Truffaut's book-length interview with Hitchcock, while a fascinating self-examination of the director's career, succeeds far more in its exploration of the technical details of Hitchcock's work than the underlying meaning of the works.

Hitchcock is surprisingly candid here, often telling lengthy tales with minimal provocation from Truffaut, whose questions tend to guide the discussion more than it directs them.

Truffaut's own interjections, which attempt to elucidate a deeper significance to particular shots, are often trivialized by Hitchcock, who lets the Frenchman theorize but never certainly agrees or disagrees. At moments when Truffaut gets insistent on these points, the exchange tends to feel uncomfortable, but fortunately these subside quickly.

The truly inspired moments are those when Hitchcock relishes in divulging details of trick-shots and complex scenes, such as the infamous shower scene from Psycho. During these sequences, Hitch's technical wizardry shines and we see that his true skills lie in the creation, not the interpretation, of what we see on screen. It's a refreshing and informative perspective.

If nothing else, the book reveals two great cinematic minds engaging each other with a depth and respect that seems unfortunately old-fashioned but is nonetheless remarkable. Certainly a must-read for Hitchcock fans and film buffs alike.

A series of interviews with Hitchcock by one of his greatest fans: the director Francois Truffaut. The organization is chronological, and most of Hitch's films are covered. Hitchcock provides extensive personal and technical details about each one. The book includes many excellent photographs which make even Hitch's lesser efforts look interesting. ( )

Almost by definition, when one of the greatest French directors interviews one of the greatest American directors—honestly and meticulously discussing each of his films in chronological order--the result is the one of the classic books on cinema. There are so many fascinating discussions and revelations here—the light bulb in the glass of milk in Suspicion, the giant gun in Spellbound, and the camera on rails that zoomed in on the key in Ingrid Bergman’s hand in Notorious, among others. The overall effect, of course, is that the reader wants to go back and view each of Hitchcock’s films again (or view some of the lesser known ones for the first time)—a not unpleasant prospect. ( )

I'm not really a movie buff, but this book made me want to watch every movie Hitchcock ever made. The detailed discussion of the methods Hitchcock used to convey mood and story is fascinating. And the odd bits of information! Who knew that back in silent picture days, the studio could change the dialogue titles of a cheesy, badly made drama and release it as a comedy? ( )