Down Dark Alleys and Through Darker Minds...

What, I hear you ask, is EOFFTV doing giving away a film noir box Set? What does this hard-boiled crime genre have to do with the sort of films we cover here? More than you might think...

Film noir and the horror film in particular have much in common - not only did they share many of the same writers and directors [Edgar G. Ulmer, Fritz Lang, Irving Pichel et al] but also shared many of the same concerns. Both genres hold a mirror up to the society in which they were made and reflects back some of the more unhealthy and unpalatable truths that society would rather remained repressed. Both are far better equipped to deal with the seamier and more confrontational side of modern society than any other genre which probably goes some way to explaining the longevity of their popularity - despite claims to the contrary, noir still gets made though its tropes and techniques have generally been subsumed into other genres.

Film noir is often discussed as though it were a genre in itself and has become a useful - if often mis-used - label to hang on a certain type of film. But it's probably more useful to consider noir as a collection of themes, techniques and styles that have proven themselves remarkably adaptable, able to be applied to films of other genres to give them that unmistakable noir feel. We've can science fiction noir [Alphaville [1965], Soylent Green [1973] and most notably Blade Runner [1982]] and the whole cyberpunk movement channelled the greats of literary noir into a whole new form of science fiction literature; animation noir [watch either of the Ghost in the Shell films and you'll see many of the noir tropes in anime form]; even, arguably, film noir westerns [Lust For Gold [1949], The Return of Jesse James [1950], Dead Man [1995]].

Quite often, the most interesting films are those born when genres collide and the fusion of horror and film noir in particular has spawned some truly impressive and unique films. The cross-pollination of the two genres began early - in 1943, Reginald LeBorg directed Lon Chaney Jr in Calling Dr Death which displayed many of the iconic techniques associated with noir and many of the low budget 40s offerings from Poverty Row specialists PRC employed the same style PRC of course made one of the seminal 40s noirs, Edgar G. Ulmer's wonderful Detour [1945]].

The first truly great horror film to make use of noir's signature look, feel and attitude was Charles Laughton's still extraordinary The Night of the Hunter [1955] which drew heavily on German Expressionism, another of the factors that unites horror and noir - both genres have solid roots in the form and drew many of their early practitioners from adherents of Expressionism.

Curiously, more horror films have made use of noir in the years since the form's heyday - the TV movie Cast a Deadly Spell [1991] is a deliberate pastiche of film noir in a horror setting; Lord of Illusions [1995], based on the Clive Barker novel, and Alan Parker's extraordinary Angel Heart [1987] both mix the hard-boiled detective genre with noir styles and horror themes; even higher profile, more mainstream horrors got in on the act - Fatal Attraction [1987], Se7en [1995] and Silence of the Lambs [1991] all called on the noir tradition to varying degrees. And on the small screen, The X Files [1993 - 2002] directors were clearly well versed in the history of film noir.

So horror and film noir are no strangers to one another and anyone interested in horror should do at least a superficial delve into the murky, sordid world of noir. The box set we're giving away at the moment contains four of the best, particularly Billy Wilder's classic Double Indemnity [1944] which would be as good a place as any to start of you haven't tried noir yet. Convinced? Then why not enter our Film Noir competition here - and if you can't wait, the Classic Cuts: Film Noir collection is available to buy from 26 March 2007.
KEVIN LYONS

Hitchcock's Hidden Secret?

If there's one director who's already had more than enough written about him and his films, it's probably Alfred Hitchcock. But re-watching old tapes of the classic Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV show in advance of their Region 2 DVD release, I found myself, as I often do, wandering again about the man behind some of the most iconic of all cinematic images. Again, much has been written about what Hitchcock's films and TV work revealed about the man himself, most notably Donald Spoto's The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1999).

Spoto made some extraordinary and fascinating claims about Hitchcock's psychology, presenting his subject as a mixed bag of paranoias, obsessions and pathological urges, among them fantasies of rape, misogyny, a mother fixation and a good many others. But in recent times, we've seen another psychological disorder put forward as a possible explanation some of the neuroses and emotional quirks that Hitchcock seemed possessed by - could Hitchcock have suffered from Asperger Syndrome, a neurobiological pervasive development disorder closely related to autism?

Typically characterised by problems with social and communication skills, it seems to be being used by some writers and even Asperger support groups to explain some of Hitchcock's more eccentric on- and off-set behaviour.

