Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.
Alfred HitchcockRead
For me, suspense doesn't have any value if it's not balanced by humor.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Suspense is more enjoyable when accompanied by humor.
Alfred Hitchcock suggests that the tension and anticipation of suspenseful moments need to be tempered by humor to have true significance and value. By balancing these elements, the experience becomes richer and more engaging for the audience, making both suspense and humor contribute synergistically to storytelling.
Themes
SuspenseHumorBalanceStorytellingEntertainment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a film class discussing the importance of comedy in suspense films.
More from Alfred Hitchcock
All quotes βLuck is everything... My good luck in life was to be a really frightened person. I'm fortunate to be a coward, to have a low threshold of fear, because a hero couldn't make a good suspense film.
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I can't read fiction without visualizing every scene. The result is it becomes a series of pictures rather than a book.
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I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.
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Seeing a murder on television can help work off one's antagonisms. And if you haven't any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.
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There is something more important than logic: imagination
Alfred HitchcockRead
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