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Hitchcock

Hitchcock

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  • Create Date：2022-06-19 09:55:03
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：François Truffaut
  • ISBN：0571333699
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Summary

Based on the famous series of dialogues between Francois Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock from the 1960s， the book moves chronologically through Hitchcock's films to discuss his career， techniques， and effects he achieved。 It changed the way Hitchcock was perceived， as a popular director of suspense films - such as Psycho and The Birds - and revealed to moviegoers and critics， the depth of Hitchcock's perception and his mastery of the art form。

As a result of the changed perceptions about Hitchcock， his masterpiece， Vertigo， hit the No 1 slot in Sight & Sound's recent poll of film-makers and critics， displacing Citizen Kane as the Best Film of all time。

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Reviews

Gille Liath ，

Francois Truffaut says at one point that England is ‘anti-cinematic’。 At first sight the idea is absurd， just look at all the great English directors there have been: Hitchcock himself， David Lean， John Schlesinger， the Scott brothers， Christopher Nolan， Danny Boyle etc。 But let’s say we acknowledge some truth in it。 Most of them had to go to Hollywood to do their best work。 We’re a small island， it doesn’t come natural for us to think big。 But in that case， what are we going to say about France Francois Truffaut says at one point that England is ‘anti-cinematic’。 At first sight the idea is absurd， just look at all the great English directors there have been: Hitchcock himself， David Lean， John Schlesinger， the Scott brothers， Christopher Nolan， Danny Boyle etc。 But let’s say we acknowledge some truth in it。 Most of them had to go to Hollywood to do their best work。 We’re a small island， it doesn’t come natural for us to think big。 But in that case， what are we going to say about France？ What have they got to put up against Four Feathers， Lawrence of Arabia， Zulu or the James Bonds？ – Jules et Jim？Well， everyone knows how the English and French feel about each other: we’re the best of enemies （I know the Americans are theoretically supposed to like the French， but in practice I don’t think they always manage it）。 But that’s this book in a nutshell: Truffaut constantly obtruding himself and his opinions， even when they are only dubiously relevant。 He’s intelligent， astute， understands his art – and he had the gumption to go and talk to Hitchcock。 These are strengths。 But he talks to the great man， not as a master from whom he wishes to learn， not even really as peer – more as a subject he is studying under the microscope。 Talk about thinking a lot of yourself。Meanwhile， Hitchcock himself strikes me as a curious creature。 I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say there was some strange stuff going on behind that stolid exterior。 And these interviews， extensive though they are – and， I suppose， quite ground-breaking in their day – do no more than scratch the surface of the man or his work。 Still， if you’re at all interested in the latter and in the process of film-making， this is very interesting reading。 。。。more

Julieta Andrade ，

Súper interesante los diálogos entre ambos y las distintas maneras que tienen de pensar algunas cuestiones。 Es notable el respeto que tiene Truffaut para escribir sobre Hitchcock。 Hermoso libro， se podría decir que es la biblia del cine （？

Diego Correa ，

Supongo que es un indispensable para los que estudian cine， pero también debe serlo para todo cinéfilo y cualquiera que le interese un poco todo lo que pasa atrás de lo que vemos en la pantalla。 Es una entrevista que le hace un cineasta a otro por lo que se siente muy fluida y agradable。 No creo que sea necesario pero lo van a disfrutar mucho más si ya han visto varias de las tantas películas que dirigió Alfred Hitchcock。

Matthew ，

what a cool book。 incredible seeing two cinephiles just talk about their passions。

Matt Hicks ，

A masterclass in storytelling。

Sònia Sureda ，

Hitchcock sempre és interessant。 En aquest llibre ens endinsem en el seu món i en la seva manera de concebre el cinema。

La Biblioteca de Joanna ，

Recomendable 100% a los amantes del cine y de Hitchcock

MonkeyNess ，

https://youtu。be/b72bE09VV-0 https://youtu。be/b72bE09VV-0 。。。more

Drew Haddad ，

Took me much longer to read than I anticipated， as I picked up a few other books to read at the same time along the way。 Will be consulting this as religiously as I do Lumet’s Making Movies。

Juan Manuel Cafferata ，

Wow， muy entretenido。 Para amantes del cine es obligatorio。

Markku ，

One of the best guides to think cinematically。

Cristina ，

Demasiado lameculos todo el rato

Ron Porto ，

Very informative book that discussed the films that Hitchcock directed over the years。 Since it was actually an interview with a fellow director， Francois Truffaut， it provided a unique perspective with good probing questions。 As a result， the directness of the interview questions provided in depth responses from Hitchcock on the films him directed including background on story lines， actors， thought process， filming process & style。 Insightful read， especially for Hitchcock fans like myself。

