Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light - Hardcover

McGilligan, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470869720 ISBN 13: 9780470869727

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2003

Synopsis

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 25th 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

About this title

Review:

"...Hitchcock’s two sides were vividly illustrated..." (Weston Daily Press, 8 November 2003)

“...McGilligan’s new book rights all the wrongs of past efforts which have portrayed Hitchcock as a lunatic...” (Ireland on Sunday, 23 November 2003)

 “...rewarding biography...McGillian restores to us Hitchcock the artist...” (Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 30 November 2003)

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

“...McGilligan again and again defends Hitchcock’s reputation...very intriguing...” (The Irish Times, 10 January 2004)

“...tempers a discussion of the dark side with expert analysis and the insights of a seasoned film biographer.” (The Times, 5 May 2004)

From the Back Cover:

In a career that spanned six decades and more than sixty fiulms, Alfred Hitchcock was the dominant figure in the first century of cinema.  His films – from The 39 Steps to The Birds, from Rear Window to Vertigo, from Notorious to Psycho – set new standards for cinematic invention and storytelling elan.  He was both visionary artist and consummate entertainer ... and became the most widely recognized director who ever lived.

In the decades since his death, the public image of Hitchcock has crystallized into a series of iconic images: the macabre Englishman, the sexual obsessive, the Master of Suspense.  But this remarkable new biography – the first in a quarter–century – draws on prodigious new research to restore Hitchcock the man, in all his three–dimensional glory.  Here is the comprehensive film craftsman, forever pushing forward the boundaries of his art.  Here is the passionate collaborator, who cheekily referred to actors as "cattle" but invigorated the careers of Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly.  Here is the insatiable provocateur, testing the limits of his audience with his cocktail of sex and violence.  And here, too, is the private man: dedicated romantic, constant trickster, impotent voyeur, devoted husband, a man who sacrificed his life, again and again, for his work.

Like the best Hitchcock films, Patrick McGilligan′s life of Hitchcock is a drama full of fresh revelation, graced by a central love story, dark humour, and cliff–hanging suspense: a definitive portrait of the most creative, and least understood, figure in film history.

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0470869720
• ISBN 13: 9780470869727
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 894