The Films of Alfred Hitchcock
Aug 2026 · Columbia University Press
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Long renowned as the “master of suspense,” Alfred Hitchcock is one of the rare filmmakers to achieve both a critical reputation for cinematic artistry and enduring popularity with everyday moviegoers around the world. His distinctive public image brought together a serious, even tormented artist and a mischievous magician with a penchant for practical jokes.
This book presents an engaging overview of Hitchcock’s life and work along with close studies of ten films spanning nearly five decades of his remarkable career. David Sterritt examines the fundamental themes that recur throughout Hitchcock’s films, including the ambiguities of reality and illusion, the blurred boundaries between guilt and innocence, the lures and perils of voyeurism, and the many ways in which the act of seeing can either reveal essential truths or lead to deception and danger. He highlights the director’s sophistication as an audiovisual stylist and audacity as a technical innovator while also exploring the religious undertones of key works.
Sterritt considers films ranging from Blackmail (1929), the first talkie made in England, to Family Plot (1976), the director’s last completed movie. He analyzes canonized masterpieces such as Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960) alongside overlooked works including Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949). Spotlighting the director’s extraordinary artistic range and thematic depth, The Films of Alfred Hitchcock offers new insights for both cinephiles and casual viewers.
This book presents an engaging overview of Hitchcock’s life and work along with close studies of ten films spanning nearly five decades of his remarkable career. David Sterritt examines the fundamental themes that recur throughout Hitchcock’s films, including the ambiguities of reality and illusion, the blurred boundaries between guilt and innocence, the lures and perils of voyeurism, and the many ways in which the act of seeing can either reveal essential truths or lead to deception and danger. He highlights the director’s sophistication as an audiovisual stylist and audacity as a technical innovator while also exploring the religious undertones of key works.
Sterritt considers films ranging from Blackmail (1929), the first talkie made in England, to Family Plot (1976), the director’s last completed movie. He analyzes canonized masterpieces such as Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960) alongside overlooked works including Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949). Spotlighting the director’s extraordinary artistic range and thematic depth, The Films of Alfred Hitchcock offers new insights for both cinephiles and casual viewers.
Long renowned as the “master of suspense,” Alfred Hitchcock is one of the rare filmmakers to achieve both a critical reputation for cinematic artistry and enduring popularity with everyday moviegoers around the world. His distinctive public image brought together a serious, even tormented artist ...
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About the author
David Sterritt is a film professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art, professor emeritus of theater and film at Long Island University, and a contributing writer at Cineaste. The author or editor of seventeen books, he was the longtime film critic of the Christian Science Monitor and has chaired the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics.
David Sterritt is a film professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art, professor emeritus of theater and film at Long Island University, and a contributing writer at Cineaste. The author or editor of seventeen books, he was the longtime film critic of the Christian Science Monitor and has c...
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