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Alfred Hitchcock's Silent Films
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Book Presentation:
Alfred Hitchcock called the silent “the purest form of cinema,” and the ten silent films he directed between 1925 and 1929 reveal the young director’s mature artistry. Hitchcock’s silents have often been characterized as the work of a talented amateur, a young director practicing his craft during a pre-sound era of antiquated instruments and poor film techniques—the director experimented with myriad points of view, unique camera angles and movements, and special effects such as dissolves, blurriness, and violent cuts. These films, however, contain the first appearances of some of his greatest and most familiar techniques: the vertigo-inducing crowd scene, the symbolic use of inanimate objects, the manipulation of the audience’s emotions, and the self-conscious, often macabre wit.
This work discovers Hitchcock’s early talent and skill through close readings of the films from The Pleasure Garden to the silent version of Blackmail, using shot-by-shot descriptions and interpretations. Each film’s chapter includes technical information, a summary of the critical response from the film’s release to the present, and detailed analysis of the camera techniques and themes Hitchcock uses.
About the Author:
Marc Raymond Strauss is a professor emeritus of theater and dance from Southeast Missouri State University.
See the publisher website: McFarland & Co
See the complete filmography of Alfred Hitchcock on the website: IMDB ...
> From the same author:
Hitchcock's Objects as Subjects (2015)
The Significance of Things on Screen
Subject: Director > Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock Nonetheless (2006)
The Master's Touch in His Least Celebrated Films
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> On a related topic:
Hitchcock and Herrmann (2026)
The Friendship and Film Scores that Changed Cinema
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Alfred Hitchcock and Film Noir (2024)
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One Shot Hitchcock (2024)
A Contemporary Approach to the Screen
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Alfred Hitchcock All the Films (2024)
The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short
by Bernard Benoliel, Gilles Esposito, Murielle Joudet and Jean-François Rauger
Subject: Director > Alfred Hitchcock
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