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A review by greg_talbot
Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies by Donald Spoto
3.0
“I never said actors are cattle-I said that actors should be treated like cattle”- Alfred Hitchcock
Glamour, Razzle-dazzle, and charisma are just some of the characteristics I think of when I think of Old Hollywood actresses and actors. Behind the camera, well that's another story.
With the exception of Kubrick, no other director is described with the level of shot-by-shot control that Hitchcock was noted for. His interest was not so much with leading his cast in how to “act”. Instead he brought his interior motives out with his camera-work and post-production editing. Some examples of his finest work have been: the 9 minute single shot in “Rebecca”, the shower scene of “Psycho”, the flocks of unseemly birds in “The Birds”.
“Spellbound By Beauty”. Gives a linear progression of Hitchcock's career, and the focus is specifically on Hitchcock's relationship with the leading lady. The lady was superficially the same: blond, a budding Hollywood starlet, and submissive to Hitchcock's direction on or off screen. These weren't sexual relationships, but power-shaped ones. Joan Fontaine, actress of Rebecca writes Hitchcock “knew ways of pressuring her insecurities, and making her his”.
“Vertigo”, now widely considered by critics his best film (currently sits as the best film ever according to Sights and Sounds poll). Spoto writes in detail on the significance of the film. It's the most personal revealing movie of Hitchcock. A story about a man choosing fantasy over reality in the realm of love.
In life and film, Hitchcock pushed boundaries. Whether it was changing the perspective of the audience to one more perverse or telling bawdy jokes to his ladies, Hitchcock was a master of manipulation. With 53 films, and a strong set that are hailed as cinema masterpieces, his professional reputation is secured.
Although this is hardly the best book to read about Hitchcock as a man or artist, it's focus on his fraught relationships make it very interesting. Many readers suggest Spoto's other book "The Dark Side Of Genius: The Life Of Alfred Hitchcock". Well worth the price of admission, but don't start or end here.
Glamour, Razzle-dazzle, and charisma are just some of the characteristics I think of when I think of Old Hollywood actresses and actors. Behind the camera, well that's another story.
With the exception of Kubrick, no other director is described with the level of shot-by-shot control that Hitchcock was noted for. His interest was not so much with leading his cast in how to “act”. Instead he brought his interior motives out with his camera-work and post-production editing. Some examples of his finest work have been: the 9 minute single shot in “Rebecca”, the shower scene of “Psycho”, the flocks of unseemly birds in “The Birds”.
“Spellbound By Beauty”. Gives a linear progression of Hitchcock's career, and the focus is specifically on Hitchcock's relationship with the leading lady. The lady was superficially the same: blond, a budding Hollywood starlet, and submissive to Hitchcock's direction on or off screen. These weren't sexual relationships, but power-shaped ones. Joan Fontaine, actress of Rebecca writes Hitchcock “knew ways of pressuring her insecurities, and making her his”.
“Vertigo”, now widely considered by critics his best film (currently sits as the best film ever according to Sights and Sounds poll). Spoto writes in detail on the significance of the film. It's the most personal revealing movie of Hitchcock. A story about a man choosing fantasy over reality in the realm of love.
In life and film, Hitchcock pushed boundaries. Whether it was changing the perspective of the audience to one more perverse or telling bawdy jokes to his ladies, Hitchcock was a master of manipulation. With 53 films, and a strong set that are hailed as cinema masterpieces, his professional reputation is secured.
Although this is hardly the best book to read about Hitchcock as a man or artist, it's focus on his fraught relationships make it very interesting. Many readers suggest Spoto's other book "The Dark Side Of Genius: The Life Of Alfred Hitchcock". Well worth the price of admission, but don't start or end here.