Quotes from Hitchcock

François Truffaut ·  367 pages

Rating: (4.7K votes)


“In many of the films now being made, there is very little cinema: they are mostly what I call 'photographs of people talking.' When we tell a story in cinema we should resort to dialogue only when it's impossible to do otherwise. I always try to tell a story in the cinematic way, through a succession of shots and bits of film in between.”
― François Truffaut, quote from Hitchcock


“To reproach Hitchcock for specializing in suspense is to accuse him of being the least boring of filmmakers; it is also tantamount to blaming a lover who instead of concentrating on his own pleasure insists on sharing it with his partner.”
― François Truffaut, quote from Hitchcock


“The camera should never anticipate what’s about to follow.”
― François Truffaut, quote from Hitchcock


“Nowadays, the work of Alfred Hitchcock is admired all over the world. Young people who are just discovering his art through the current rerelease of Rear Window and Vertigo, or through North by Northwest, may assume his prestige has always been recognized, but this is far from being the case.

In the fifties and sixties, Hitchcock was at the height of his creativity and popularity. He was, of course, famous due to the publicity masterminded by producer David O. Selznick during the six or seven years of their collaboration on such films as Rebecca, Notorious, Spellbound, and The Paradine Case.

His fame had spread further throughout the world via the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the mid-fifties. But American and European critics made him pay for his commercial success by reviewing his work with condescension, and by belittling each new film.
(...)
In examining his films, it was obvious that he had given more thought to the potential of his art than any of his colleagues. It occurred to me that if he would, for the first time, agree to respond seriously to a systematic questionnaire, the resulting document might modify the American critics’ approach to Hitchcock.
That is what this book is all about.”
― François Truffaut, quote from Hitchcock


“That’s because the theme of the innocent man being accused, I feel, provides the audience with a greater sense of danger. It’s easier for them to identify with him than with a guilty man on the run. I always take the audience into account.”
― François Truffaut, quote from Hitchcock



“gatherings I would sit quietly in a corner, saying nothing. I looked and observed a good deal. I’ve always been that way and still am. I was anything but expansive. I was a loner—can’t remember ever”
― François Truffaut, quote from Hitchcock


“Suspense is simply the dramatization of a film’s narrative, or if you will, the most intense presentation possible of dramatic situations.”
― François Truffaut, quote from Hitchcock


“The art of creating suspense is also the art of involving the audience, so that the viewer is actually a participant in the film.”
― François Truffaut, quote from Hitchcock


About the author

François Truffaut
Born place: in Paris, France
Born date February 6, 1932
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“Damn it, Jacob, I’m freezing my butt off.”
“I came as fast as I could, considering I thought it would be wise to walk the last few yards.”
Isabella whirled around, her smiling face lighting up the silvery night with more ease than the fullest of moons. She leapt up into his embrace, eagerly drinking in his body heat and affection.
“I can see it now. ‘Daddy, tell me about your wedding day.’ ‘Well, son,’” she mocked, deepening her voice to his timbre and reflecting his accent uncannily, “’The first words out of your mother’s mouth were I’m freezing my butt off!’”
“Very romantic, don’t you think?” he teased. “So, you think it will be a boy, then? Our first child?”
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“This is true, little flower. But passing time in the solitude of the woods is not necessarily a difficult task for a man and woman about to be married.”
“Jacob!” she gasped, laughing.
“Some traditions are not necessarily publicized,” he teased.
“You people are outrageous.”
“Mmm, and if I had the ability to turn to dust right now, would you tell me no if I asked to . . . pass time with you?”
Isabella shivered, but it was the warmth of his whisper and intent, not the cold, that made her do so.
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His fingers flexed on her flesh, his arms drawing her tighter to himself. He tried to concentrate on where he was putting his feet.
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“Okay,” she agreed, her tongue touching his pulse.
“Bella . . .”
“Jacob, I want to spend the entire night making love to you,” she murmured.
Jacob stopped in his tracks, taking a moment to catch his breath.
“Okay, why is it I always thought it was the groom who was supposed to be having lewd thoughts about the wedding night while the bride took the ceremony more seriously?”
“You started it,” she reminded him, laughing softly.
“I am begging you, Isabella, to allow me to leave these woods with a little of my dignity intact.” He sighed deeply, turning his head to brush his face over her hair. “It does not take much effort from you to turn me inside out and rouse my hunger for you. If there is much more of your wanton taunting, you will be flushed warm and rosy by the time we reach that altar, and our guests will not have to be Mind Demons in order to figure out why.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right.” She turned her face away from his neck.
Jacob resumed his ritual walk for all of thirty seconds before he stopped again.
“Bella . . .” he warned dangerously.
“I’m sorry! It just popped into my head!”
“What am I getting myself into?” he asked aloud, sighing dramatically as he resumed his pace.
“Well, in about an hour, I hope it will be me.
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