What a complex mind the Master of Suspense possessed!

Alfred Hitchcock was truly a remarkable figure. His ability to create tension and keep audiences on the edge of their seats was unparalleled. Spoto, in his efforts, does his best to make sense of Hitchcock as a man and the greatest auteur filmmaker of all time.

Hitchcock's films were not just entertainment; they were works of art that delved into the human psyche. He had a unique vision and a distinct style that set him apart from other filmmakers. His use of camera angles, lighting, and sound added to the overall atmosphere of his movies.

Understanding Hitchcock as a person is also crucial in understanding his films. He had his own idiosyncrasies and quirks that influenced his work. Spoto's research and analysis provide valuable insights into the mind of this great filmmaker, allowing us to appreciate his work even more.

Part film history and part film theory, this book offers an intriguing exploration not just of Hitchcock's films but also of his motivations, inner turmoil, and relationships.

Some might find the author's digressions into the history of silent film and such a bit distracting. However, cinephiles will relish the synopsis.

The author makes assumptions and analyses that at times seem a bit far-fetched. Nevertheless, they warrant discussion.

He sometimes neatly links Hitchcock's films with his real-life relationships without solid evidence. Still, the possibilities are captivating.

It's a substantial read but progresses at a brisk pace, not fixating on the useless details that many biographers like to include to pad the pages.

After finishing the book, I truly felt I had a new understanding of Hitchcock and his films. I would definitely recommend it to any serious film or Hitchcock enthusiasts.

A really well-balanced look at Hitch is presented here. It never leans towards hagiography, yet it shows an authentic appreciation for a truly unique personality. Hitchcock's barely-concealed psyche, along with his one-of-a-kind attention to detail and craft, combined to create visual statements of many of the 20th century's fears and fantasies. People like Hitch are significant as they visualize such things. It is up to us to determine how they make us feel and how we relate to them. Spoto doesn't engage in overly in-depth analysis, although he has clearly analyzed Hitch's films at a high level. He maintains an even keel, with a wealth of biographical data that is never dull. He paints what I envision to be an accurate picture of the curious Englishman. This is good stuff, especially as a companion to Hitchcock/Truffaut.

This long biography is divided into sections by years of activity, which makes it extremely easy to follow the progression of Hitchcock's cinematic growth based on what was happening in his life at that time.

Just my personal opinion, but I don't believe this book needed to be as lengthy as it is. The author seems overly eager to make his point about Alfred Hitchcock's dark side, to the extent that he might overdo it. Truly, it doesn't require a great deal of effort to understand that the director had a dark side; all one needs to do is watch his movies.

That being said, this is an exhaustive account of Hitchcock's methods. It details how he discovered good stories, superb screenwriters, the perfect cast, a talented crew, and producers who could obtain whatever he needed to achieve his creative vision. It also confirms the stories of how poorly Hitchcock treated all these people.

I was aware from documentaries that Hitchcock storyboarded his movies with such meticulous detail that, once he completed that process, in his mind there wasn't much left for him to do. What I didn't know was that he actually fell fast asleep in his director's chair during filming, because by that point everyone knew precisely what he expected of them. I knew that Hitchcock enjoyed being risqué. I didn't know that he attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to make his movies more sexually sadistic.

After listening to this book on Audible, my recommendation is that you read the print version. It truly is an excellent biography. However, the audiobook narrator has some idiosyncrasies that I found both annoying and distracting. For instance, there are awkward pauses between sentences and mispronunciations of ordinary words.

Hitchcock Was A Technical Genius But Not A People Person

This book delved deep into the numerous repressed desires of Hitchcock and how he integrated them into his films. His mistreatment of many of his Blonde Leading Ladies, particularly Tipi Hendron, was truly appalling. I had once relished his TV Series, “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.” However, I was astounded to discover that he did practically nothing more than lend his name to the program. Even his hosting was merely presenting dialogue that was scripted for him. As I was reading the book, I watched some of his films on Telecine Cult (the Brazilian Movie Channel) and on YouTube, and I found myself enjoying them all over again. It is a great book that I would highly recommend to those who have a penchant for reading about the behind-the-scenes details regarding the actors, writers, and technical personnel involved in his films. I especially took great pleasure in the psychological aspects of Hitchcock’s personality that were intricately embedded within his films. It offered a fascinating insight into the mind of a cinematic master.

If you consider Steve Jobs as a somewhat peculiar genius, then you definitely must read this detailed account of Hitchcock.

Hitchcock was yet another extremely talented, yet complex and strange individual. He had the ability to be disarming with his charm, winning over those around him. However, at the same time, his actions and manners could be shockingly odd, leaving people bewildered.

His films were a reflection of his unique vision and creative mind, often filled with suspense and psychological depth.

Reading about Hitchcock will give you a deeper understanding of his genius and the enigma that he was.

You will not be disappointed as you explore the life and works of this remarkable filmmaker.

Prepare to be intrigued and amazed by the story of Hitchcock.

While reading, I couldn't help but call this "the never ending book".

It was extremely long, and Mr. Hitchcock had specific habits and procedures that he adhered to for every picture he made. As a result, it seemed highly repetitive.

Donald Spoto's biographies are typically very interesting and full of spirit. However, in this case, it had to be the subject matter that slowed this book down.

Perhaps the detailed exploration of Hitchcock's working methods and the repetition within them made it a bit of a slog to get through.

Nevertheless, Spoto's writing style still managed to hold my attention to some extent.

Despite the drawbacks, there were still some valuable insights and anecdotes about Hitchcock's life and career that made the reading experience somewhat worthwhile.

