Hitchcock's Films Revisited

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This is really two books in one. It contains the entire text of Robin Wood's groundbreaking Hitchcock's Films and supplements it with articles and commentaries on Hitchcock that Wood wrote from the time of that book's publication until today. Tracing the trajectory of Hitchcock's career, Hitchcock's Films Revisited also allows us to follow the intellectual and emotional development of one of the cinema's major critics. Wood's close readings are always revelatory and exciting, and this volume contains probably the best single essay ever written on a Hitchcock movie, Wood's analysis of Vertigo.

Book Description

When Hitchcock's Films was first published, it quickly became known as a new kind of book on film -- one that came to be considered a necessary text in the Hitchcock bibliography. When Robin Wood returned to his writings on Hitchcock's films and published Hitchcock's Films Revisited in 1989, the multi-dimensional essays took on a new shape -- one that was tempered by Wood's own development as a critic.

This new revised edition of Hitchcock's Films Revisited includes a substantial new preface in which Wood reveals his personal history as a film scholar -- including his coming out as a gay man, his views on his previous critical work, and how his writings, his love of film, and his personal life have remained deeply intertwined through the years. This revised edition includes all original eighteen essays and a new chapter on Marnie titled "Does Mark Cure Marnie? Or, 'You Freud, Me Hitchcock.'"

Customer Reviews:

Interesting But Spotty.......2007-04-02

On the rare occasions when they bothered to contemplate him and his work, arts intelligentsia relegated Alfred Hitchcock to the status of competent craftsman of popular thrillers--until the 1960s, when a few critics began a major re-evaluation of his work. Among the best known of these was Robin Wood, who published HITCHCOCK'S FILMS in 1965. It would be among the first critical texts to give Hitchcock the status of master artist.

Republished as HITCHCOCK'S FILMS REVISITED, most of the body of the book remains the same as the originally titled HITCHCOCK'S FILMS, a critical study of eight of Hitchcock's then most recent films: STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, PSYCHO, THE BIRDS, MARNIE, and TORN CURTAIN. But then as now, the study is very problematic, and this has a great deal less to do with the films than with the fact that Wood is much like the Mother Goose nursery rhyme. When he is good he is very, very good, but when he is bad he is horrid.

Wood was among the first to rescue VERTIGO from the dismissive reviews and tepid audience response it received upon its debut, and his comments here are tremendously insightful; he is no less effective in his studies of REAR WINDOW and PSYCHO. His thoughts on STRANGERS ON A TRAIN are excessively pendantic and have a forced quality, but they are none the less interesting. He does not manage to convince me that I should regard NORTH BY NORTHWEST as a masterpiece, but even so he makes a good case.

In his opening remarks, Wood states that he is not among those fans for whom Hitchcock can do no wrong, and attempts to prove his point by citing several famous Hitchcock films that he considers weak. Indeed, he largely dismisses virtually every film Hitchcock made before 1940 and has a tendency to regard Hitchcock's films of the 1940s as developmental. But there is no two ways about it: he is completely off the mark when describes THE BIRDS and MARNIE as masterpieces and TORN CURTAIN as merely disappointing.

The basic problem is that Wood focuses on thematic elements to the virtual exclusion of everything else. It is true that Hitchcock tends toward certain themes--perhaps most obviously an ironic form of individual isolation--so it is hardly surprising that these also occur in THE BIRDS, MARNIE, and TORN CURTAIN. Indeed it would be a shock if they did not. But thematic presence does not necessarily qualify a film for the description of "masterpiece," and where THE BIRDS and MARNIE are concerned Wood throws the word around much too freely for my liking.

The great strength of both THE BIRDS and MARNIE is their numerous set pieces, many of which are very famous and all of which are highly watchable. In each instance, however, the film emerges as a premise in search of a viable plot, and whatever thematic interest may exist pales alongside this very fundamental fact. TORN CURTAIN has several interesting performances in the supporting cast and one truly spectacular Hitchcockian set piece, but it is chiefly remarkable for being among the handful of boring films that Hitchcock made, and no amount of thematic presence can alter this rather basic observation.

