Alfred Hitchcock's Use of Eyes Becomes the Subject of This Excellent Video Essay
If eyes are the windows to the soul, then watching a Hitchcock film must be downright spiritual. Video essayist kogonada has culled a bunch of scenes from the work of Alfred Hitchcock to examine how the legendary director paid special attention to eyes in his films.
We love the video essays of kogonada, from his studies on neorealism to the use of hands in the films of Robert Bresson, and this one is no different. He manages to include such a wide variety of Hitchcock's films, as well as all of the iconic shots of eyes, like Jimmy Stuart's in Vertigo and Anthony Perkins' in Psycho.
So, Hitchcock likes eyes. So what? Why does any of this matter? Well, eyes are not only objects that can be peered into; they can also peer out. Eyes can be voyeuristic and voyeurism is a theme Hitchcock used constantly in his films (Rear Window, Psycho). And of course, eyes have an incredible capacity for relaying emotional messages. The viewer is constantly aware of where the eyes are looking, what they're looking at, and what emotion they're feeling while they're doing it. Essentially, Hitchcock mastered telling stories narratively and spacially, using eyes and eyelines -- so if you need a damn good teacher to show you how to do it to create suspense/tension/anticipation/etc., he'd be the one. (If you have time, you should definitely check out this study of Hitchcock's use of eyes as well.)
No other filmmaking technique connects us, the audience, more directly to on-screen characters than a good ol' fourth wall break. When a character "breaks the fourth wall" by looking at us, speaking to us, or even venting to us about their problems, it draws us right into their cinematic world despite digital boundaries, giving us an experience that is far more intimate and immediate.
Now, I am sure some of you might be wondering…
What is the Fourth Wall, and What Does It Mean to Break It?
In filmmaking, the Fourth Wall is an imaginary wall that separates actors from the audience. Obviously, the audience can see through this wall—they're watching a movie, after all—but the actors cannot. In short, the audience can see the actors and their world, but the actors cannot see the audience.
Going by this logic, when the actors communicate directly with the audience, we say they have broken the fourth wall.
Now, you still might be wondering why and how this convention is used. Let’s see.
By Breaking the Fourth Wall, Some of These Objectives Can Be Achieved:
Provide commentary/satire
Characters can break the fourth wall to offer commentary on society, politics, or even the medium of storytelling itself, helping the audience understand a deeper message or critique.
Example: Deadpool (2016) frequently mocks superhero clichés, film tropes, or even the studio’s budget constraints, making fun of itself to entertain the audience.
Provide deeper insights
Breaking the fourth wall can be used to reveal a character’s thoughts, intentions, or hidden truths that might not be apparent through traditional storytelling.
Example: In House of Cards, Frank Underwood often turns to the camera to explain his manipulative plans, giving the audience a privileged insight into his cunning mind.
Provide humor
Characters acknowledging the audience often create comedic moments, playing with the audience’s expectations and disrupting the normal narrative flow.
Example: In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Ferris talks directly to the camera, giving hilarious advice on skipping school and enjoying life.
Provide emotional rapport
When a character directly engages with the audience, it creates a sense of intimacy, making viewers feel like they are a part of the story.
Example: In Fleabag, the protagonist shares glances and remarks with the audience, making them feel like her confidante in her chaotic life.
Provide surprise value
Since the audience doesn’t usually expect the fourth wall to be broken, doing so can create an unexpected and memorable moment.
Example: In Fight Club (1999), The Narrator (Edward Norton) suddenly realizes that Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is a figment of his imagination. This revelation not only shatters his perception of reality but also forces the audience to re-evaluate everything they have seen so far, effectively breaking the fourth wall in a psychological sense and making them question their own role as passive observers.
Now, let’s see how this technique works.
How a Character Can Break the Fourth Wall
Making eye contact with the audience (i.e., camera)
This is the most basic and subtle way of breaking the fourth wall. We often see Jim Halpert making eye contact with the audience in The Office. By doing so, he makes us his confidantes.
