He is well-known for his later films such as Foreign Correspondent and Topaz and Vertigo. You might even know him for a spoof of one of his movies like High Anxiety. You owe a great debt to Alfred Hitchcock whenever you watch a dramatic movie.
Alfred Hitchcock first found work as a draftsman and a designer of advertisements. Due to his aptitude and interest in movies, he was a success designing title cards for silent movies.
Alfred Hitchcock wrote silent films such as The Great Day in Germany and Great Britain before he became a director. In 1925, at last, he had the opportunity to direct The Pleasure Garden. He then moved forward as a director for other silent films. His skill at story telling with unique camera work was immediately evident.
It's too bad that some of his earlier work is known from just clips of film or have been lost altogether.
Once sound was possible, his dialog further enriched his films. He made quite a few early films in Great Britain. Once these talkies found commercial success, he gained access to more resources so that he could improve his movie making even more.
The current generation of filmgoers may know Alfred Hitchcock better for the remakes of his films than the original works. There have been several box office hits as a result of his later films being remade.
If you get the chance to watch one of Hitchcock's films, be sure to watch for him. He often made cameo appearances of some type in his films. Here are a few examples:
* Easy Virtue made in 1928 where Hitchcock is seen walking past a tennis court carrying a walking stick
* To Catch a Thief made in 1955 where Hitchcock is seen sitting to the left of Cary Grant on the bus
* The Trouble with Harry made in 1955 where Hitchcock is seen walking past the parked limousine of an old man who is looking at paintings
* The Paradine Case made in 1947 where Hitchcock is seen leaving the train at Cumberland Station, carrying a cello
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Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
The Faithful Spy - Alex Berenson
"A well-crafted page-turner that addresses the most important issue of our time. It will keep you reading well into the night."-Vince Flynn
A New York Times reporter has drawn upon his experience covering the occupation in Iraq to write the most gripping and chillingly plausible thriller of the post-9/11 era. Alex Berenson's debut novel of suspense, The Faithful Spy, is a sharp, explosive story that takes readers inside the war on terror as fiction has never done before.
John Wells is the only American CIA agent ever to penetrate al Qaeda. Since before the attacks in 2001, Wells has been hiding in the mountains of Pakistan, biding his time, building his cover.
Now, on the orders of Omar Khadri-the malicious mastermind plotting more al Qaeda strikes on America-Wells is coming home. Neither Khadri nor Jennifer Exley, Wells's superior at Langley, knows quite what to expect.
For Wells has changed during his years in the mountains. He has become a Muslim. He finds the United States decadent and shallow. Yet he hates al Qaeda and the way it uses Islam to justify its murderous assaults on innocents. He is a man alone, and the CIA-still reeling from its failure to predict 9/11 or find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq-does not know whether to trust him. Among his handlers at Langley, only Exley believes in him, and even she sometimes wonders. And so the agency freezes Wells out, preferring to rely on high-tech means for gathering intelligence.
But as that strategy fails and Khadri moves closer to unleashing the most devastating terrorist attack in history, Wells and Exley must somehow find a way to stop him, with or without the government's consent.
From secret Americanmilitary bases where suspects are held and "interrogated" to basement laboratories where al Qaeda's scientists grow the deadliest of biological weapons, The Faithful Spy is a riveting and cautionary tale, as affecting in its personal stories as it is sophisticated in its political details. The first spy thriller to grapple squarely with the complexities and terrors of today's world, this is a uniquely exciting and unnerving novel by an author who truly knows his territory.
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A New York Times reporter has drawn upon his experience covering the occupation in Iraq to write the most gripping and chillingly plausible thriller of the post-9/11 era. Alex Berenson's debut novel of suspense, The Faithful Spy, is a sharp, explosive story that takes readers inside the war on terror as fiction has never done before.
John Wells is the only American CIA agent ever to penetrate al Qaeda. Since before the attacks in 2001, Wells has been hiding in the mountains of Pakistan, biding his time, building his cover.
Now, on the orders of Omar Khadri-the malicious mastermind plotting more al Qaeda strikes on America-Wells is coming home. Neither Khadri nor Jennifer Exley, Wells's superior at Langley, knows quite what to expect.
For Wells has changed during his years in the mountains. He has become a Muslim. He finds the United States decadent and shallow. Yet he hates al Qaeda and the way it uses Islam to justify its murderous assaults on innocents. He is a man alone, and the CIA-still reeling from its failure to predict 9/11 or find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq-does not know whether to trust him. Among his handlers at Langley, only Exley believes in him, and even she sometimes wonders. And so the agency freezes Wells out, preferring to rely on high-tech means for gathering intelligence.
But as that strategy fails and Khadri moves closer to unleashing the most devastating terrorist attack in history, Wells and Exley must somehow find a way to stop him, with or without the government's consent.
