How Directors Play Tricks on You

What do Mel Gibson, Michael Haneke and Alfred Hitchcock have in common?
In this video essay we'll find out about a never mentioned brilliant feat Mel Gibson pulled off in "Braveheart". His deep understanding of audience psychology is only possible thanks to your love for violence. Sorry to break it to you, but you absolutely adore violence.
A director could choose NOT to show violence, which has three possible effects, or a director could choose to show violence, which can have all sorts of effects, some of which might be unintended (remember the Propeller Guy?). With that in mind, we'll go through Michael Haneke's "Funny Games", and its shot-for-shot remake, "Funny Games", and we'll see what a taste for blood you actually have.
Finally, how about taking a look at Alfred Hitchcock, patron saint of directors who pull strings inside your mind? "Psycho" might reveal a thing or two you wish you didn't know about yourself.
00:00 Braveheart
02:22 Violence - To Show Or Not To Show
04:35 Funny Games
09:49 Psycho
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[@daviddenton4234]

One of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had in the movies was during the first Hunger Games. Toward the end, one of the ‘bad’ contestants gets her head bashed in with a rock by one of the ‘good’ contestants - and the audience CHEERED. I was looking around like wtf, we’re behaving exactly as the Capitol does in that universe.

[@Segadrome]

Mel Gibson is such an underappreciated Director. He definitely knows his shit. You can practically feel the Peckinpah influence radiating from his filmography.

[@JB-ti7bl]

Shame that Apocalypto came out right after Mel's drunk driving meltdown. That was a good movie, but went totally unheralded.

[@brianrodriguez8282]

I think I was recommended this channel after watching old Siskel and Ebert clips. That was my favorite era of filmmaking. After 20+ years, I am a re-born movie fan thanks to this channel. Encyclopedia knowledge of film and drama history told in a simple and entertaining way, with references and appreciation I can relate to. Fantastic channel! Forever subscribed.

[@abn3r507]

"Because its so much fun Jen! Get it!..."

[@steadyliam]

You should really have more subscribers. Keep it up!

[@fmac6441]

Funny games left me permanently fearful of random acts of violence

[@chadcollins6068]

I think the real genius in this video is you. What a wit! Subscribed

[@TheSuperQuail]

Yeah, Mel is a master of audience manipulation. After watching The Patriot I was ready to wage war with England -- over a film that is only historical in that there really was a war of independence.

[@samoralink8952]

Shit I remember that Movie😃. One of my most favorite war movies. That and we were soldiers🙌🏾… young Heath Ledger was in the Patriot too😢.

[@Selrisitai]

Isn't the premise of the movie a little stupid, though? Who is worse: The guy who watches fake violence, or the guy who makes fake violence to chastise the people watching it?

[@cube2fox]

Though the guy who makes it is just one, while the guys who watch it are thousands.

[@ccmp7]

Loved it! Yes, movies are so amazing!!!

[@JB-ti7bl]

You're the best, Moviewise. Keep 'em coming!

[@bsharp3281]

Well done! I would suggest that what's reality going on is, good or violent, we're addicted to knowing what comes next either way.

[@daniel_french]

Subscribed. Your videos are awesome!

[@James-Tanner]

Yet again mind blowing work here

[@ccmp7]

Looking forward! 👏🏼👏🏼

[@frankmasiello1325]

You are a great teacher: informative and entertaining!

[@konstantinosoikonomou5297]

Great video (as always)! One note though: people don't generally like violence, they like justified violence. (they also want to see Naomi Watts' boobs 😊)

[@ThomasGanschOFFICIAL]

Best Video ever !

[@Then.]

Amazing channel!

[@Moviewise]

Amazing comment!

[@themillenial28]

Moviewise. Make one video on an indian film (maybe one of Satyajit Ray's trilogy?) and see your subscribers and views go brrrrrrrrrr. Your videos deserve to be seen by the world.

[@nichttuntun3364]

On point.

[@thatoneguy871]

Alright let's wait

[@VinceLyle2161]

Nice use of Danse Macabre...

[@ColinHuijser]

I fucking love this channel

[@acriticwithoutacause8983]

I expected a video & not a self revealing therapy session !

[@yberen]

But, what about blocking?

[@WildFungus]

no it's torture porn without any of the torture porn. And also I get catharsis from Funny Games he failed I get exactly what I'm not supposed to get out of it. Because it's arthouse slasher movie. And it's the rubbing it's the fact the whole film is a troll that ends up wrapping it back around to being the thing it's trying to contrast.

[@LittlePhizDorrit]

I've never been a big Gibson as director fan. I always thought his movies were....well...just too violent. I watched Braveheart, The Patriot, and Apocalypto and just thought...I don't really like all this violence. So...NOT A SADIST! HUZZAH!

[@BigBlobProductions]

One critique: in Psycho, it is not revealed that Norman is the killer until the end of the movie. He is deceptively portrayed as a naive boy covering up for his murderous mother. So, the heatbeat skipping moment when the car doesn't sink isn't because the audience wants the nurderer to get away with murder, its because the audience believes that Norman is an innocent boy caught in the middle of a nightmarish situation. Only at the end does Hitchcock reveal the truth of the matter.

[@benwherlock9869]

Yes indeed we all have a shadow side. ⚪⚫

[@Flounder234]

'Oh, you're glad when one of these murdering, raping home invaders gets shot? You're a bad person and you should feel bad' Yeah I hated Funny Games.

[@denroy3]

Tarantino seemed a little "PeeWee Herman" in that clip.

[@0martinlucas]

Dogville, by Lars von Trier, could have been cited besides Funny Games for showing how to make an audience want to kill the entire population of a village.

[@jerseyforhawks]

Have seen that scene many many times (wife Merin), still pisses me #ff.

[@johncenter4858]

He remade it shots for shots but Naomi Watts wears less clothing. Cause sex.

[@RGBEAT]

Love Haneke. Such a psycho

[@ivqanjam1630]

leaving this comment here when 7 years later it gets recommended to u🙃

[@speggeri90]

It's been only 9 months! Perv

[@user-ow9kq6cl3y]

About Haneke movie: it may be as well seen as a sanity test of a sort. People normally like not any biolance, but the justified violance. But in this movie violance is injustified, and uretaliated. If yoy are normal pesron youy would feel uncomfortable watching this, but if you find yoursefe liking it then it is a red flag.

[@zoch9797]

Pretentious Austian director discovers natural human behavior. "Wow, I'm so clever. I made people cheer at self defense." Sorry, I just cannot with these all-violence-is-wrong-and-literally-evil type mentalities.

[@PolarisBanks]

Good point. Not showing violence or nudity with the heroes is a meaningful choice, but showing the bad guys get hurt is a no brainer

[@fakename7901]

People applaud justice and boo injustice. I will start my screen writing career tomorrow.

[@madmartigan21]

We're not rooting for a murderer in the Psycho car scene because it hasn't yet been revealed yet that he is the murderer. We're rooting for a awkward, possibly disturbing young man to not have his life turned further upside down by police involvement because his mother is a murderer. Probably not a healthy attitude but different than rooting for a murderer.

[@bearcb]

Great video, but I would not praise Gibson so much, he just repeated a manipulation technique that was used over and over, even on TV. Heneke, on the other hand, is in another level.

[@hoanghato2187]

Can i follow you on Facebook?, i became a new fanboy of u ( sorry bad english)

[@SofaKingShit]

For me the scene is somewhat lacking in violence when Mel neglects to pull the Englishman's tongue through the cut like a necktie. Perhaps tie a bow so that he looks really fashionable.