Hitchcock and the Censors

2019-06-14 Performing Arts

Author : John Billheimer
Release : 2019-06-14
Genre : Performing Arts
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 413/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Hitchcock and the Censors by : John Billheimer

Download or read book Hitchcock and the Censors written by John Billheimer. This book was released on 2019-06-14. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout his career, Alfred Hitchcock had to contend with a wide variety of censors attuned to the slightest suggestion of sexual innuendo, undue violence, toilet humor, religious disrespect, and all forms of indecency, real or imagined. From 1934 to 1968, the Motion Picture Production Code Office controlled the content and final cut on all films made and distributed in the United States. During their review of Hitchcock's films, the censors demanded an average of 22.5 changes, ranging from the mundane to the mind-boggling, on each of his American films. In his award-winning Hitchcock and the Censors, author John Billheimer traces the forces that led to the Production Code and describes Hitchcock's interactions with code officials on a film-by-film basis as he fought to protect his creations, bargaining with code reviewers and sidestepping censorship to produce a lifetime of memorable films. Despite the often-arbitrary decisions of the code board, Hitchcock still managed to push the boundaries of sex and violence permitted in films by charming—and occasionally tricking—the censors, and by swapping off bits of dialogue, plot points, and individual shots (some of which had been deliberately inserted as trading chips) to protect cherished scenes and images. By examining Hitchcock's priorities in dealing with the censors, this work highlights the director's theories of suspense as well as his magician-like touch when negotiating with code officials.

Hitchcock and the Censors

2019 Motion pictures

Author : John W. Billheimer
Release : 2019
Genre : Motion pictures
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 441/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Hitchcock and the Censors by : John W. Billheimer

Download or read book Hitchcock and the Censors written by John W. Billheimer. This book was released on 2019. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout his career, Alfred Hitchcock had to deal with a wide variety of censors attuned to the slightest suggestion of sexual innuendo, undue violence, toilet humor, religious disrespect, and all forms of indecency, real or imagined. From 1934 to 1968, the Motion Picture Production Code Office controlled the content and final cut on all films made and distributed in the United States. Code officials protected sensitive ears from standard four-letter words, as well as a few five-letter words like tramp and six-letter words like cripes. They also scrubbed "excessively lustful" kissing from the screen and ensured that no criminal went unpunished. During their review of Hitchcock's films, the censors demanded an average of 22.5 changes, ranging from the mundane to the mind-boggling, on each of his American films. Code reviewers dictated the ending of Rebecca (1940), absolved Cary Grant of guilt in Suspicion (1941), edited Cole Porter's lyrics in Stage Fright (1950), decided which shades should be drawn in Rear Window (1954), and shortened the shower scene in Psycho (1960). In Hitchcock and the Censors, author John Billheimer traces the forces that led to the Production Code and describes Hitchcock's interactions with code officials on a film-by-film basis as he fought to protect his creations, bargaining with code reviewers and sidestepping censorship to produce a lifetime of memorable films. Despite the often-arbitrary decisions of the code board, Hitchcock still managed to push the boundaries of sex and violence permitted in films by charming -- and occasionally tricking -- the censors and by swapping off bits of dialogue, plot points, and individual shots (some of which had been deliberately inserted as trading chips) to protect cherished scenes and images. By examining Hitchcock's priorities in dealing with the censors, this work highlights the director's theories of suspense as well as his magician-like touch when negotiating with code officials

Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho

2010-06-16 Performing Arts

Author : Stephen Rebello
Release : 2010-06-16
Genre : Performing Arts
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 22X/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by : Stephen Rebello

Download or read book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho written by Stephen Rebello. This book was released on 2010-06-16. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “meticulous history” of the classic suspense film based on exclusive interviews with the director, writers, cast, and crew (The New York Times Book Review). First released in June 1960, Psycho altered the landscape of horror films forever. But just as compelling as the movie itself is the story behind it, which has been adapted as a movie starring Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock, Helen Mirren as his wife Alma Reville, and Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh. Stephen Rebello brings to life the creation of one of Hollywood’s most iconic films, from the story of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein, the real-life inspiration for the character of Norman Bates, to Hitchcock’s groundbreaking achievements in cinematography, sound, editing, and promotion. Packed with captivating insights from the film’s stars, writers, and crewmembers, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is a riveting and definitive history of a signature Hitchcock cinematic masterpiece.

Hitchcock and the Spy Film

2017-11-30 Performing Arts

Author : James Chapman
Release : 2017-11-30
Genre : Performing Arts
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 072/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Hitchcock and the Spy Film by : James Chapman

Download or read book Hitchcock and the Spy Film written by James Chapman. This book was released on 2017-11-30. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Film historian James Chapman has mined Hitchcock's own papers to investigate fully for the first time the spy thrillers of the world's most famous filmmaker. Hitchcock made his name as director of the spy movie. He returned repeatedly to the genre from the British classics of the 1930s, including The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, through wartime Hollywood films Foreign Correspondent and Saboteur to the Cold War tracts North by Northwest, Torn Curtain and his unmade film The Short Night. Chapman's close reading of these films demonstrates the development of Hitchcock's own style as well as how the spy genre as a whole responded to changing political and cultural contexts from the threat of Nazism in the 1930s and 40s to the atom spies and double agents of the post-war world.

The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia

2016-06-09 Performing Arts

Author : Stephen Whitty
Release : 2016-06-09
Genre : Performing Arts
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 603/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia by : Stephen Whitty

Download or read book The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia written by Stephen Whitty. This book was released on 2016-06-09. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several decades after his last motion picture was produced, Alfred Hitchcock is still regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the masters of cinema. From silents of the 1920s to his final feature in 1976, the director’s many films continue to entertain audiences and inspire filmmakers. In The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia, film critic Stephen Whitty provides a detailed overview of the director's work. This reference volume features in-depth critical entries on each of his major films as well as biographical essays on his most frequent collaborators and discussions of significant themes in his work. For this book, Whitty draws on primary-source materials such as interviews he conducted with associates of the director—including screenwriter Jay Presson Allen (Marnie), actresses Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest) and Kim Novak (Vertigo), actor Farley Granger (Strangers on a Train), actor and producer Norman Lloyd (Saboteur), and Hitchcock’s daughter Patricia (Stage Fright; Psycho)—among others. Encompassing the entire range of the director’s career—from early influences and silent films to his decade-long television show and cameos in nearly every feature—this is a comprehensive overview of cinema’s ultimate showman. A detailed and lively look at the master of suspense, The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia will be of interest to professors, students, and the many fans of the director’s work.

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