Name: Hitchcockian Thrillers: Must-See Films in the Style of the Suspense Master
ISBN: 9781493079599

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Hitchcockian Thrillers: Must-See Films in the Style of the Suspense Master

Stephen Rebello

Hardcover

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During Alfred Hitchcock's five-decade reign as the screen's internationally celebrated Master of Suspense, he directed 53 motion pictures. In such Hitchcock gold standard classics as The 39 Steps, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds, he staked his claim as the architect, the O.G. of the thriller. He laid down the rules and rhythm of the genre, created an immediately identifiable visual style, experimented constantly with technique, pushed boundaries, tweaked censors, and shattered the expectations of his audiences -- along with their nerves. In exploiting his private fears and vulnerabilities, Hitchcock was as brilliant as making us think and feel as he was at making us scream and invading our nightmares. His films elevated the form and were among the biggest box-office successes and most influential of their time. They were and are emulated for their fashion sense and, more lastingly, even nudged the culture forward by liberalizing attitudes toward cinematic violence and sexual frankness.

Hitchcockian Thrillers: Must-See Films in the Style of the Suspense Master is a curated, opinionated, authoritative, highly personal, lavishly illustrated guide to nine decades of international moviemaking featuring films by directors - beginning in the era of Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, and Sir Carol Reed and moving right up through today's David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Martin Scorsese - who have all tried to 'do a Hitchcock.'

Book Details

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publish Date: Feb 19th, 2026
Pages: 320
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 0.00in - 0.00in - 0.00in - 0.00lb
EAN: 9781493079599
Categories: • Film - History & Criticism

About the Author

Rebello, Stephen: - "Stephen Rebello is a well-known film historian, screenwriter, and commentator. Since the 1990 publication of his first of six books to date, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, published in eight languages worldwide, he has been invited to speak about Hitchcock and his work in England, Japan, China, Italy, and throughout the U.S. Stephen has been interviewed about Hitchcock on Today, Larry King Live, Good Morning, America, and numerous other national TV shows and have recorded three audio commentaries for Hitchcock films on DVD and Blu-ray. He also recorded the audio commentary for the home entertainment release of the 2012 feature film Hitchcock starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and Scarlett Johansson, which is based on Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho and on which he was a screenwriter. Four of Stephen's acclaimed nonfiction books have documented the making of specific live action or animated films. His coffee table book on the art and commerce of American movie posters Reel Art - Great Posters from the Golden Age of the Silver Screen (Abbeville Press) has won several awards, including a citation by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as one of the 50 best books ever written about movies. He has also written extensively on films and filmmakers for such magazines and websites as GQ, People, Vibe, Playboy, and Movieline was an editor of the latter three."

Praise for this book

"The term "Hitchcockian" may be the least understood, most misused adjective in our evolving language. Thankfully, Stephen Rebello is here to set us straight. Authoritative, provocative, and wildly enjoyable, Hitchcockian Thrillers reveals Rebello's true mastery of the Master and his work. It lets us see exactly what made Hitchcock-the one and only-possibly the most influential and imitated filmmaker of all time." --Elisabeth Karlin

"Hitchcockian Thrillers delivers witty, informed evaluations of thrillers both famous and obscure that were made by other filmmakers after The Master set the bar. Stephen Rebello's latest isn't just a delight to read: it's bound to launch you on an adventure of your own, to track down the lesser-known gems championed in these pages." --Steven C. Smith Author, Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores That Changed Cinema

"With Hitchcockian Thrillers, Stephen Rebello has selected the "must see" films worthy of being called "Hitchcockian." As the author of Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho and Criss-Cross - The Making of Hitchcock's Dazzling, Subversive Masterpiece, Strangers on a Train -- and the authority on all things Hitchcock -- no one is more qualified to write this thoroughly enthralling book. He rates and reviews each selected film, provides some fascinating behind-the-scenes stories and occasionally he'll have you laughing out loud with his witty observations. You also get some captivating insights into Hitchcock's films-including a few pet projects that never got made (like his early 1960s Audrey Hepburn vehicle, No Bail for the Judge and his too-shocking-for-the-studios, Kaleidoscope in the later 1960s). From Laura and Leave Her to Heaven and Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, they're all here (including, of course, plenty of Brian de Palma films)! The only time you'll want to tear yourself away from this addictive read will be to check your streaming network for the availability of so many of these intriguing movies (several of which, I've never seen or heard of before)! Fun and informative, Hitchcockian Thrillers is much more than just a film reference book. It's one of the most entertaining books about movies I've ever read. It's one of the most entertaining books about movies I've ever read -- so entertaining that I had to keep telling myself, "I'll just read about one more movie, then just another movie, then just another..." --Kevin O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author of Unspeakable and The Enemy at Home