931) – 78 minutes *Rich and Strange* (1931) – 92 minutes (UK), 83 minutes (US) *Number Seventeen* (1932) – 64 minutes *Waltzes from Vienna* (1933) – 80 minutes *The Man Who Knew Too Much* (1934) – 75 minutes *The 39 Steps* (1935) – 86 minutes *Secret Agent* (1936) – 86 minutes *Sabotage* (1936) – 76 minutes *Young and Innocent* (1937) – 83 minutes *The Lady Vanishes* (1938) – 97 minutes *Jamaica Inn* (1939) – 98 minutes *Rebecca* (1940) – 130 minutes *Foreign Correspondent* (1940) – 120 minutes *Mr. & Mrs. Smith* (1941) – 95 minutes *Suspicion* (1941) – 99 minutes *Saboteur* (1942) – 109 minutes *Shadow of a Doubt* (1943) – 108 minutes *Lifeboat* (1943) – 96 minutes *Aventure Malgache* (1944) – 30 minutes *Bon Voyage* (1944) – 26 minutes *Spellbound* (1945) – 111 minutes *Notorious* (1946) – 101 minutes *The Paradine Case* (1947) – 114 minutes *Rope* (1948) – 80 minutes *Under Capricorn* (1949) – 117 minutes *Stage Fright* (1950) – 110 minutes *Strangers on a Train* (1951) – 101 minutes *I Confess* (1953) – 95 minutes *Dial M for Murder* (1954) – 105 minutes *Rear Window* (1954) – 112 minutes *To Catch a Thief* (1955) – 106 minutes *The Trouble with Harry* (1955) – 99 minutes *The Man Who Knew Too Much* (1956) – 120 minutes *The Wrong Man* (1956) – 105 minutes *Vertigo* (1958) – 128 minutes *North by Northwest* (1959) – 136 minutes *Psycho* (1960) – 109 minutes *The Birds* (1963) – 119 minutes *Marnie* (1964) – 130 minutes *Torn Curtain* (1966) – 128 minutes *Topaz* (1969) – 143 minutes *Frenzy* (1972) – 116 minutes *Family Plot* (1976) – 121 minutes