- Hardcover: 576 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; First Edition edition (23 April 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747544905
- ISBN-13: 978-0747544906
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 5.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 726,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Dan Auiler is undoubtedly the luckiest Alfred Hitchcock devotee alive. With the permission of the director's family, he sifted through the Hitchcock archives at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to create a multi-faceted portrait of the artist at work. If this book has a fault, it's that the sheer mass of information makes it a little hard to digest, but taken in small doses its richness becomes a virtue, offering unique insights into the complicated processes that led to some of the greatest films ever made.
Auiler divides the creative act into three parts: "Building the Screenplay", "Preparing the Visual", and "Putting It All Together." In each section he provides documents, including memos, script excerpts, sketches and storyboards from a selection of films. Most interesting are those relating to Kaleidoscope a project from the late 60s which, Auiler contends, would have been a groundbreaking film had the studio not forced Hitchcock to abandon it. This collection also gives full credit to Alma Reville, the director's wife and lifelong collaborator, and her influence on the development of Hitchcock's style is evident throughout. Other gems include a transcript of discussions between Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren about her character in The Birds, and a set of production stills from an early, lost movie The Mountain Eagle.
There's an enormous amount to take in, but what quickly emerges is a sense of Hitchcock's meticulous approach to crafting a film. He frequently sent script treatments to other writers and filmmakers, asking for their critical comments, and Auiler reproduces several of these correspondences, including Francois Truffaut's detailed analysis of Kaleidoscope. At the other end of the creative journey the book closes with the script for an never produced Spellbound trailer in which Hitchcock playfully evokes the magic of movies: "That screen up there is like a mind...we here in Hollywood can make anything happen there." Hitchcock's Secret Notebooks is a testament to the powerful vision and sheer hard work that lay behind that magic. --Simon Leake
Product Description
This is a portrait of filmaker Alfred Hitchcock, from building his screenplays from scratch or from existing material, through working on sets and storyboards, filming, and putting it all together and adding music during post-production.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book, much more than any other I've read, gives you an insight into Hitchcock's approach to film-making. With actual letters, notes and memos from the master himself, the book provides a fascinating in-depth look at the art of directing and motion picture making from conception to completion. Personally I love the noted scripts and beautiful storyboards (some of which are Hitch's own work). This is a wonderful book, full of rare art, pictures and thoughts of one of the greatest directors of all time.
3 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was given a copy, sadly not bought fromyourselves ! The index tells me that on page 27 there is reference to my Father (He gave Hitchcock his first real job - 'The Lodger') There is NO such reference. On the said page 27 the Author sugests that this period in Hitchcocks life is 'Badly documented' (sic). At no time did the Author approach me to ask to see the Balcon papers at the BFI which cover the period in question. This is a prime example of the BRITISH Fim Industry being denigrated from across the Atlantic
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