Alfred Hitchcock In His Own Words (CD audio review).

This short CD contains snippets of Alfred Hitchcock material from the BBC archive. May of these you might have heard before. Its release is really down to the amount of Hitchcock interest there is at the moment with both the Antony Hopkins latex fest and the more downbeat Toby Jones portrayal on general release.

Such a short CD is not likely to form the basis of anybody’s thesis or extended essay but listening to the real person instead of the various fictional representations may prove to be inspirational. There is such a vast amount of material on Hitchcock, it’s hard to believe that anyone can have anything new to say. At least this archive material sets the whole thing in the context of the period he was making films.

Looking at them now, we see something very different in the movies of Hitchcock. Sensibilities have moved on thank goodness but there is still appreciation of what he achieved. A plus on the profit side before we deduct for the change in the way we portray men and women on the screen.

Hitchcock’s distinctive speaking style sets these tapes apart. Familiar to the older generation from his stint on television introducing his unique stories, only a few of which he directed himself, the younger ones might not even have realised he made movies until later in life when he was virtually retired.

‘Alfred Hitchcock In His Own Words’ is an interesting soundbite of the man and a fascinating glimpse of social history, too.

Sue Davies

April 2013

(pub: Audio Go/BBC. 1 CD 80 minute chat. Price: CD: £ 4.95 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-44584-659-0. Download: £ 1.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-44585-207-2)

check out website: www.audiogo.co.uk