Wood has annotated his original text with subsequent articles, and the same situation holds true here as well: he tends to offer praise to those films that have something he can identify as a consistent thematic purpose and dismiss those that do not, all of it without regard to whether or not the film actually works as a film. His comments are not without interest, but in the end these are the musings of a literary scholar instead of an individual who has any real idea of the difference between "interesting failure" and "cinema masterpiece."

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Wood.......2006-05-25

There are alot of cool insights and interesting ways of looking at the several of Hitchcocks's films in this book, but....Wood's prose is choppy and a real bitch to read. I feel like he is constantly making an exposition on some great insight into the films and then he sort of drops it, leaving the reader feeling a little cheated. The introduction is very long and not really applicable? Who cares that you are a gay marxist. The only real critique from a marxist perspective is the chapter on blackmail. this isnt your autobiography, and I don't really care to draw connections between your evolutuion in criticism and the events of your life. That said.. The second half is superior to the first. The first half reads like a high school english teacher wrote it. The second half has some gems. Specifically the chapters on Blackmail, Rope, The Man who knew too much

The Price of Innovation.......2005-10-09

Forty years ago Robin Wood joined a then-small number of serious critics who urged that Hitchcock be taken seriously. Since many of those critics did not receive a wide reading, Wood's effort was of extreme significance in garnering Hitch the respect he deserved.

It's wonderful to note that Wood, still writing, has continued to update his first work without repudiating or diluting any of it. He made some highly daring observations in 1966, which so many writers ridiculed or dismissed. His originality and critical integrity is so notable, though, that it has weathered these attacks and survived to the present, in actually even better form.

Consider, for example, that Wood countered a then-contemporary tend in dismissing "Marnie" as a failure. Instead, in his first book and most recent edition, he insists that "Marnie" be counted in among films like Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo and North by Northwest as a masterly pairing of visual images addressing psychological elements. And who else before Wood saw the utterly original qualities of "Vertigo," or deconstructed them more effectively?

You won't be sorry to have this book in your library. It originated a critical lanugage of film, and celebrated one of film's greatest contributors in a unique way.

As brilliant as it is controversial.......2005-09-08

Most of the comments posted about this book are embarrassing in their refusal to engage properly with what Robin Wood is actually trying to argue. Previous readers appear to resent Wood's desire to take the cinema seriously, and suggest that we should look to Hitchcock's films for no more than "craft" and "technique". If that's all one is concerned with, I'm not sure why it would be worth reading a book on Hitchcock at all. Wood has always been firm in asserting that the experience of watching a film is both emotional and intellectual. Taking the cinema seriously doesn't mean one has to stop responding to it emotionally. Nor does Hitchcock's status as a consummate entertainer invalidate Wood's arguments that his films raise profound and troubling moral and political questions.

Wood writes beautifully. Complaints about his reliance on Freudian or Marxist terminology are wrongheaded - such terminology is in fact employed far more rarely than by most academic writers. Wood's use of language is magnificently precise and careful. It is true that he conducts his critique of Hitchcock, as of other filmmakers, from a leftwing viewpoint. One does not have to share his commitment to Marxism (a kind of reconstructed, humanistic Marxism, incidentally, which has nothing to do with the atrocities perpetrated by Mao or Stalin) in order to appreciate the strength of his analysis. Anyone who is prepared, as a reader, to engage in lively debate with a writer's ideological and moral assumptions, should be able to profit by reading Wood's book.

I certainly don't agree with everything Wood has to say either on a political or an aesthetic level. But no other writer on Hitchcock, or on the cinema, has the same depth, reach or passion for his subject. Hitchcock's Films Revisited, presenting in tandem Wood's earlier and later thoughts on one of the cinema's great masters, is not only great criticism; it is also a moving account of one man's personal and political evolution.

Occasionally insightful and obscure at the same time.......2004-01-26

Wood's seminal book was first published in 1966 and he has revised it since then on a number of occasions. This latest revision allows Wood to revisit his past and comment on both his acute observations on Hitchcock's films and comment some of the sillier concepts that dotted the original book as well. It's appropriate that Wood cites Freud as often as he does; Hitchcock was fascinated with psychoanalysis and it figures significantly in a number of films in one form or another. On the other hand, Wood also revisits many of the same films in the newer material and while the observations are always interesting, they are, at best just as overblown as some of his original inflated claims for Hitchcock as well.

