SPACE AND DIALOGUE. REAR WINDOW.

This paragraph I intend to focus less on how Bottle Genre functions and more the restrictions that can come through abiding genre conventions. John Belton, in his essay The Space of Rear Window states “The figure most frequently identified with the notion of “pure cinema” within classical Hollywood filmaking is Alfred Hitchcock”. Belton contends that cinematic storytelling is distinguishable from other modes of storytelling due to its ability to show, not tell and that Hitchcock is the master of this. When writing my Bottle film I knew that dialogue was the key to its success, I had mentioned to me that (for a good Bottle Drama) if I was to take out the vision and play the audio it should work as a radio play, so I knew if I had good dialogue, I would have an interesting film. Unfortunately when watching the final product I realised there wasn’t enough silence in my film, though their were moments of good visual story telling (for example when Sarah cuts her Finger and the final shot where Victor looks through the window) it was for the most part too dialogue heavy, which is a constraint of Bottle film. Hitchcock however, in his film Rear Window, masterfully avoids this constraint through the use of space. Hitchcock uses two seperate spaces in one location to tell his story. The first location is the interior of Jeff’s apartment and where (true to quintessential Bottle film) a dialogue heavy drama (this time in the shape of a love story) unfolds. The second is from Jeffries perspective, where a murder mystery unravels before him. Ingeniously this aspect of the story is told completely visually which gives the audience respite from the talkative drama. The juxtaposition between the two spaces is also profound, with the vibrant, colourful courtyard (a melting pot of life) contrasting with the dull, lifeless interior of Jeffries room. Hitchcock uses these alternating spaces within the one location as an antidote to the restrictive nature of traditionally dialogue heavy Bottle films. Their is one moment in my own film that alludes to Rear Window and thats the final shot of Victor looking through the window at the happy couple. Perhaps, if I had my time again I could have utilised that outside space more, potentially I could have told the story of what Victor does when he is alone in that space.