Άλφρεντ Χίτσκοκ

The Pocket Essentials: Film

by Paul Duncan

Hitchcock's name is synonymous with suspense-that is to say, masterful, spine-tingling, thrilling, shocking, excruciating, eye-boggling suspense. With masterpieces such as Rebecca, Vertigo, Rear Window, and Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) fashioned an extremely original approach to filmmaking that is oft imitated though never equaled; his ability to enthrall and frighten with careful pacing, subtlety, and suggestiveness earned him a prestigious reputation which grows more powerful as time goes by. He is and will always remain the master of cinematic suspense. This book, which traces his life and career, from his earliest silent films to his last picture in 1976, also includes a special bonus that Hitch fans will especially enjoy: an illustrated and annotated list of each of his cameos.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Reference, Media Tie In, Biography, Art, Collections

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are plenty of books about legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock & I should know-I've read a quite a few! Having already purchased an excellent book on Stanley Kubrick published by Tashen I thought this Hitchcock book by the same publishers might be a good one.
Although there is background to Hitchcock & his work this is much more a book of superb photographs from his films. Some of the photos have been seen many times before, but there are plenty of rare ones that are a real treat. In addition there is a filmography & a section on Hitchcock's cameos throughout his career. Hitch claims his first cameo (in The Lodger in 1926) was only because he needed somebody to fill foreground space in a newsroom scene. The cameos were fun at first, but later may have become a superstition.
A fine book on one of my favourite directors.

[Jim Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This complete guide to the work of the legendary British filmmaker provides all there is to know about all 53 of his suspense and horror movies." -- The New York Times

Well, with all respect to "The New York Times," ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE COMPLETE FILMS did not provide "all there is to know" about his films. It does provide a great deal of fascinating information, but it also "teases" incidents without going into detail. (An example is Hitchcock's insulting behavior toward Jessie Matthews during the making of WALTZES FROM VIENNA in 1933. Hitchcock would later state to the cast and crew that, "I hate this sort of stuff. Melodrama is the only thing I can do." Still, this doesn't explain why she was specifically his "target.") I thought that another Taschen book, THE JAMES BOND ARCHIVES, came much closer to providing "all there is to know" about a subject. Also, I don't mean to be nit-picky, but Hitchcock worked in genres other than "suspense and horror."

Still, what is provided is mighty fine. I suspect that buyers of Taschen books are primarily interested in the photographs and imagery, and ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE COMPLETE FILMS has that beautifully covered. In fact, looking at many of the captured "moments" made me want to go back and see several of the films again.

The detail that is provided is impressive. The Introduction to his motion pictures entitled "Fear of Falling" is an excellent overview of his development as an artist through the years, including themes that would especially intrigue him. It continues with "Parts" establishing the work achieved during specific periods in his career. This is followed by the largest section that is dedicated to each specific production. General technical notes are included including any Academy Awards that were won. And, for each title, there is a "deep dive" into a strong contributor who worked either in front of the camera or behind the scenes ... or even a topic that had particularly interested Hitchcock, such as True Crime.

Finally, for those seeking an "edge" in Trivial Pursuit games featuring Alfred Hitchcock, a section entitled "Cameos" has all of his on-screen appearances in his movies, several of which were quite inventive (such as LIFEBOAT and ROPE). I found it amusing that those Viewers who detest letterboxing while watching television might miss some cameo appearances that are at either edge of the screen.

Was ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE COMPLETE FILMS everything I'd hoped it would be? No. However, I really love "on the set" details, so I'll admit that I'm hard to completely please. What is included is often quite amazing. This is a book I plan to reference in my future viewing ... and when asked to describe certain Hitchcock films to "first timers."

[Anthony McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there are umpteen Hitchcock books out there, this is still a worthy addition for any film buff or Hitchcock fan to have in their library. The choice of hundreds of photos of Hitch and his films are alone worth the price of the book. And the very adaptable binding that Taschen has provided for this series of film books makes for easy access and enjoyable reading.

[misszoph · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 - Man skal måske være en større Hitchcock fan end jeg er (har set 1 af hans film) for at kunne nyde den her fuldt ud, men alligevel interessant læsning og jeg lærte da lidt nyt. Bogen er fyldt med flotte stills fra hans film og behind the scenes. En god guide igennem hans filmografi, som gav mig lyst til at få set flere Hitchcock film.

[Livewithbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

ترجمه خوبی داشت. اما خیلی کتاب خلاصه ای بود. البته از اسم کتابم پیداست. انتظار داشتم درباره ی هیچکاکی که فیلم ساخته بدونم نه فقط درباره ی فیلم های هیچکاک.
خلاصه ای از فیلم های هیچکاک تو این کتاب هست فقط

[Jeffrey Moll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alfred Hitchcock's name attaches itself to the horror genre instantaneously. His nuances on set and the way in which he held himself have not been seen in contemporary cinema since his death. His obsession with story structure and set design allowed him to convey a certain mood in each scene of his films; he was a master in the art of set design. This novel takes a backseat look at the master of horror and how his obsessive tendencies to detail truly made him stand alone as an auteur. I enjoyed the look into the family life of Hitchcock and how gentle he was to people, contrasting of course his harshness on set and the material he was creating. He is cited as being a lover of the cause and effect of an image reaching out to people and making them sweat. A true filmmaker that lives on in this book as not only the one that sets the bar but also still has a product creating the same response even today.

