Hitchcock and Poe : the legacy of delight and terror /
Dennis R. Perry.
- Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2003.
- xvii, 221 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
- Filmakers series .
Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-216) and index.
Ch. 1. Introduction: Hitchcock and Poe: Eureka and Hitchcock's Canon -- Ch. 2. Ratiocination: Original Unity: "The Purloined Letter" and Murder -- Ch. 3. Apocalypse: Crises of Fragmentation: "The Masque of the Red Death" and The Birds -- Ch. 4. Inexplicable Predicaments: Diffusion from the Center: "The Pit and the Pendulum" and North by Northwest -- Ch. 5. Doubles: The Universe of Others: "William Wilson" and Strangers on a Train -- Ch. 6. Imps of the Perverse: Diffusion from the Self: "The Tell-Tale Heart" and Rope -- Ch. 7. Voyeurism: Eyes of the Perverse: "A Man of the Crowd" and Rear Window -- Ch. 8. Romantic Obsession: Return to Transcendence: "The Fall of the House of Usher" and Vertigo -- Ch. 9. Humor and Horror: Collapsing Into Unity: "Ligeia" and The 39 Steps.
Publisher description: This first comprehensive study of the relationship between the tales of Edgar Allan Poe and the films of Alfred Hitchcock uncovers an unexpected range of affinities underlying the director's well-known regard for Poe. As an adolescent Hitchcock avidly read Poe and later acknowledged a direct influence: "I can't help but compare what I try to put in my films with what Poe put in his stories." Hitchcock's chief take-home lesson from Poe was that "fear is a feeling people like to feel when they are certain of being in safety." Thus, Poe's legacy to Hitchcock was an obsession to delight and terrify audiences simultaneously. This study explores the aesthetic of Poe and Hitchcock in terms of a set of common obsessions, techniques, and genres. The structure of the study revolves around Eureka, Poe's explicit and allegorical treatise on the development of the universe. Each chapter explores the similarities and differences between Poe's and Hitchcock's treatment of such issues as doubles, the perverse, voyeurism, and romantic obsession. While Hitchcock's films consistently mirror plots, imagery, and relationships within Poe's tales, Perry also shows how Hitchcock's resistance to the traditional trappings of gothic tales sets his films apart from the works of Poe and gives them a unique touch. Researchers, students, and Hitchcock fans alike will by stirred by the original ideas and detailed research in this fantastic resource.
0810848228 (alk. paper)
2003008249
Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899- --Criticism and interpretation. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 --Criticism and interpretation.