Speaking to the audience
This is the most basic way of breaking the fourth wall by directly communicating with the audience. Frank Underwood in House of Cards is famous for doing this.
Meta-reference
It means self-reference. When the character acknowledges the fictional nature of his/her world, the fourth wall breaks. In Family Guy, the lead characters often acknowledge that they are a TV show.
Internalized monologue
The Shakespearean plays often include monologues where a character narrates his/her state of mind and innermost thoughts to the audience. This way, the audience gets deeper insights into that character’s mind, which the other characters might not be aware of.
7 Films That Famously Break the Fourth Wall
1. Pick a Star (1937)
Scene: Oliver Hardy gives a cutting look directly to the audience when a character breaks a wine bottle on his head.
This was one of the earliest examples of breaking the fourth wall in a movie. Oliver Hardy often communicated with the audience by merely giving them a look. ‘The Hardy Look’, as people called it, widely became known for its highly amusing effect.
2. Psycho (1960)
Scene: Norman Bates eerily smiles into the camera.
Norman Bates is completely taken over by his dead mother’s personality. And as he sits in jail, he mulls, in his mother’s voice, that "she" will prove the murders were Norman’s doing. That’s when Norman looks into the camera and flashes an eerie smile. Hitchcock, famous for his use of innovative cinematic techniques, thus used breaking the fourth wall in Psycho to give the climactic end a chilling effect.
3. Annie Hall (1977)
Scene: Alvy Singer expresses his frustration to the audience.
Alvy, frustrated by an ill-informed bystander’s consistent criticism of Federico Fellini’s work, breaks the fourth wall and expresses his anger to the audience. Allen goes a step ahead and gets the bystander to join Alvy and breaks the fourth wall, too. Then, while breaking the fourth wall, Alvy imagines the philosopher Marshall McLuhan appearing and deriding the bystander for his poor comprehension of Fellini’s work. Here, the fourth-wall break is used to be unconventional and to surprise the audience.
4. The Truman Show (1998)
Scene: Truman Burbank realizes his world is made up, finally acknowledges it, and claims freedom.
The Truman Show is a prime example of the intelligent use of this technique to convey the central theme of the movie, i.e. constructed reality using media and surveillance. Truman’s entire life is a made-up world, and thus, his every action is breaking the fourth wall. When he realizes this and becomes fully aware of his audience, he directly talks to them and leaves after saying goodbye. This is a perfect example of Meta-reference as it directly acknowledges the made-up state of Truman’s world and the fact that his life is a TV show.
5. Funny Games (2007)
Scene: Paul breaks the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience.
Paul often looks, smirks, and winks at the audience and even talks to them while he commits gruesome acts. Using the technique this way gives the audience an uncomfortable feeling as if they are in cahoots with Paul. In this scene, he doesn’t only break the fourth wall, but he breaks the flow of the narrative when he, using a remote control, rewinds the ‘scene’. This is another, and quite bold, example of using meta-reference to break the fourth wall.
6. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Scene: Jordan Belfort explains to the audience the Ponzi scheme he used to commit fraud.
Here, the technique is used to convey some technical information that the audience may not have grasped - i.e. how the scheme was carried out. Pretty plain and simple!
7. Deadpool (2016)
Scene: Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and acknowledges his fictional world as a movie.
In Deadpool, the protagonist, while breaking the fourth wall, clearly acknowledges that he is a character in a movie and that what the audience is seeing is a fictional and cinematic world. And obviously, breaking the fourth wall comes with a generous dose of comedy.
To Sum It Up…
“Breaking the fourth wall” is more than just a stylistic choice. It’s a handy tool that deepens the audience’s understanding and engagement. It also challenges storytelling conventions and adds layers of meaning to a film. Filmmakers employ varied methods of using this technique and even experiment with new methods to achieve different objectives, from generating humor to providing thought-provoking commentary.
Whether it’s being used to give the viewers access to a character’s inner world or to shatter the cinematic illusion altogether, this technique shows us that some of the most memorable moments happen when the screen stops being a barrier and becomes a bridge.
