Secure Hitchcock: The Making Of A Reputation Translated By Robert E. Kapsis Edition

book. Id be lying if I said it wasnt challenging its a rigorously academic study and took memonths to get to this point but Mr.
Kapsis keeps things engaging, providing not just a great look at Hitch but also, importantly, the critics who were reviewing him, Learned a lot, read with a highlighter and a pen handy, A groundbreaking work in film studies tracing the rise of a director's reputation over time, Hitchcock was considered a mere entertainer for most of his life, hardly ever thought of in the same category with his more highly praised contemporaries: Ford, Wyler, Zinnemann, Wilder, Stevens, and so on.
But shortly before his death a new generation of critics elevated his reputation, starting a process that led him to eclipse all others.
Kapsis does a brilliant job of explaining every stage of this cultural process, This is a thorough, scholarly treatise on the forces that gave rise to Alfred Hitchcock's reputation as a renowned film director, The book explores the numerous attempts that Hitch made to evoke strong, positive feelings with highminded critics, in order that he might be seen as something more than just a maker of popular films.
This feels like someone's doctoral thesis, and delves as much into the psychology of viewers and critics as much as Hitch himself.
Well worth the read, if only because it reaches beyond simple biography and historical record to expose more of the "why" of reputation, and not just the "how" From the beginning of his career, Alfred Hitchcock wanted to be considered an artist.
Although his thrillers were immensely popular, and Hitchcock himself courted reviewers, he was, for many years, regarded as no more than a master craftsman.
By thes, though, critics began calling him an artist of unique vision and gifts, What happened to make Hitchcock's reputation as a true innovator and singular talent

Through a close examination of Hitchcock's personal papers, scripts, production notes, publicity files, correspondence, and hundreds of British and American reviews, Robert Kapsis here traces Hitchcock's changing critical fortunes.
Vertigo, for instance, was considered a flawed film when first released today it is viewed by many as the signal achievement of a great director.
According to Kapsis, this dramatic change occurred because the making of the Hitchcock legend was not solely dependent on the quality of his films.
Rather, his elevation to artist was caused by a successful blending of selfpromotion, sponsorship by prominent members of the film community, and, most important, changes in critical theory which for the first time allowed for the idea of director as auteur.


Kapsis also examines the careers of several other filmmakers who, like Hitchcock, have managed to cross the line that separates craftsman from artist, and shows how Hitchcock's legacy and reputation shed light on the way contemporary reputations are made.
In a chapter about Brian De Palma, the most reknowned thriller director since Hitchcock, Kapsis explores how Hitchcock's legacy has affected contemporary work inand criticism ofthe thriller genre.


Filled with fascinating anecdotes and intriguing excerpts, and augmented by interviews with Hitchcock's associates, this thoroughly documented and engagingly written book will appeal to scholars and film enthusiasts alike.


"Required reading for Hitchcock scholars, . . scrupulously researched, invaluable material for those who continue to ask: what made the master tick"Anthony

Perkins,