Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho (Stephen Rebello) - Soft Skull Press - 2012 - 288 pages

This book does an excellent job of preserving an important process in the history of motion pictures.  Author Rebello completed this excellent piece of research regarding the great director in 1990.  The book was re-released in a trade paperback version to coincide with the 2012 movie - Hitchcock.  The genius of Alfred Hitchcock is evident in this account of his most successful movie and the difficulty he faced from doubting studio bosses and the censorship rules of the day.  Unfortunately, the movie by director Sacha Gervasi concentrates on Hitchcock's (alleged) perversions and an eating disorder.  The book makes no mention of jealousies that were a major part of the movie.  In addition, Hitchcock's wife Alma did not direct any of the Psycho scenes and she did not write the last ten minutes of the screenplay.  In fact, the book barely mentions Mrs. Hitchcock at all.  If you want to learn about the talents and personality of Alfred Hitchcock, buy the book not the movie.  [JAM 2/18/2013]