| Blackmail 1993 Edition Contributor(s): Ryall, Tom (Author) |
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ISBN: 0851703569 ISBN-13: 9780851703565 Publisher: British Film Institute OUR PRICE: $14.36 Product Type: Paperback Published: December 1993 Annotation: Alfred Hitchcock's "Blackmail" is a landmark in British cinema. Released in June 1929, it was hailed as "the first British all-talkie film." Characteristically, Hitchcock makes flamboyant use of the new technical and aesthetic opportunities that sound offered. But the film was also released in a silent version, and to this day some critics consider this version a superior work. In his lucid and knowledgeable discussion, Tom Ryall covers both versions of the film. It is, he argues, both a considerable work of art in itself, and also one of the first to display those touches we now think of as typically Hitchcockian: a blonde heroine in jeopardy, a surprise killing, some brilliantly manipulated suspense, and a last-reel chase around a familiar public landmark (in this case the British Museum). There's also a cameo appearance by the director himself, as a harassed traveller on the London Underground. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Performing Arts | Film - History & Criticism - Performing Arts | Film - Reference |
| Dewey: 791.430 |
| Series: BFI Film Classics |
| Physical Information: 0.23" H x 5.32" W x 7.48" (0.26 lbs) 96 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Blackmail was the first major British sound film. Tom Ryall examines its unusual production history, and places it in the context of Hitchcock's other British films of the period. Each volume in the BFI Film Classics series contains a personal commentary on the film and a filmography. |