Hitchcock's Films still stands as an essential read for Hitchcock fans and film students but much of what Wood has to say should be taken with a grain of salt. Wood frequently becomes so anayltical that he loses touch with the power and joy in Hitchcock's craft. Hitchcock's films are as much about his technique as they are about the themes that fascinated him. Hitchcock's Films isn't a bad book; it's a book that needs to be read by someone who has already developed enough critical skills to recognize when the author's arguements have become as full of hot air as a balloon.

Like all the hyperbole written about an important artistic figure, Wood's book has a number of noteable insights but, again, he reads more into the material than is there sometimes. I much prefer Patrick McGilligan's fine biography of Hitchcock. McGilligan manages to mix his observations with comments from people who actually were involved in the making of the films. We get insight from the artist's that collaborated with Hitchcock vs. second hand observations from someone sitting in a darkened cinema.

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Hitchcock's Films Revisited
Robin Wood
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPCQBM

Average customer rating:
Hitchcock's Films Revisited
Robin Wood
Manufacturer: Columbia Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPAU74

Average customer rating:
Hitchcock's Films Revisited
Robin Wood
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPYOE4

Book Description

One of the loveliest objects to come from China's Imperial history is the snuff bottle--elegant, tactile, beautifully crafted, and above all small; it makes an ideal subject for collectors. This book clearly explains the history of snuff and its specialized bottles from the 17th century to the present in America, Europe, and China. For the novice, it provides fascinating background and descriptive information, and for the established collector it showcases over 650 diverse snuff bottles to study and admire through excellent color photographs. There are examples of glass, stone, porcelain, enamel, wood, ivory, amber and other bottles with distinctive interior and exterior decorations. Each bottle is fully described with a value range. This book shows that it is not necessary to be wealthy to own good snuff bottles, nor is it guaranteed that only wealthy collectors have the best ones. Be prepared to be delighted in this addictive collecting field.

Book Description

Robert Irwin is America's #1 real estate expert. But don't take our word for it--the sales figures speak for themselves. To date, his real estate titles have sold more than one and a half million copies.

Of all of his books, those in the bestselling "Tips and Traps" series continue to be the most popular(more than 500,000 sold), and two of those--Tips and Traps When Buying a Home and Tips and Traps When Selling a Home--have gone on to become the #1 guides in their respective subjects.

In the seven years since those two classics were last revised the real estate market has undergone many dramatic changes. Irwin has updated these bestsellers to reflect these changes so readers can be successful in their real estate endeavors.

Featuring fully revised facts and figures that reflect the most recent changes in the real estate market,Tips and Traps When Buying a Home, Third Editionprovides first-time and experienced home buyers alike with practical, step-by-step information on a broad range of proven home buying strategies, along with indispensable advice and guidance on:

Buying in an "Up" market
"Flipping," buying with "options," bidding wars, and other new facts of life
The latest new financing options
The new rules of closing costs

Download Description

In this completely revised edition of his national best seller, America's leading real-estate authority shares dozens of Tips and Traps to be aware of when considering a purchase.

Customer Reviews:

informative, easy to read, slightly flawed.......2007-08-03

This book is very easy to read, well organized, and contains a LOT of essential information for anyone looking to purchase a home. I recommend it without any reservations.

One issue: I'm not sure if there's a newer edition of this book than I received last year, but it's a bit out of date. For better or worse, a lot of mortgages floating around out there today - especially for first time homeowners - are not your standard 30 year fixed. The financing section of the book needs an update detailing the pros and cons of the newer and more complicated types of financing that are more common today. It does this to an extent, but it's insufficient. Also, the figures used in the book are completely unrealistic. Mortgage rates are very different and so are housing prices. Not a problem if you can handle the math on your own, but certain tables are completely obsolete at this point in time.

Just one point on a personal note: This book really tells you about all the BAD things going on in real estate today. This isn't a fault - it's good to know about the million different potential pitfalls when buying a home - but it never tells you to put things into perspective. In other words, you can come away from reading this feeling very pessimistic and cynical about the entire process, which doesn't have to be the case. If you arm yourself with knowledge, a good attitude, and surround yourself with good people - namely the best real estate attorney and home inspector you can find - you'll find the experience isn't as bad as the book can make it seem.

Best of luck!

