Was Alfred Hitchcock a cynical trifler with his audience's emotions, as he liked to pretend? Or was he a profoundly humane artist? Most commentators leave Hitchcock's self-assessment unquestioned, but this book shows that his movies convey an affectionate, hopeful understanding of human nature and the redemptive possibilities of love. Lesley Brill discusses Hitchcock's work as a whole and examines in detail twenty-two films, from perennial favorites like North by Northwest to neglected masterpieces like Rich and Strange.
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Deserves a place alongside the most provocative and incisive Hitchcock criticism of the decade. -- Choice
Brill argues his case ingeniously and goes a long way to explaining why Hitchcock was such a tease: he loved to scare us before leading us by the hand back to a world where dragons do not exist--except in the dark of the cinema.... -- David Coward, The [London] Times Literary Supplement
Brill argues his case persuasively in a knowledgeable analysis of Hitchcock's work. -- George L. George, American Cinematographer
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This review is from: The Hitchcock Romance (Paperback)
Brill's contention is fascinating: Hitchcock was NOT a macabre misfit interested only in the sick and scary. Rather, says Brill, H's films on the whole are hopeful, affirming, generating conventional suspense and working toward a happily-ever-after ending. Works like Psycho and Vertigo, Brill contends, are exceptions to more typical works like North by Northwest and The 39 Steps, which are quite upbeat and happy. According to Brill, Hitch is really an ironist whose occasional subversions of his generally hopeful outlook have received more critical attention; but that doesn't mean his whole ouevre is one of despair or pessimism. Brill argues magnificently in many well-informed essays; though his citation of Trouble with Harry as the quintessential Hitchcock film is a bit hard to swallow. Highly recommended for Hitchcock fans!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
WHEN Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) arrives at "Prairie Stop" to face attempted assassination by crop-duster plane, the landscape turns a desiccated, lifeless brown. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
internal artifice, ironic movies, ironic films, conspicuous artificiality, ironic fictions, comic romances, elevated settings, romantic films, ironic works, romantic movies, romantic narratives, high shot, fruit cellar, camera dollies, romantic conventions Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Under Capricorn, Father Logan, Michael Logan, New York, Secret Agent, The Princess, Prairie Stop, Scotland Yard, Century Limited, Miss Gravely, San Juan Bautista, Barry Kane, John Ballantine, John Robie, The Manxman, Easy Virtue, Inspector Oxford, Mixed Romances, Mount Rushmore, Otto Keller, The Murderous Gaze, The Paradine Case, Brenda Blaney, Family Plot, Foreign Correspondent New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
WHEN Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) arrives at "Prairie Stop" to face attempted assassination by crop-duster plane, the landscape turns a desiccated, lifeless brown. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
internal artifice, ironic movies, ironic films, conspicuous artificiality, ironic fictions, comic romances, elevated settings, romantic films, ironic works, romantic movies, romantic narratives, high shot, fruit cellar, camera dollies, romantic conventions Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Under Capricorn, Father Logan, Michael Logan, New York, Secret Agent, The Princess, Prairie Stop, Scotland Yard, Century Limited, Miss Gravely, San Juan Bautista, Barry Kane, John Ballantine, John Robie, The Manxman, Easy Virtue, Inspector Oxford, Mixed Romances, Mount Rushmore, Otto Keller, The Murderous Gaze, The Paradine Case, Brenda Blaney, Family Plot, Foreign Correspondent New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 20
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27
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- To Catch A Thief (Silhouette Romance) by Brittany Young on 24 pages
- The Lady Vanishes by Alfred Hitchcock on 5 pages
- A Hitchcock Reader by Marshall Deutelbaum on 4 pages
- Stage Fright (Usborne Young Reading: Series Two) by Phillip Stuart on page 65, page 142, and page 184
- Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays by Northrop Frye on page 6, page 12, and page 31
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- In the Name of National Security: Hitchcock, Homophobia, and the Political Construction of Gender in Postwar America (New Americanists) by Robert J. Corber on 6 pages
- An Eye for Hitchcock by Murray Pomerance on 5 pages
- The Films of Alfred Hitchcock (Cambridge Film Classics) by David Sterritt on 4 pages
- Writing with Hitchcock: The Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes by Steven DeRosa on page 137, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Hitchcock: Suspense, Humour and Tone (Distributed for the British Film Institute) by Susan Smith in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Back Matter
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