Overall, while it may not have been the most engaging biography I've ever read, it did offer a comprehensive look at the man behind the movies.

This was an interesting listen of a biography of one of my favorite movie makers. Narrated by Jeff Riggerbach, it was a remarkable 23 hours and 26 minutes long.

It provided a fascinating glimpse into what made "Hitch" tick. I own DVD's of almost all of his movies and several of the TV shows as well. Some of my absolute favorite movies are the ones he created, such as REAR WINDOW, FAMILY PLOT, SPELLBOUND, NOTORIOUS, PSYCHO, and THE BIRDS. There are so many that I can't even name them all here.

It was a great peek into the mind of a person who crafted the moments that scared you to death and some that made you laugh until your sides ached.

However, my only complaint is that the downloaded copy of this book from DOWNPOUR was defective. I missed almost 2 whole chapters that were corrupted somehow. I have notified their customer service department, and they supposedly will be looking into it. I find this event to be extremely annoying. It's like paying for a print copy only to find that someone forgot to print part of the book!

Despite this setback, I still highly recommend this biography to anyone interested in the life and work of this iconic movie maker.

The book delves deep into Hitchcock during the production of his most renowned films. It makes use of the insights from the actors who participated in these films, as well as Hitchcock's other colleagues in the film industry. The author has crafted a psychological exploration of Hitchcock through these observations and the content of his films.

The initial part of the book can be a bit tiresome, as the author presents facts about Hitchcock's family lineage and childhood. However, in the end, all these aspects are crucial to Hitchcock's narrative and help explain his behavior in later life.

After reading the book, I found myself pondering what would have happened to Alfred Hitchcock if his talents hadn't granted him the wealth and status in the film industry that he relished. Since it seemed that his films offered him the opportunity to act out his most extreme dreams, frustrations, and neuroses on the soundstage.

If Alfred Hitchcock had been forced to hold an ordinary job and lead an ordinary life, I dread to think about what he might have done.

One of the very best biographies of Alfred Hitchcock is this work by Donald Spoto. He has crafted a truly fascinating study of a character who was extremely complex. Written way back in 1983, this book was truly groundbreaking. It stands out as better than most of the numerous Hitchcock studies that have been published since then. Alongside his other work, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, this one is probably Spoto's best. What makes it even more special is that it includes 27 pages of unusual and excellent photographs. These photographs add another dimension to the understanding of Hitchcock and his life. They provide a visual perspective that enhances the written account. Overall, this biography is a must-read for anyone interested in the life and work of Alfred Hitchcock.

On a recent flight to the US, I sat and watched Toby Jones in ‘The Girl’, while beside me, the other half fixed her attention on Anthony Hopkins in ‘Hitchcock’. Our side by side pursuit of the dark side of Alfred Hitchcock inspired me to retrieve Donald Spoto’s tome from storage and read it again for the first time in 20 years.

‘The Dark Side of Genius’ is both an appropriate and inappropriate title. Without a doubt, Spoto views Hitchcock as a genius, lavishing praise on his masterworks (and even his more interesting failures). However, it is the dark aspects that Spoto truly desires to write about. The problem is that the more unappealing elements do not become evident until the last 25 years of Sir Alf’s long life. So, while the genius is on full display throughout, there is a significant portion of the book to endure before the dirt is revealed.

This results in a somewhat unbalanced biography. Hitchcock’s childhood in Leytonstone is rather tedious for the reader to plow through. Spoto, who mainly writes Hollywood biographies, seems out of his element in the East End of London. (I could envision poring over his ‘Collected Works of Charles Dickens’ to understand how it’s done.) He finds his footing when Alf enters the British film industry and, of course, when he relocates to Hollywood. But the real bravura moments come when examining his treatment of Tippi Hedren (and earlier Vera Miles - as well as other actresses), which is disturbingly riveting.

Nevertheless, as a Hitchcock fan, George Orwell’s ‘Benefit of Clergy’ came to mind as I read about the latter’s thwarted obsessions and drunken decline. How much should our knowledge of an artist’s life impact our appreciation of his or her works? Using Orwell’s example, what would we say about Shakespeare if we discovered that he was Elizabethan England’s most ruthless serial killer? In Hitchcock’s case, many of his darker impulses were undoubtedly transformed into entertainment for the masses – there is the recurring obsession with blondes and in ‘Vertigo’ the dismantling and remaking of an individual. As he aged, Spoto tells us (without a hint of glee) that rape fantasies emerged more and more, as seen in ‘Marnie’ or ‘Frenzy’. Spoto’s narrative manages to combine sympathy for the man in his frustration and loneliness with revulsion towards him. But does any of this diminish my enjoyment of ‘Rear Window’? Or ‘Strangers On A Train’? Or ‘Psycho’? It is an elegantly written and meticulously researched biography, but once those films begin, I’ll simply lose myself in them again and forget all about it.

This was a rather challenging one.

As there is extremely limited knowledge available about Alfred Hitchcock, the majority of this biography consisted of speculation that was pieced together from a scant few facts and by closely analyzing his films.

A significant portion of it struck me as repetitive. It delved into the details of how he worked on each film, and it was essentially the same approach throughout. However, there were numerous pages dedicated to his process for every single film, over and over again.

There was some information that I previously didn't have and that was interesting. But overall, I found this particular work to be somewhat lackluster. This is quite rare for me, considering that I have read many of Mr. Spoto's works in the past and have loved them.

Perhaps it was due to the scarcity of concrete information about Hitchcock, but this biography didn't quite live up to my expectations.

Nonetheless, it still provided some valuable insights into the mind of the master filmmaker, even if it was a bit of a struggle to get through at times.