Worth a read; small investment for some reasonable insights.......2006-11-10

Not every page is enlightening, but overall builds confidence in the daunting process.

details.......2006-11-05

Found in useful but not vital when buying our NC home. May be more details than you need to worry about.

Plenty of great information and advice.......2004-12-08

I disagree with the people here who criticize this book for being about "buy low, sell high" and investment purposes. I have a feeling that these people are referring to some of Robert Irwin's other books aimed at real estate moguls in training; however, I took this book as being aimed at people who want to buy the house to actually live in it and to have a home of their own.

I used this book prior to buying my home and took much of the advice to heart. I interviewed several buyer's agents until I found one I liked and trusted, something that is spoken about in the book clearly. I also got some great advice from the finance sections that kept me from paying PMI and helped deal with the mortgage broker.

I bought this book for some friends who were looking at buying a house and it helped them when one deal went sour. I also loaned my copy to two friends shortly before they bought their houses... of course they didn't read it and got screwed on several points (mainly during inspection and negotiation). Oh well... you can lead a horse to water...

Buy and read this book if you're interested in looking for a house. It's well worth it.

Don't buy your home without it!!!.......2003-11-06

This is a must have for first time home buyers. Or Even if you have been burned the first time around. This book was very informative and easy to read. I would also reccomend that you buy "The Dictionary of Real Estate Terms". This is a great book to have also. Keep both books close at hand when shopping for a loan. There are tons of loan programs out there. But remember an educated shopper ALWAYS WINS!

Tips & Traps When Buying A Condo, Co-op, or Townhouse

Average customer rating:

Great resource!
Excellent source of information for the new home buyer!
Read this book before you leap into a shared ownership
not for city buyers
A good primer.

Tips & Traps When Buying A Condo, Co-op, or Townhouse
Robert Irwin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0071348484

Book Description

One third of all homes sold today are condos, co-ops, or townhouses. America's #1 real estate expert shows what to watch for when buying one of them. Home ownership is still the American dream, but not everyone follows tradition by buying a detached one-family house. Condos, co-ops, and townhouses are increasingly popular alternatives nationwide. These "shared ownership" options have unique pluses and minuses, as Bob Irwin reveals in Tips & Traps When Buying a Condo, Co-op, or Townhouse.

Like other books in his best-selling "Tips & Traps" series, it's packed with targeted, reader-friendly advice. If you're a prospective buyer, Bob Irwin will show you how to:

Decide if shared ownership is right for you
Read between the lines of bylaws
Deal with homeowners associations
Check out the seven warning signs of big trouble
Handle disclosures and inspections
And much more

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Learn everything you need to purchase a condo, co-op, or townhouse -- from understanding bylaws to dealing with disclosures and inspections to negotiating a deal.

Customer Reviews:

Great resource!.......2007-05-28

As someone just getting in the market, I really had no idea what differentiated condos from single-family homes other than the way they looked. This book really helped me think about the pros and cons of both types of homes. I found myself drawn to condos because you don't have to worry about any exterior elements, like yards, community areas, etc. All of that is taken care of for you. But, that comes with a cost. This book shows you how to decide if that cost is worth it, what to ask about so that you don't end up in a building with a bunch of lawsuits pending (that you might end up paying for) and how to know if your building is prepared for disasters, new roofs and other such events. It was really eye-opening!

Excellent source of information for the new home buyer!.......2005-10-14

Tip & Traps when Buying a Condo, Co-op, or Townhouse, was an excellent source of information. It is a "must have" for any new home buyer looking for property. I found it to be very helpful while searching for my home.

Read this book before you leap into a shared ownership.......2004-06-11

This book showed me the "red flags" to look for when evaluating a shared ownership developement and helped me to avoid buying into a nightmare. Ohhh, I'm so glad I read this book.

I read 4 other books on buying a condo and this book was by far the most practical and answered my questions. The format is easy to read and quickly search.

The tips and traps opens your eyes to what you're getting yourself into. Learn from the experiences of others and make the right choice for your lifestyle. Don't buy into a dysfunctional developement. It can be a legal, financial and emotional nightmare.

Thanks to Robert Irwin's advice, I passed on several developements and kept searching until I found the right condo developement for me. It has been a great choice. The book was a helpful resource during the buying process. Highly recommend.

not for city buyers.......2004-03-28

The title may talk about "condo, co-op, or townhouse" but it is clear the author has nothing in mind but those awful suburban townhouse or condo developments. There are numerous references to density being bad and to things like counting the number of parking places. Not of use to someone who is interested in purchasing actual city housing.

