SUSPENSE AND COMIC RELIEF

SUSPENSE

Hitchcock’s other great contribution to contemporary film genres comes in the field of suspense (which can encompass action/adventure, espionage thrillers, and detective stories, among other film types). We’ve noted how Hitchcock’s Pure Cinema, his belief in the superiority of suspense over surprise, and his favorite storylines made his style and subject perfectly matched. Hitchcock’s chase films, such as The 39 Steps (1935) and North by Northwest (1959), have evolved into a virtual subgenre of their own.

Film critic Robin Wood and director Francois Truffaut are among those who have noted that the James Bond films, for example, are copies of North by Northwest. A suave and unflappable hero, outlandish dangers, beautiful predatory women — all are elements found in Hitchcock, although the Bond films often revel in titillation and vicarious violence. While it is perhaps unfair to ask entertainments to do more than entertain, North by Northwest does. As Wood notes, it “has a subject as well as a plot.”

Perhaps the greatest recent neo-Hitchcock film is The Fugitive (1993). Its stylishly edited train wreck and intelligently woven double chase suggest vintage Hitchcock, as do the moral issues underlying the action.

COMIC RELIEF
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episode interposed in the midst of serious or tragic elements in a drama. Comic relief often takes the form of a bumbling, wisecracking sidekick of the hero or villain in a work of fiction. A sidekick used for comic relief will usually comment on the absurdity of the hero's situation and make comments that would be inappropriate for a character who is to be taken seriously. Other characters may use comic relief as a means to irritate others or keep themselves confident.