Richard Tweedy ，

8/10。 If you're a film fan， you know parts of this book even if you haven't read it。 Here's the famous explanation of suspense vs surprise and the definition of the MacGuffin。 Plenty of interesting stuff here even if you know those， and Truffaut got Hitch to be relatively forthcoming。 Still， this ultimately is only an interview， which means that it occasionally feels the lack of reflection or more in-depth analysis。 Despite that drawback， still required reading for any film fan。 8/10。 If you're a film fan， you know parts of this book even if you haven't read it。 Here's the famous explanation of suspense vs surprise and the definition of the MacGuffin。 Plenty of interesting stuff here even if you know those， and Truffaut got Hitch to be relatively forthcoming。 Still， this ultimately is only an interview， which means that it occasionally feels the lack of reflection or more in-depth analysis。 Despite that drawback， still required reading for any film fan。 。。。more

Hector Fazio ，

Mi escuela de cine。

Kevin Hinman ，

At the end of the revised version of Hitchcock/Truffaut， Truffaut writes that Hitchcock shot his love scenes like death scenes and his death scenes like love scenes。 It's one of those lovely little sentences that sounds profound in the moment， but doesn't really hold up under any scrutiny。 Probably， if Truffaut had brought it up to Hitchcock in one of the interviews， Hitchcock would have chuckled and said， "I don't know，" as he seemed to do whenever the French director tried to shoehorn him into At the end of the revised version of Hitchcock/Truffaut， Truffaut writes that Hitchcock shot his love scenes like death scenes and his death scenes like love scenes。 It's one of those lovely little sentences that sounds profound in the moment， but doesn't really hold up under any scrutiny。 Probably， if Truffaut had brought it up to Hitchcock in one of the interviews， Hitchcock would have chuckled and said， "I don't know，" as he seemed to do whenever the French director tried to shoehorn him into a unified thesis。 Both directors would have been slightly wrong， Truffaut a little reaching， a little too naive， and Hitchcock just a little too stubborn。The whole book tends to read like this。 Truffaut is filled with wild， grand ideas about each of Hitchcock's pictures， and pushes and pokes the master of suspense， and Hitchcock seems mostly amused， or maybe even irritated， by these theories。 Hitchcock does openly malign one or two of his own films， but reticence is the party line， and Hitchcock rarely travels outside of his comfort zone。 That his comfort zone is wry humor， and anecdotes makes the interview breezy and enjoyable， but it is nearly always surface level。The most interesting and most revealing aspects of the interviews involve the ways in which Hitchcock struggled with the studio over the control his movies， whether it was casting the latest up and comers who may have not been right for the film at all， like with The Paradine Case， or being pushed into topical projects he wanted nothing to do with， like Topaz。 Hitchcock may be Truffaut's ideal auteur， but Hitchcock rarely got the complete autonomy that he wanted， and even then， always trusted the audience's instincts over his own。Hitchcock/Truffaut is a groundbreaking book that will likely seem quaint to a modern cinephile who can now get top-level analysis from a Letterboxd review， but I recommend it just the same。 Truffaut's excitement about simply being there radiates on every page， that feeling like he is on the ground floor of something incredible， and if he's patient， and lucky， someone might let him on the lift。 。。。more

Manuel ，

Mainly this book is about Hitchcock’s filmography seen by Hitchcock himself。 He has particular vision of cinema reason why he is considered a world class director。 However， the interview feels very dry and for moments kind of boring， I have seen better interviews in YouTube like the one I share below。 I recommend this book only for Hitchcock fan。https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=umfiw。。。 Mainly this book is about Hitchcock’s filmography seen by Hitchcock himself。 He has particular vision of cinema reason why he is considered a world class director。 However， the interview feels very dry and for moments kind of boring， I have seen better interviews in YouTube like the one I share below。 I recommend this book only for Hitchcock fan。https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=umfiw。。。 。。。more

Valerio Brugnoni ，

Un bellissimo resoconto di un vero artista， scritto da un altro artista。Anche a chi non è appassionato di cinema questo libro farà tornare la voglia di vedere bei film， strutturati con cura e studiati con l'intento di intrattenere。Hitchcock è stato un grande maestro e leggendo le sue opinioni e i suoi pensieri， incalzato da Truffaut， sembra quasi di guardare qualcosa che non si è autorizzati a vedere， di sbirciare dietro un altare。 Un bellissimo resoconto di un vero artista， scritto da un altro artista。Anche a chi non è appassionato di cinema questo libro farà tornare la voglia di vedere bei film， strutturati con cura e studiati con l'intento di intrattenere。Hitchcock è stato un grande maestro e leggendo le sue opinioni e i suoi pensieri， incalzato da Truffaut， sembra quasi di guardare qualcosa che non si è autorizzati a vedere， di sbirciare dietro un altare。 。。。more

