Sid Potti – Google

Hunters....The long awaited Amazon Prime Series. With big actors such as Al Pacino and Logan Lerman, this series was bound for success. The plot of the series is focused on a group of Jews who plan to enact revenge on a group of Nazis who are found in America.The series does a great job of maintaining suspense and thriller throughout. Although it may seem monotonous in the middle, Hunters redeems itself through its witty plot twists and surprising outcomes(as seen in the last episode). Although Hunters was based on real events, we have to remember that a large part of the plot was fiction and was meant to build suspense. What is really interesting about Hunters, however, is the development and mutation of its characters. As the series starts, Biff Simpson a Nazi war criminal is spotted by a survivor of the Holocaust and kills everyone there in order to preserve his identity. Biff’s identity soon becomes in jeopardy as he is suspected for the murder of two people. Biff was able to evacuate himself from that situation by running out of his door, as a police man was distracted. Near the end of the series, Biff is captured by Millie Morris. By pulling out the padding of the car, he finds a way to escape from her police car and is able to make a new identity. Biff changes his identity from an American to a Russian as he tries to depart to the Soviet Union. While this Nazi war criminal was able to change his identity numerous amounts of times, has he really changed? Biff remains this man who tries to escape from his past through running away and creating new identities. He does not want to end up like the Nazis who were killed by the Hunters. Additionally, Biff does not care that his crimes were brutal and extremely evil, and instead only focuses on surviving. Biff himself is the archetype that represents the group of Nazis in this series. While the Nazis are trying to create a new weapon that would eradicate a large amount of the population, it always seems that they have a plan. Travis, while locked up in his jail cell, seems like he is destined to rot out the rest of his life there. Instead, he kills his lawyer and formulates a plan to gain the support of the prisoners and form his own clan. Similarly, Biff also seems like he has a plan. Somehow, he is always able to evacuate situations which could put him at risk and is seen as the odd one out. He is just a pawn in the large scheme of the Nazis, but he hopes to become a prince.

In Foreign Correspondent, Hitchcock gives the audience two hours of thrill and excitement through its surprising plot and vehicles of suspense. Foreign Correspondent starts off by introducing the main character John Jones who has been assigned to London as a foreign correspondent. While his job entails learning more about the growing situation in Germany before the start of WW2, Jones finds himself in the role of an action hero escaping from dangerous situations and trying to find a diplomat named Van Meer who has been kidnapped. Foreign Correspondent also introduced the audience to Carol Fisher who Jones falls in love with. As expected it comes with a twist, as Carol’s father is the main orchestrator of Van Meer’s kidnapping. John Jones is thus placed in the middle of two overlapping scenarios - trying to free Van Meer, and trying to create a relationship with Carol. One of the most compelling features of Foreign Correspondent is Hitchock’s masterful ability to manipulate tension in his scenes. When an assassin is sent after Jones, Jones is taken to the top of a high tower to supposedly admire the scenery. However, as Jones is looking out at the view, the audience can sense that the assassin is planning to shove him off. With brilliant camera work, Hitchcock shows the assassin leaning in to throw Jones off the tower but it cuts and the audience is uncertain of Jones’ fate. In the next scene, Hitchcock clears any remaining doubts as the camera shows the assassin falling off of the tower instead of Jones. Hitchcock cleverly holds the suspense in the scene and builds the audience’s intrigue through separating the sequence. In Addition to the suspense, Hitchcock uses intense scenes to expand on characterization and reveal the important aspects of his main character John Jones. In a particular scene where two assassins try to invade Jones’ hotel room to kidnap him, Jones is forced to escape the hotel room while leaving his shower on in order to make the kidnappers think that he is still in the room. In this scene and similar scenes throughout the movie, Hitchcock highlights Jones’ cleverness and cunning which allow Jones to maneuver himself out of harmful situations.