A good primer........2002-01-17

As a prospective first-time property purchaser, I found this book to contain some good information on the particulars of condos and townhouses. I did not read the section on Co-ops however. Parts of the book seemed to contain redundant information, not necessarily for emphasis. Perhaps the chapters were intended to be somewhat self-contained. "Buying a home for Dummies" has been my first resource. I'd recommend reading something like it first in order to fully appreciate the differences w/condos and townhouses described in this book.

Tips & Traps When Negotiating Real Estate (Tips & Traps)

Average customer rating:

Irwin has a winner.
Read Before You Make Offer

Tips & Traps When Negotiating Real Estate (Tips & Traps)
Robert Irwin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0071452869

Book Description

Surefire techniques for coming out on top in any real estate deal

A great book for anyone who is interested in real estate investing or planning to buy a new home, Tips & Traps When Negotiating Real Estate covers everything from financing and deposits, to better prices versus better terms, to handling brokers and sellers alike.

Bestselling real estate guru Bob Irwin breaks down all the common negotiating points by subject, and supplies you with checklists, forms, and boilerplates at every step along the way. You learn how to:

Negotiate a lower interest rate with a lender
Lower interest rates with seller financing
Gain a lower commission from an agent

Customer Reviews:

Irwin has a winner. .......2006-11-10

Irwin has written a great book. It's easy to read and understand and the examples Irwin provides make you feel as if you're looking over his shoulder during the transaction. Would recommend to anyone that's interested in real estate.

Read Before You Make Offer.......2005-10-28

I read the new edition of Irwin's TIPS & TRAPS WHEN NEGOTIATING REAL ESTATE just before making an offer on a condo. I figure the book's ideas saved us at least $8,000 off the price. I'd recommend it to every buyer to read BEFORE you make your offer.

Average customer rating:

Basic book
Good advice, but outdated on taxes

Tips and Traps When Selling a Home
Robert Irwin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Buying & Selling Homes | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0070328854

Book Description

Robert Irwin, a name synonymous with reliability to homeowners, has done it again with his completely updated version of a classic. Tips and Traps When Selling a Home provides the latest information of market conditions, toxic materials in the home and what to do about them, tax advantages when selling, surprising alternatives to the traditional broker, and how to ultimately get your price. For anyone in the process of selling their home, this book is the blueprint for a successful transaction!

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"Robert Irwin is America's #1 real estate expert. But don't take our word for it--the sales figures speak for themselves. To date, his real estate titles have sold more than one and a half million copies. Of all of his books, those in the bestselling ""Tips and Traps"" series continue to be the most popular(more than 500,000 sold), and two of those--Tips and Traps When Buying a Home and Tips and Traps When Selling a Home--have gone on to become the #1 guides in their respective subjects. In the seven years since those two classics were last revised the real estate market has undergone many dramatic changes. Irwin has updated these bestsellers to reflect these changes so readers can be successful in their real estate endeavors. This latest edition of Bob Irwin's classic Tips and Traps When Selling a Home brings new and experienced home owners up-to-speed on all the recent changes, regulations, and trends in real estate. It provides important information on market conditions, new tax advantages, toxic materials in the home, alternatives to the traditional broker, as well as proven strategies for: Handling multiple offers Negotiating from a position of power Dealing with the new ""fee-for-service"" and discount brokers Holding a home for investment, instead of selling And much more "

Customer Reviews:

Basic book.......2007-06-11

This is a good basic book on selling your house. It seems to cover all the essential points to consider.

Good advice, but outdated on taxes.......2004-05-17

This book provides well-written and well-presented advice on home selling. You can read chapters in detail, or just skim for the "tips" and "traps" notes. Irwin is agnostic about FSBO vs. real estate agents --- he provides advice for both situations, and guidance on how to decide which way to go.

Be wary, however, of following the tax advice in this book. It was written in 1990, and tax laws have changed considerably since then. Find another source for real estate tax advice.

Average customer rating:
Tips and Traps When Buying A Home
Robert Irwin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFFCN6

Average customer rating:
Tips and Traps When Buying a Home
Robert Irwin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFLIT8

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