From Publishers Weekly
All things concerning the master of suspense are elucidated in The Encyclopedia of Alfred Hitchcock. From The Birds to Joseph Conrad (whose Secret Agent Hitchcock adapted for his film Sabotage) to The Wrong Man, brief entries describe the films, stars and themes of Hitchcock's career, as well as the theorists who study him and the filmmakers who imitate him. Written by Thomas Leitch, director of the University of Delaware's film studies program, this comprehensive resource is part of Facts on File's Great Filmmakers series of A to Z references on the world's most important directors.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Facts On File's Great Filmmakers set includes individual volumes on three major directors (Hitchcock, Kubrick, and Orson Welles) as well as the two-volume
Encyclopedia of Filmmakers (p.2008). Entries in the volume reviewed here are arranged alphabetically and cover films and screenplays; themes and motifs
(Blondes,
Eating and drinking); people
(Lombard, Carole; Hecht, Ben); process
(Suspense vs. surprise), and other important topics
(MacGuffin).
Biographical entries are generally short and numerous, seemingly covering everyone who ever appeared in or worked on Hitchcock's productions. The book also include entries for prominent biographers and critics. Each film analysis discusses its significance in the director's oeuvre as well as describing the plot, characters, acting, production details, critical response, and other notable data. A surprising omission is a straight filmography, with works in chronological order, though this may be gleaned from the biographical narrative for Hitchcock. Cross-references are noted in the text by capitalized words. Attractive black-and-white photos accompany many of the major articles.
Because Hitchcock is among the best, most popular, and most-studied film directors, this authoritative books will get a lot of use in both public and academic libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