It should be noted that although Austrian paediatrician Hans Asperger first wrote about the disorder in 1944, it didn't become widely recognised as a condition until the early 90s and Hitchcock died in 1980, so any attempt at a diagnosis can only be made retrospectively and be based on third-hand information gleaned from the many, many books, articles and interviews that have appeared over the years and should be approached with caution and scepticism.

Whatever you may think of Spoto's well-informed study of Hitchcock's psyche, there was at least some evidence to back up his claims. Looking at the six main characteristics of Asperger in turn, it's difficult to see exactly any such evidence to support the claim that Hitchcock was indeed a sufferer:

1: Difficulty with Reciprocal Social Interactions
This seems to be the key symptom that has led many observers to this conclusion, though if that is the case, they're making a deeply flawed assumption. In essence, it means that the Asperger sufferer finds any kind of "normal" social interaction difficult and fails to understand the "give-and-take" of conversation.

Now while it's true that Hitchcock played sometimes cruel practical jokes on his cast and crew, seemingly oblivious the ramifications of his actions, to suggest that one of the most eloquent and erudite of film directors should have communications difficulties is extraordinary. Indeed, he was known to have worked very closely with his scriptwriters on the initial crafting of his scripts, hardly the behaviour of a man who failed to understand the mechanics of conversation.

2. Impairments in Language Skills
Have you ever seen Hitchcock being interviewed? Or any of those marvellous introductions to Alfred Hitchcock Presents? Again, hardly the work of a man who found using language to express thoughts, feelings, and emotions difficult. Quite the opposite in fact - Hitchcock's witty and often mordant on-screen introductions were often the highlight of the episode and he frequently recorded more than one of them. Special versions were shot for the UK removing some of Hitch's barbed comments about the show's sponsors and during the third season, he even filmed intros in French and German, languages he was fluent in.

3. Narrow Range of Interests and Insistence on Set Routines
Now this one could easily be twisted to suit any truly creative film director - it suggests Hitchcock had a limited range of thematic interests which simply couldn't be further from the truth. Take one of his films from each of six decades in which he worked and no two of them will be alike. Sure, there were themes that he returned to from time to time [particularly the wronged-man-on-the-run] but to suggest that Hitchcock had a narrow range of interests is absurd.

4. Motor Clumsiness
I can find no evidence to support of discredit the notion that Hitchcock suffered any problems with motor skills - other than those one might expect from a man of his build - and would very much like to hear any evidence for or against.

5. Cognitive Issues
One of the fundamental symptoms of Asperger in something referred to as "mindblindness", the inability to make inferences about what another person is thinking, a lack of empathy. Hitchcock's delight in playing cruel jokes on cast, crew, family and friends may suggest to some that he lacked the ability to understand what the consequences of his actions would be on those people, but it's probably more accurate to say that Hitchcock just had a bizarre and bleak sense of humour [one wonders if any of the people claiming that Hitch suffered from Asperger actually watched any of his films].

Mindblindness can also give rise to deficiencies in problem solving, mental planning and the ability to stay focused on a task - hardly qualities one would expect to find in the most influential and widely imitated film director of all time.

6. Sensory Sensitivities
Many children who suffer from Asperger develop issues with their senses, often perceiving what the rest of us would experience as a fairly mild or barely noticeable sensory event as very intense. This might seem a good thing for someone working in the visual arts it would almost certainly cripple any artistic endeavour in actuality.

I've yet to find any actual written evidence anywhere to back up the increasing number of claims that Hitchcock was an Asperger sufferer - his name has simply started to appear on lists of famous AS sufferers, compiled by people who clearly never met him and were therefore unable to make an accurate diagnosis. Chances are that in our increasingly syndrome-obsessed world we're just looking for smaller and smaller pigeonholes into which to fit people and poor Hitch has now been stuck with the AS label.

There's no doubt that he was a fascinating character with a deeply complex psyche and more than his share of psychological baggage. But maybe we just need to accept that he was like all truly great creative people [not just those who merely make films, play music, write books - those who are genuinely deserving of the label creative genius] and was deeply eccentric and emotionally flawed - which is exactly what needed to be to create the work that he did.

When you watch the new DVD releases of Alfred Hitchcock Presents [and you really should - they're even better than you'll remember them] watch those witty, caustic intros with a keener eye. There's definitely something going on behind that portly, avuncular exterior - something dark and difficult, but Asperger's? The jury's still out…