Product Description

A fresh and definitive portrait of the Master of Suspense by acclaimed biographer Patrick McGilligan

Full of fresh revelations, dark humour and cliff hanging suspense, this new biography of Alfred Hitchcock follows his life from its humble beginnings, as the son of an East End greengrocer, through an extraordinary career in which his films set new standards for cinematic invention, to his death as a Hollywood legend in Beverley Hills.

• Gives a uniquely comprehensive and balanced view of Hitchcock’s life, uncovering details not just of his work but also his personal life, and with an insight into how they interacted and sometimes clashed
• Covers Hitchcock’s relationships with Hollywood screen legends such as Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly.
• Challenges the interpretations of Hitchcock as ‘the macabre Englishman’ and a sexual obsessive
• Describes the enduring love story behind his 54 year marriage to Alma Reville
• Enduring interest in Hitchcock’s influence on the thriller genre, and his 50+ films
• The 25^th anniversary of Hitchcock’s death is on 20 April 2005
• 32 pages of black and white photos.
• The first complete biography of his life in 25 years

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147707 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 894 pages

Review
“…authoritative and exhaustively researched…a fitting study of the director… – will inform and inspire the studies that are certain to follow.” (Journal of British Cinema & Television, Vol.1, No.2, 2004)

Sunday Herald, Glasgow 30 November 2003
"..rewarding biography..McGillian restores to us Hitchcock the artist.."

Sunday Telegraph, 14 December 2003
"..McGilligan's biography unquestionably gives a more lifelike account than any of its precursors.."

Customer Reviews

An excellent piece of cake
With 39 (spooky!) Hitchcock books currently on my bookshalf you could call me a bit of Hitchcock fan. This book is an extensive journey through the great man's film career. Unlike other books, it concentrates more on the man and the story of him doing his job, rather than a critique of his work. It is an excellent read, the best Hitchcock book on my shelf.

The best there is
I have read a number of books on Hitch, but this is currently the best one out there.

McGilligan deserves great credit for the huge amount of work that has gone into this. Excellently researched, and covering his life and films equally well, the volume is both informative and very readable.

If you have read the film guides and biographies and want more, this is the book to get!

Superb - Whether You're Interested In Hitchcock, or Film
With this book, McGilligan has managed to do for Hitchcock what Peter Guralnick did for Elvis with 'Last Train From Memphis'. The author has reconnected a legend with his true art, cutting through the empehera of celebrity which has attempted to obscure Hitchcock's true value.

This book is a masterwork, and on each page, on every line, you can sense the authority of the writer, earned through long and evidently painstaking research.

This is the best film book I've read to date - and sets a new standard for the genre.