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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
3.0
Another library offering through the Libby app. I've read several biographies on Hitchcock, including the more recent Hitchcock's Blondes, and all the other books do a deep dive into the psyche of Hitchcock and what made him latch on to the macabre for his filmmaking.
There's nothing I haven't heard before. Reads more like a filmography than a biography. The films were interesting to revisit, as I've seen all the American films as well as many of Hitch's British offerings, but if you're looking for insight into the actual man, this book isn't for you.
The audio narrator was good. Would search out his work again.
There's nothing I haven't heard before. Reads more like a filmography than a biography. The films were interesting to revisit, as I've seen all the American films as well as many of Hitch's British offerings, but if you're looking for insight into the actual man, this book isn't for you.
The audio narrator was good. Would search out his work again.
lduran39's review
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The audio version Audible produces has the most enthusiastic narrator. The book does end abruptly...but somehow it seems very much like a Hitchcock film.
tracey_stewart's review against another edition
4.0
And yet more feet of clay appear on icons. Perversion, perverseness, promiscuity… oh well. I suppose it was naïve to think, for example, Grace Kelly didn't have that many affairs. So, when I have no more illusions left, does that mean I'm finally all grown up, or … I'm dead?
Anyway. The image of Hitchcock that I have always had was of a confident cuddly genial funny teddy bear of a man, brilliant at what he did. In this short biography, Peter Ackroyd dismantles all of that and more.
It was extremely readable; it retained my interest as it traveled briskly from Alfred Hitchcock's birth and childhood and education to his early career, odd courtship and marriage, and growth as a director. And then film by film it outlines the rest of his life. I saw a review which complained about the book being merely a filmography – but given Hitchcock's obsessive drive to always be working, it would be difficult to frame the book in any other way. His life was a filmography.
I've loved so many of the Hitchcock films - Lifeboat? Come on – that it was a little (wait for it) disillusioning to read about how they came about. It was well-written, if somewhat superficial; it was fascinating – but, overall, a sad story, which I am going to do my best to forget it by the next time I see a Hitchcock film. Moving on.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
Anyway. The image of Hitchcock that I have always had was of a confident cuddly genial funny teddy bear of a man, brilliant at what he did. In this short biography, Peter Ackroyd dismantles all of that and more.
It was extremely readable; it retained my interest as it traveled briskly from Alfred Hitchcock's birth and childhood and education to his early career, odd courtship and marriage, and growth as a director. And then film by film it outlines the rest of his life. I saw a review which complained about the book being merely a filmography – but given Hitchcock's obsessive drive to always be working, it would be difficult to frame the book in any other way. His life was a filmography.
I've loved so many of the Hitchcock films - Lifeboat? Come on – that it was a little (wait for it) disillusioning to read about how they came about. It was well-written, if somewhat superficial; it was fascinating – but, overall, a sad story, which I am going to do my best to forget it by the next time I see a Hitchcock film. Moving on.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
batbones's review against another edition
4.0
It's quite good for an introductory biography - neither weighed down by technical intricacies nor too social and thus distanced from the actual day-to-day aspects of film-making, it can be an all-day read without need for pause. In my opinion this would have been improved if Ackroyd took a closer look at individual films, i.e. possible interpretations, interesting aspects and what he would make of it, whenever they were introduced, for a length beyond the few sentences this book has granted. The focus here evidently is on Hitchcock the man: his life, moods and sometimes tempestuous relationships (which by Ackroyd's telling are fairly odd), more than the intersection between his life and his films - a juicier topic this might have made aside. This may explain the lack of film criticism. Ackroyd bows to psychoanalytic explanations from time to time - surprising, given psychoanalysis' reputation in psychology, and yet unsurprising, given perhaps Hitchcock's own indulgences in his films that have enabled such interpretative orientations.
aravenclawslibrary's review
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love Alfred Hitchcock. I grew up watching his movies. I have multiple dvd AH collections. So I really enjoyed this book.
It told the story of his life and broke down the filming on his movies, even ones that aren’t super famous.
It was so interesting to hear quotes from actors and others that have worked with him.
Now excuse me while I go binge watch his movies 🎥
It told the story of his life and broke down the filming on his movies, even ones that aren’t super famous.
It was so interesting to hear quotes from actors and others that have worked with him.
Now excuse me while I go binge watch his movies 🎥
joshrskinner's review against another edition
4.0
Alfred Hitchcock created brilliant works of art that revolutionized the filmmaking industry. Hitchcock’s ability to tell a story through what he said and showed, and more so through what he left unsaid and unshowed, has made him a perennial favorite for many, myself included.
Peter Ackroyd has shown himself to be a preeminent biography with his works on Chaplin, Shakespeare, London, Dickens, and more. His short biography of Hitchcock is no different. Ackroyd leads the reader through the story of a life filled with quirk, sorrow, and success. From a child who “never cried” to a young man introduced to his beloved Alma to the young director practical-joking his way out of a less-than-enticing studio contract and many the actress almost out of her mind to the man who produced masterpieces like Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Birds, Psycho, and Rear Window to a man in his final days, Ackroyd aptly navigates the life and, to a lesser degree, the mind of this flawed-genius. Hitchcock was far from Midas, but he certainly produced a fair amount of gold. Ackroyd examines the great films and the not-so-great, and it is fun to look at them all.
My one main criticism of Ackroyd’s biography of Hitchcock is the abruptness with which we leave the story. Hitchcock is dying and then he is dead and then later Alma dies. It was not exactly as thrown-on-the-brakes as my summary, but it was not far from it. I would have preferred to linger in that moment a bit more—a fade to black instead of a jump cut to the credits, if you will—and I would have liked to have a bit more interaction with Alma post-Alfred. Small quibbles over an otherwise good biography.
**ARC from the publisher for review purposes
Peter Ackroyd has shown himself to be a preeminent biography with his works on Chaplin, Shakespeare, London, Dickens, and more. His short biography of Hitchcock is no different. Ackroyd leads the reader through the story of a life filled with quirk, sorrow, and success. From a child who “never cried” to a young man introduced to his beloved Alma to the young director practical-joking his way out of a less-than-enticing studio contract and many the actress almost out of her mind to the man who produced masterpieces like Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Birds, Psycho, and Rear Window to a man in his final days, Ackroyd aptly navigates the life and, to a lesser degree, the mind of this flawed-genius. Hitchcock was far from Midas, but he certainly produced a fair amount of gold. Ackroyd examines the great films and the not-so-great, and it is fun to look at them all.
My one main criticism of Ackroyd’s biography of Hitchcock is the abruptness with which we leave the story. Hitchcock is dying and then he is dead and then later Alma dies. It was not exactly as thrown-on-the-brakes as my summary, but it was not far from it. I would have preferred to linger in that moment a bit more—a fade to black instead of a jump cut to the credits, if you will—and I would have liked to have a bit more interaction with Alma post-Alfred. Small quibbles over an otherwise good biography.
**ARC from the publisher for review purposes