[Christine Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent summary of all of Hitchcock's films. The photographs are amazing, but the text leaves a bit to be desired. Several typos (including "always on the lamb"!) and a layout that requires flipping back and forth between text and photo captions. (A photo of Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief was missing a caption altogether.) Aside from these minor flaws, I enjoyed the book, and learned quite a few things. Who knew that Cecil Kellaway and Edmund Gwenn were cousins?

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used partially as a guide for my months-long journey to watch ALL 53 films (minus one as its lost to time), I found it indispensable, quite honestly. Because it covers so many films, the critical essays are brief and light on juicy BTS information but used as reference it offers an unbeatable overview of the Master of Suspense’s timeless and prolific output.

So here are the Hitch films ranked by ME:

52. Juno and the Paycock
51. The Skin Game
50. The Farmer’s Wife
49. Champagne
48. The Pleasure Garden
47. Easy Virtue
46. Rich and Strange
45. The Ring
44. Number Seventeen
43. Downhill
42. Topaz
41. Murder!
40. The Manxman
39. Mr & Mrs Smith
38. The Lodger
37. Blackmail
36. Spellbound
35. Under Capricorn
34. Marnie
33. Waltzes From Vienna
32. The Paradine Case
31. Frenzy
30. Jamaica Inn
29. Secret Agent
28. Torn Curtain
27. Stage Fright
26. Family Plot
25. I Confess
24. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
23. Suspicion
22. Foreign Corespondent
21. The Birds
20. The Wrong Man
19. The Trouble With Harry
18. Sabotage
17. Young & Innocent
16. Shadow of a Doubt
15. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
14. Dial M for Murder
13. Saboteur
12. Strangers on a Train
11. To Catch a Thief
10. Lifeboat
9. The Lady Vanishes
8. Rebecca
7. Rope
6. Notorious
5. Rear Window
4. Vertigo
3. The Thirty-Nine Steps
2. North by Northwest
1. Psycho

[Yoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written survey of Hitchcock’s works by an eminent authority

Any review of this book would have to start out by mentioning the fact that this book is written Paul Duncan, a premiere film critique. As such the book is very well written, it is particularly eloquent. Secondly the book provides a very good survey of Hitchcock’s films. Not just of each and every film but of how his style developed over time, from film to film, as well as from professional life experience to life experience (i.e. how his time in the English film industry influenced his film style, then later his experiences in Germany and finally in the U.S., among other life experiences). Lastly, the book is very well illustrated. The last fact goes without mention as it has been published by the Taschen Publishing Co., one known not only for the quality of its illustrations and graphics but also the “build quality” of its books (this is an excellent coffee table quality book).

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photography in this is superb, the text is OK. It's complete as the title says in its coverage of each film, although the essays that accompany each have different levels of thoroughness. I always wish that the editors of works like this could learn a little from other reference formats and give you a bit of consistent encapsulated information, maybe something like "watch for these scenes in particular," or "best performances in this film" or even basic information like running time, or IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes scores. If you added that to the great photography and the text, you'd really have a complete reference work.

[Diego Mazacotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dependiendo del crítico o ensayista, algunos capítulos brillan más que otros. Lastimosamente hay demasiados capítulos qué se limitan a simplemente reseñar la película a la que se dedica.

Finaliza con un recuento de los cameos de Hitchcock en todas sus películas, hermoso, fascinante y existencial ver el paso de la vida en un hombre. Este apartado me dejó con un saborcito a nostalgia por una vida que no fue mía.

Todas las fotografías son magníficas.

[Edwin Heijmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with descriptions of each movie directed by Hitchcock, as well as 1 essay per movie... Per usual with Taschen books, the book is also loaded with beautiful photos... The essays are quick reads and tend to lack depth, so don't expect great new insights into Hitchcock's oeuvre... But overall, this is a great read.

[Kristi Einberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful book. One of my all time fave directors. Haven't seen all his movies YET. Love reading about how movies are made and what happened bts. And of course those pictures were fantastic. This book made me wish to be on the set and see him working and to see all those REAL STARS.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive coverage of Hitchcock's career, with excellent photos from the films, behind the scenes, and a nice collection of Hitchcock's cameos at the end of his career. Many more films to watch...

[Kenneth Chanko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive survey of all of Hitchcock's films, resplendent with stills.

[Jilles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photographs of all his classics.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures are very good. However, the text is only so-so. This is not a biography of Hitchcock but it also does not go very deep into his movies. Sometimes the plots are revealed and sometimes not. There are a lot of interesting asides and observations but very episodic and not a lot of depth- and sometimes seemingly random. Pictures 5, text 3 for an average of 4 stars. As always, Taschen books are very attractively designed and well constructed.

[Samuel Viana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book, which by brother offered me for my birthday. Beginning from the point and it's a book published by Taschen, you already know what you should expect from it. For me, that I knew about the suspense master from when I was young, it was nothing new. One way or another, the text it's short and could be developed more. But this is a photobook, so you can't get more space for the text. I think that Paul Duncan lose much of its time explaining the film stories plot instead of developing more about Hitchcock and the story the films production. One way or another, I enjoyed it.

[W Orr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, but quite good.

[Ana* · Rating 5 out of 5]

love u*

[Alessia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le opere, i dietro le quinte, i cameo, le curiosita di tutti i film del genio del cinema Hitchcock su carta patinata e in formato >A4, assoluto amore.

[Angrod Mtd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claro, sencillo y con apoyos visuales muy buenos.