The Dark Side of Genius, Donald Spoto
The Dark Side of Genius, Donald Spoto
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The Dark Side of Genius
The Life of Alfred Hitchcock

Author: Donald Spoto

Narrator: Jeff Riggenbach

Unabridged: 23 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/15/2012

Synopsis

The story of the man who changed people's relationships with their showers forever, thanks to Psycho, this is the classic, Edgar Award-winning biography of the enigmatic and intensely private Alfred Hitchcock. One of America's greatest film directors, his suspenseful subject matter ranged from the dark drama of a man possibly trying to kill his wife, to the humorous problem of disposing of a body, to the ecological underpinnings of an attack by fowl fiends in a sleepy harbor town. Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock's obsessions-with food, murder, and idealized love, among others-and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock. "The finest book about a filmmaker yet. Sensational in its revelations; at the same time, a biography of unassailable integrity. I could not put it down."-Gregory Peck

About Donald Spoto

Donald Spoto is the author of more than twenty books, including bestselling biographies of Alfred Hitchcock, Tennessee Williams, Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich, Ingrid Bergman, and Audrey Hepburn. He lives with his husband, Danish artist and school administrator Ole Flemming Larsen, near Copenhagen, Denmark.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sketchbook on July 04, 2018

Cher maitre, Hitchcock. From his 5-decade career, I can cite at least 12 pix that are outstanding for me. Fr other giants - Hawks, Lang, Lubitsch, Sturges, Wilder - I spot about 4-5 each. My Hitch favs: a) "Notorious." Sublime Bergman, s&m. Cary forces her to sleep w enemy agent who does nightly beds......more

Goodreads review by Paul on August 25, 2017

A very fine biography which spreads out Hitchcock's unhappy psychology like a banquet for us to dine on. What was this fat ugly film director going to do but hire a succession of lovely blonde actresses and then sexually assault them by proxy in his movies... culminating in Tippi Hedron's brutal rap......more

Goodreads review by Numo on March 23, 2021

Tal vez la biografía con mayúsculas sobre Hitchcock. En este nuevo podcast sobre cine y literatura (enlace abajo) nos servimos de ella para saber qué hay detrás en realidad de Vértigo y de otras tantas películas del director británico. Y hay mucho, muy jugoso y muy... perverso. Jesús González Requen......more

Goodreads review by Anthony on October 25, 2023

One of the best biographies of Alfred Hitchcock. Donald Spoto has produced a fascinating study of a very complex character. Written back in 1983, a groundbreaking book and better than most of the plethora of Hitchcock studies which have been published since. And along with his The Art of Alfred Hitchco......more

Goodreads review by Kathrina on November 06, 2010

A while back, while reading Mr. Peanut, I was distracted by a small side-story of two lovers who meet in a Hitchcock seminar. Regardless of these characters and their roles in that story, I became increasingly jealous of their enrollment in such a course. I never got to study Hitchcock in school! Bu......more

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