Dr。 James Michael Schmidt ，

One great director interviews another: Conversations that transcend filmmaking and dive into psychoanalysis and philosophy。

Rossana Mauriello ，

Un must per chi ama il cinema。 Da leggere assolutamente

John Bleasdale ，

One of the best books ever written about film。 Two geniuses chat knowledgeably

Sonia ，

Siempre lo había visto descrito como una gran lección de cine， y siempre pensé que se trataba de una exageración， pero qué va。。。 Es más， en realidad son muchísimas lecciones de cine: sobre adaptaciones literarias， sobre lenguaje y narrativa， sobre el papel del espectador， sobre el sacrificio de la verosimilitud en beneficio de la emoción， sobre el montaje， sobre la música， la iluminación， la fotografía， el guion。。。 Todo lo que tenga que ver con la concepción， realización y producción de una pelí Siempre lo había visto descrito como una gran lección de cine， y siempre pensé que se trataba de una exageración， pero qué va。。。 Es más， en realidad son muchísimas lecciones de cine: sobre adaptaciones literarias， sobre lenguaje y narrativa， sobre el papel del espectador， sobre el sacrificio de la verosimilitud en beneficio de la emoción， sobre el montaje， sobre la música， la iluminación， la fotografía， el guion。。。 Todo lo que tenga que ver con la concepción， realización y producción de una película。 François Truffaut era muy fan de Hitchcock y gracias a una introducción en la que defiende su trabajo como director a capa y espada logró que me quitara el prejuicio de cineasta pretencioso que me rondaba por la cabeza （más por su revista Cahiers du Cinéma que por sus películas）。 A continuación comienza una larga entrevista a Alfred Hitchcock， que en su formato original son 50 horas de grabación， en la que ambos repasan la filmografía del director inglés desde la concepción de sus ideas hasta la valoración de la recepción de la obra por parte del público y de la crítica （con debates muy interesantes sobre esto）。 Me ha encantado conocer sus ideas desechadas （a veces Hitchcock parecía más orgulloso de ellas que de la película rodada）， sus intenciones detrás de determinadas escenas， anécdotas y complicaciones en los rodajes， su forma de entender el cine en general。 Y es que este libro también es un repaso de la historia del cine， del paso del mudo al sonoro， de las limitaciones técnicas que se fueron superando con el tiempo， de la influencia del star system en los guiones y producciones， de los premios （y ausencias de）， de la llegada del color y los cambios de iluminación que supuso， del forzoso trabajo en equipo。。。 Y ha sido una maravilla poder compaginar su lectura con algunas de sus películas y documentales sobre sus rodajes。 。。。more

