If you don't believe us when we say that Stephen Rebello's Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is a killer book concerning the killer movie of all time, then why don't you listen to Tony Perkins, the star? Perkins called this scholarly yet super-readable volume "marvelously researched and irresistible ... required reading not only for Psycho-philes, but also for anyone interested in the backstage world of movie creation." And Time critic Richard Schickel (biographer of Clint Eastwood) calls Rebello's book "one of the best accounts of the making of an individual movie we've ever had."
It's even more reliable than Francois Truffaut's magisterial interview book Hitchcock, because Rebello interviewed the fat master himself, plus many Psycho insiders less cagey and truth-dodging than he.
At last, thanks to Rebello, we know all about the celebrated shower murder scene and all that swirls around it. Like Ernst Lubitsch, who conveyed the thrill of adultery by having the lovers open a door and cast their shadows on a bed, Hitchcock knew that, in film, artful discretion can be the most shocking effect of all. --Tim Appelo
From Library Journal
In some ways a groundbreaking film, Psycho has been extensively written about and minutely analyzed. Rebello's anecdotal approach could well have been entitled The Saga of Psycho . Beginning with the story of the actual crimes upon which Robert Bloch's novel was based, it covers every aspect of the film's production, its subsequent reception, and, briefly, the later films inspired by Psycho . Although this somewhat parallels Richard Naremore's Filmguide to Psycho (Indiana Univ. Pr., 1973. o.p.), Rebello's book has added considerable color gained from extensive interviews with Hitchcock and others who worked on the film. This is a readable, albeit occasionally rambling, account and is a useful adjunct to Naremore and the numerous other books about the Hitchcock canon. Movie/Entertainment Book Club selection.- Roy Liebman, California State Univ. Lib., Los AngelesCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Meticulously researched and irresistable...required reading not only for Psycho-philes, but also for anyone interested in the backstage world of movie-creation." --Anthony Perkins
"Meticulous history. . .helps the reader comprehend the original shock of the film." --The New York Times Book Review
""Rebello talked with virtually every surviving participant in the filmmaking. The result is a book that will inform cineastes and indulge Psychomanes." --The Washington Post Book World
"We are indebted to Stephen Rebello's labor of love. He sweats the details as much as Hitchcock at the most compulsive." --Philadelphia Inquirer
"One of the best accounts of the making of an individual move we've ever had." --Richard Schickel
Review
"Meticulously researched and irresistable...required reading not only for Psycho-philes, but also for anyone interested in the backstage world of movie-creation." --Anthony Perkins
"Meticulous history. . .helps the reader comprehend the original shock of the film." --The New York Times Book Review
""Rebello talked with virtually every surviving participant in the filmmaking. The result is a book that will inform cineastes and indulge Psychomanes." --The Washington Post Book World
"We are indebted to Stephen Rebello's labor of love. He sweats the details as much as Hitchcock at the most compulsive." --Philadelphia Inquirer
"One of the best accounts of the making of an individual move we've ever had." --Richard Schickel
Review
"Meticulously researched and irresistable...required reading not only for Psycho-philes, but also for anyone interested in the backstage world of movie-creation." --Anthony Perkins
"Meticulous history. . .helps the reader comprehend the original shock of the film." --The New York Times Book Review
""Rebello talked with virtually every surviving participant in the filmmaking. The result is a book that will inform cineastes and indulge Psychomanes." --The Washington Post Book World
"We are indebted to Stephen Rebello's labor of love. He sweats the details as much as Hitchcock at the most compulsive." --Philadelphia Inquirer
"One of the best accounts of the making of an individual move we've ever had." --Richard Schickel
Book Description
Stephen Rebello's groundbreaking book offers the complete inside story on the making of Alfred Hitchcock's original Psycho, now seen as the forerunner of all modern horror thrillers. Rebello takes us behind the scenes for every step in the creation of this cinematic masterpiece-from the story's original inspiration to the controversy surrounding the creation of the famous shower scene. Drawing on new in-depth interviews as well as Hitchcock's private files, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is an eye-opening portrait of the artist at work.
From the Publisher
Praise for Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho: "Essential...I've learned so much from reading this book." --Gus Van Sant "Meticulously researched and irresistible...required reading not only for Psycho-philes, but also for anyone interested in the backstage world of movie-creation." --Anthony Perkins "Rebello talked with virtually every surviving participant in the filmmaking. The result is a book that will inform cineastes and indulge Psychomanes." --The Washington Post Book World "Meticulous history...helps the reader comprehend the original shock of the film." --The New York Times Book Review "We are indebted to Stephen Rebello's labor of love. He sweats the details as much as Hitchcock at his most compulsive." --Philadelphia Inquirer "One of the best accounts of the making of an individual movie we've ever had." --Richard Schickel
About the Author
Stephen Rebello is the author of Reel Art: Great Posters from the Golden Age of The Silver Screen; he recently interviewed Gus Van Sant, the creator of the new Psycho, for Movieline, and is currently at work with Dan Auiler on an account of the making of North by Northwest. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho FROM OUR EDITORS
Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot remake of Psycho has revived interest in Alfred Hitchcock's classic original, so it's an apt time for this revised and updated edition of Stephen Rebello's Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. Rebello relied on new in-depth interviews and access to the great director's private files in updating his classic book, a volume critic Richard Schickel called "one of the best accounts of the making of an individual movie we've ever had."
ANNOTATION
This inside view of the master director creating cinema's boldest thriller, Psycho "...helps readers comprehend the original shock of the film."--New York Times
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Thirty years after its creation, Psycho remains the yardstick by which all other thrillers are measured. Stephen Rebello gives readers an intimate glance at the making of this incredible movie from beginning (the true life crime on which Psycho is based) to end (Hitchcock's obsessive instructions to darken theaters and close the curtains for 30 seconds after the opening credits, in order to raise the suspense). 16 pages of photographs.
SYNOPSIS
Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot remake of Psycho has revived interest in Alfred Hitchcock's classic original, so it's an apt time for this revised and updated edition of Stephen Rebello's Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. Rebello relied on new in-depth interviews and access to the great director's private files in updating his classic book, a volume critic Richard Schickel called "one of the best accounts of the making of an individual movie we've ever had."
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
In some ways a groundbreaking film, Psycho has been extensively written about and minutely analyzed. Rebello's anecdotal approach could well have been entitled The Saga of Psycho . Beginning with the story of the actual crimes upon which Robert Bloch's novel was based, it covers every aspect of the film's production, its subsequent reception, and, briefly, the later films inspired by Psycho . Although this somewhat parallels Richard Naremore's Filmguide to Psycho (Indiana Univ. Pr., 1973. o.p.), Rebello's book has added considerable color gained from extensive interviews with Hitchcock and others who worked on the film. This is a readable, albeit occasionally rambling, account and is a useful adjunct to Naremore and the numerous other books about the Hitchcock canon. Movie/Entertainment Book Club selection.-- Roy Liebman, California State Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Art & Photography
Book Info
