ReviewAlfred Hitchcock: every film dissected in new appreciation of director’s genius by Taschen
- From Psycho to The Birds to North by Northwest, every one of the director’s 53 films has its own chapter, with new insights and stunning photos
- Also featured in Paul Duncan’s Alfred Hitchcock: The Complete Films are director’s cameos, his collaboration with Salvador Dali, and his many camera tricks
Alfred Hitchcock: The Complete Films, edited by Paul Duncan, Taschen, 4.5/5 stars
Alfred Hitchcock may be best known as “the master of suspense”, but the greatest British filmmaker of all time was much more than that.
Hitchcock worked in a variety of genres, producing everything from slasher films (Psycho) and horror thrillers (The Birds) to rollicking adventures (North by Northwest), spy dramas (The 39 Steps), black comedies (The Trouble With Harry) and romantic melodramas (Marnie).
His diverse cinematic output has been gloriously chronicled in Alfred Hitchcock: The Complete Films, edited by film historian Paul Duncan, whose previous titles include The James Bond Archives and The Godfather Family Album.
Hitchcock’s final film may have been released almost half a century ago, but in his introductory essay, “Fear of Falling”, Duncan explains why his movies have managed to retain a stranglehold on cinema lovers.
“Hitchcock’s strength as a filmmaker was that he was able to visualise his subconscious fears and desires and turn them into waking nightmares on the silver screen,” Duncan writes. “Many viewers share his subconscious fears and desires, which is why he will remain in the public consciousness for many years to come.”