Kirk ，

He is not involved in life; he merely contemplates it。-Francois Truffaut， on HitchcockAlfred Hitchcock is so beyond famous he's pretty much his own category。 When I was growing up in the '70s he was simultaneously extremely famous， extremely popular， and extremely well regarded in his field。 That's not easy to pull off。 I'm guessing he was the first film director I knew by name， and I can count 26 of his films that I've seen， which is almost certainly more than I've seen of any other individual He is not involved in life; he merely contemplates it。-Francois Truffaut， on HitchcockAlfred Hitchcock is so beyond famous he's pretty much his own category。 When I was growing up in the '70s he was simultaneously extremely famous， extremely popular， and extremely well regarded in his field。 That's not easy to pull off。 I'm guessing he was the first film director I knew by name， and I can count 26 of his films that I've seen， which is almost certainly more than I've seen of any other individual director。 I've owned this book for decades but only now got around to reading it。The French director Truffaut does an admirable job as the interviewer， he clearly holds Hitchcock in high esteem but is not star-struck。 He doesn't hesitate to comment （accurately） that Spellbound isn't very good， and Hitchcock doesn't disagree。 Hitchcock himself can be quite critical of his films， if there's an element that bothered him or he feels wasn't quite right， he always mentions it。 He can be quite clinical， but seems to have the most enthusiasm for Psycho， which did spectacularly well at the box office and which Hitchcock regards as a film that belongs entirely to the filmmaking: I don't care about the subject matter; I don't care about the acting; but I do care about the pieces of film and the photography and the sound track and all of the technical ingredients that made the audience scream。 I feel it's tremendously satisfying for us to be able to use the cinematic art to achieve something of a mass emotion。。。They were aroused by pure film。Hitchcock also amusingly tells the origin of the 'MacGuffin'， which has entered film parlance as the thing that propels the plot or object that the characters are after， but which otherwise is of little importance: （There are） two men in a train。 One man says， "What's that package up there in the baggage rack？"And the other answers， "Oh， that's a MacGuffin。"The first one asks， "What's a MacGuffin？""Well" the other man says， "it's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands。"The first man says， "But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands。"And the other one answers， "Well then， that's no MacGuffin。"But for me there weren't enough moments of such insight to rate this higher。 I find too much technical discussion of camera angles and such makes my eyes glaze over。 Others might feel differently。 The one film where such talk really came alive for me was Hitchcock's discussion of The Birds， his explanation of cutting away or not cutting from an image to heighten suspense was amazingly clear， also the use of sound （The Birds famously has no music score， only sound effects）。But with other films discussed， there are missed opportunities。 They talk about the resolution of Suspicion， where （this is a spoiler） Cary Grant is revealed not to have been plotting his wife's murder after all， when in the novel he very much was。 Yet bafflingly， neither Truffaut nor Hitchcock mention the Production Code， which forbade a character getting away with murder， and in this case it neuters the movie。 When discussing Vertigo， Truffaut adroitly points out that unlike almost every other Hitchcock film， the pacing is deliberate， contemplative， dreamlike， not the usual brisk storytelling。 Hitchcock replies that's because the main character is in an emotional crisis。 Which， sure fine， I assumed that would open up a longer discussion， but the director has nothing else to say about it （！）。 One interesting thing （but frustrating for a reader） is Hitchcock's attitude toward actors。 Some have thought he was hostile to actors， but that's not quite it; I would say he's essentially indifferent to them。 He rarely comments on the quality of a performance， unless it's to say he would have preferred to cast a different actor for a certain part。 His outlook is summarized in this quote: When a film has been properly staged， it isn't necessary to rely upon the player's virtuosity or personality for tension and dramatic effects。 In my opinion， the chief requisite for an actor is the ability to do nothing well， which is by no means as easy as it sounds。 He should be willing to be utilized and wholly integrated into the picture by the director and the camera。So when Truffaut particularly praises Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train or Claude Rains in Notorious， Hitchcock neither agrees nor disagrees， he adds nothing。 And one thing that's striking is nearly always a film director will have alot to say about actors he or she works with， what they are like on the set， or amusing anecdotes， or a particular approach to a performance--but not here。 It's remarkable to me to think how many times Hitchcock worked with Cary Grant and James Stewart， yet has almost nothing to say about them。 I began to think that something that's been said about Quentin Tarentino might also have been true about Hitchcock， that he had an intense fascination with cinema but not so much about life。 That's why I found the quote at the top of this review so interesting。 Truffaut saw it too。The Inevitable Lists:My Personal Essential Hitchcock Films （in order of release）The Thirty-nine StepsRebeccaLifeboatNotoriousStrangers on a TrainVertigoPsychoThe BirdsOne That's OverratedNorth by NorthwestOne That's UnderratedI Confess 。。。more

Joaquín Catalano ，

🖤

Ulysse ，

A key film text。

Frank ，

The way these two interact， the respect they have for each other and the knowledge of the craft is simply marvelous。 I constantly have the need to come back to this book whenever I'm off set。 The way these two interact， the respect they have for each other and the knowledge of the craft is simply marvelous。 I constantly have the need to come back to this book whenever I'm off set。 。。。more

Carolina Tulia ，

Los amo tanto a los dos ❤️

Gina ，

This was so basic; I was really expecting a lot more from these two。 It read as very self-celebratory and honestly， the most pertinent fact that says a lot about Hitchcock that I found out form this book is that he did not know what menstruation was until his 40's。 This guy clearly knew barely anything about women， despite being married to one for decades at that point。 His misogyny and torture of women is definitely littered throughout the book （as is Truffaut's） and that says a lot more about This was so basic; I was really expecting a lot more from these two。 It read as very self-celebratory and honestly， the most pertinent fact that says a lot about Hitchcock that I found out form this book is that he did not know what menstruation was until his 40's。 This guy clearly knew barely anything about women， despite being married to one for decades at that point。 His misogyny and torture of women is definitely littered throughout the book （as is Truffaut's） and that says a lot more about these men than their words about film do。 。。。more

Piotr Dex ，

5

ajdå ，

hitch är gullig men död :/

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Hitchcock

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Hitchcock&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Hitchcock&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0