Meet the inventor of modern horror, and the man who taught audiences to enjoy being scared.
Alfred Hitchcock. The Complete Films is a complete guide to the Hitchcock canon and, as TASCHEN puts it, a movie buff's dream. It traces the filmmaker's entire life and career, from his 1925 debut The Pleasure Garden to his 1976 swan song Family Plot.
The structure is simple and generous: a detailed entry for each of Hitchcock's 53 movies. Each one combines insightful texts with photography, so you can move through the work film by film and watch a style form, sharpen, and become instantly recognizable. There is also an illustrated list of all the master's cameos, which is exactly the kind of detail Hitchcock fans live for.
Hitchcock's influence is hard to overstate. He made suspense a craft with rules: show the audience the bomb under the table, then make them wait. He used camera movement, editing, and point of view to put viewers inside a character's anxiety, and he treated title design, posters, and his own public persona as part of the work. Directors, editors, and designers have been studying those decisions for decades.
This edition is clothbound, which suits a book you will keep reaching for, whether you are planning a watch-through, researching a reference, or settling an argument about which film came first.
In Signals, Hitchcock is required viewing and required reading: a master class in tension, framing, and showmanship in one volume.
About Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (1899–1980) was an English filmmaker, born in the flat above his parents' greengrocer's shop in Leytonstone, now part of east London. He entered the film industry in 1919 designing title cards, directed his first feature, The Pleasure Garden, in 1926, and helped shape the thriller with The Lodger (1927), the film that featured his first cameo. Blackmail (1929) is cited as the first British talkie.
Essential Alfred Hitchcock movies include The 39 Steps (1935), Rebecca (1940), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963). Known as the Master of Suspense, he built plots around the MacGuffin, an object that matters only because the characters chase it, and became as recognizable as his stars through his cameos and interviews. Vertigo features the dolly zoom, a camera technique developed by Irmin Roberts, and in 2012 it displaced Citizen Kane at the top of the BFI's worldwide critics' poll.
Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939, became a US citizen in 1955 and hosted Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–65) on television. His films earned 46 Oscar nominations, although he never won Best Director. He was knighted in the 1980 New Year Honours and died at his Bel Air home on April 29, 1980. Anyone who plans a shot for suspense is working in his language.
Why Alfred Hitchcock still matters
Alfred Hitchcock still matters because he turned suspense into a visual language that filmmakers, editors, and advertisers still use every day. His films are case studies in how framing, cutting, and timing control an audience. Having the full run of 53 movies in one place makes it easy to see how consistently he did it.
Who this book is for
For filmmakers, directors, editors, cinematographers, art directors, and film students. For the RIOT and vandal_ crowd who build tension and story into short-form work, and for any movie buff who wants the whole Hitchcock canon on one shelf.
Product details
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Title: Alfred Hitchcock. The Complete Films
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Subject: Alfred Hitchcock
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Publisher: TASCHEN
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Language: English
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Format: Clothbound
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Coverage: All 53 Hitchcock movies, from The Pleasure Garden (1925) to Family Plot (1976)
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Inside: A detailed entry for each film with insightful texts and photography, plus an illustrated list of all of Hitchcock's cameos
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Category: Film, print book
FAQ
Does this book cover every Hitchcock film?
Yes. It includes a detailed entry for each of Hitchcock's 53 movies, from The Pleasure Garden in 1925 to Family Plot in 1976.
Does it include Hitchcock's cameos?
Yes. The book includes an illustrated list of all of the master's cameos.
What format is this edition?
This is a clothbound English-language edition.