From secret Americanmilitary bases where suspects are held and "interrogated" to basement laboratories where al Qaeda's scientists grow the deadliest of biological weapons, The Faithful Spy is a riveting and cautionary tale, as affecting in its personal stories as it is sophisticated in its political details. The first spy thriller to grapple squarely with the complexities and terrors of today's world, this is a uniquely exciting and unnerving novel by an author who truly knows his territory.
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Wednesday, 9 December 2009
The Cold Moon - Jeffrey Deaver
So, I've already finished two more books since my last post, but must admit that I am feeling a tad lazy...it's been a long year, I guess!
I am new to Jeffrey Deaver as an author barring his participation in the Chopin Manuscript, an audio book that was co-authored by Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, David Hewson, James Grady, S. J. Rozan, Erica Spindler, John Ramsey Miller, David Corbett, John Gilstrap, Joseph Finder, Jim Fusilli, Peter Spiegelman, Ralph Pezzullo, Lisa Scottoline and P. J. Parrish.
After listening, yes I am an Audiophile, to the first couple of chapters I realised that I was familiar with these characters. A couple of years ago I saw the movie 'The Bone Collector' and it dawned on me that this is where I knew these characters from.
Well, Cold Moon is one of those stories that continually adds new twists. I enjoyed the reading and found myself doing strong comparisons between the movie characters mentioned before and the visualisations of the characters that were developing in this book. As I read more, I realise that movies are not even half as enjoyable and meaningful as a book.
The story revolves around a serial killer - The Watchmaker - who is supposedly killing random victims and leaving tell tale signs at each scene. As the story progresses, the twists emerge and head toward a climatic ending....except for the fact that good old Mr Deaver leaves room for the next episode in this saga.
Personally I don't mind follow on books, but I know that a lot of people want the story completed ion one sitting.
Anyway, a good story and a great read!
Get the book!
Get the Audiobook!
Coming soon - The Faithful Spy
I am new to Jeffrey Deaver as an author barring his participation in the Chopin Manuscript, an audio book that was co-authored by Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, David Hewson, James Grady, S. J. Rozan, Erica Spindler, John Ramsey Miller, David Corbett, John Gilstrap, Joseph Finder, Jim Fusilli, Peter Spiegelman, Ralph Pezzullo, Lisa Scottoline and P. J. Parrish.
After listening, yes I am an Audiophile, to the first couple of chapters I realised that I was familiar with these characters. A couple of years ago I saw the movie 'The Bone Collector' and it dawned on me that this is where I knew these characters from.
Well, Cold Moon is one of those stories that continually adds new twists. I enjoyed the reading and found myself doing strong comparisons between the movie characters mentioned before and the visualisations of the characters that were developing in this book. As I read more, I realise that movies are not even half as enjoyable and meaningful as a book.
The story revolves around a serial killer - The Watchmaker - who is supposedly killing random victims and leaving tell tale signs at each scene. As the story progresses, the twists emerge and head toward a climatic ending....except for the fact that good old Mr Deaver leaves room for the next episode in this saga.
Personally I don't mind follow on books, but I know that a lot of people want the story completed ion one sitting.
Anyway, a good story and a great read!
Get the book!
Get the Audiobook!
Coming soon - The Faithful Spy
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
The Beijing conspiracy - Adrian D'Hagé
From China's western-most province, near its border with Pakistan, comes this deadly ultimatum. In the White House Situation Room, the President and his team dismiss it as one of thousands of threats made against the US every week. But CIA agent Curtis O'Connor isn't so sure. The man making the warning is Dr Khalid Kadeer, a brilliant Muslim microbiologist. As an expert on bioterrorism, O'Connor knows Kadeer isn't bluffing. So too does Kate Braithwaite. She works in a hot-zone laboratory, on the USA's own top secret biological weapons. If the results of Kate's research fall into the wrong hands, billions of people will die. As Curtis O'Connor and Kate Braithwaite work to unravel the riddles of the Kadeer's warning and prevent a devastating attack on the world's greatest sporting event, they begin to uncover a threat more sinister than they had imagined.
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Buy the book:
Buy the Audiobook:
Monday, 23 November 2009
Monday, 16 November 2009
1984 - George Orwell
Review:
One year before his death in 1950, George Orwell published a book entitled 1984. Since then, the novel has become a bible to people all over the world. The enthusiasm is not only due to the fact that the novel is written so eloquently, and with such foresight, but also because it makes a bold statement about humanity.
1984’s main character is Winston Smith, a man who doubts the righteousness of the totalitarian government (Big Brother) that rules Oceania, one of three superstates in the world of 1984. We begin the book with Winston, and learn that Big Brother is quite fictional. The government has developed its own language, is at constant war with the other two superstates, and watches its citizens at all times. As Winston’s rebellion progresses, we notice that Big Brother is not as unrealistic as we think.
Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia are the three battling superstates. Each has an identical government—one that is at perpetual war in order to gain complete power over its inhabitants. The process used to gain absolute power is one used by past, present, and future dictators, such as Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. Big Brother manipulates its citizens into convenient modes of thinking. However, instead of only using propaganda techniques, Big Brother also uses Newspeak and telescreens. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, and has its sole purpose in abolishing all unorthodox thought. (Example: the word bad is replaced by the word ‘ungood.’) The telescreens monitor each citizen that is allowed to be educated, at all times, watching for any action, word, or possible thought that could be unorthodox.
These two Orwell inventions were foretelling—we see the equivalent of Newspeak every day in present day society when we are "politically correct." Telescreens are present in nearly every commercial institution, and sometimes in our own homes. Orwell was obviously warning America and all other countries about the control of totalitarian governments.
When Winston is secretly approached by a coworker, he learns that he is not alone in his belief that Big Brother is ‘ungood.’ Winston and Julia become lovers and eventually confess their feelings of rebelliousness to O’Brien, a fellow coworker who is believed to be a member of a rebel group, the Brotherhood.
Two weeks later comes the shocking and disturbing climax. It is here that the reader is definitely introduced to the metaphysical philosophy behind 1984. Orwell brings terror into the story when he shows us what is really behind Big Brother; Oceania’s government sends a representative into the plot. A government not unlike ones in present-day society is at the head of Oceania, and that is where the stark reality of 1984 becomes evident. The sole manipulative technique used by Big Brother is one that is virtually unrecognizable—mental manipulation. Metaphysics, or the belief that there is existence beyond our comprehension, is represented by Big Brother when the reader learns about doublethink, the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and fully accepting both. Doublethink and metaphysics are the engines behind the three world governments, and is defined by O’Brien.
"Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else," says O’Brien. " . . . In the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth."
Political tragedies, such as this, are published constantly, but 1984 is one of the few that has remained timeless and will always be regarded as not only historical, but also prophetic. The book reminds us of what has gone wrong, what can go wrong, and what will go wrong when government becomes all-powerful. It is because of this political and social insight that 1984 is one of the best books of all time.
Get the Book
Get the Audiobook
1984’s main character is Winston Smith, a man who doubts the righteousness of the totalitarian government (Big Brother) that rules Oceania, one of three superstates in the world of 1984. We begin the book with Winston, and learn that Big Brother is quite fictional. The government has developed its own language, is at constant war with the other two superstates, and watches its citizens at all times. As Winston’s rebellion progresses, we notice that Big Brother is not as unrealistic as we think.
Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia are the three battling superstates. Each has an identical government—one that is at perpetual war in order to gain complete power over its inhabitants. The process used to gain absolute power is one used by past, present, and future dictators, such as Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. Big Brother manipulates its citizens into convenient modes of thinking. However, instead of only using propaganda techniques, Big Brother also uses Newspeak and telescreens. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, and has its sole purpose in abolishing all unorthodox thought. (Example: the word bad is replaced by the word ‘ungood.’) The telescreens monitor each citizen that is allowed to be educated, at all times, watching for any action, word, or possible thought that could be unorthodox.
These two Orwell inventions were foretelling—we see the equivalent of Newspeak every day in present day society when we are "politically correct." Telescreens are present in nearly every commercial institution, and sometimes in our own homes. Orwell was obviously warning America and all other countries about the control of totalitarian governments.
When Winston is secretly approached by a coworker, he learns that he is not alone in his belief that Big Brother is ‘ungood.’ Winston and Julia become lovers and eventually confess their feelings of rebelliousness to O’Brien, a fellow coworker who is believed to be a member of a rebel group, the Brotherhood.
Two weeks later comes the shocking and disturbing climax. It is here that the reader is definitely introduced to the metaphysical philosophy behind 1984. Orwell brings terror into the story when he shows us what is really behind Big Brother; Oceania’s government sends a representative into the plot. A government not unlike ones in present-day society is at the head of Oceania, and that is where the stark reality of 1984 becomes evident. The sole manipulative technique used by Big Brother is one that is virtually unrecognizable—mental manipulation. Metaphysics, or the belief that there is existence beyond our comprehension, is represented by Big Brother when the reader learns about doublethink, the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and fully accepting both. Doublethink and metaphysics are the engines behind the three world governments, and is defined by O’Brien.
"Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else," says O’Brien. " . . . In the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth."
Political tragedies, such as this, are published constantly, but 1984 is one of the few that has remained timeless and will always be regarded as not only historical, but also prophetic. The book reminds us of what has gone wrong, what can go wrong, and what will go wrong when government becomes all-powerful. It is because of this political and social insight that 1984 is one of the best books of all time.
Get the Book
Get the Audiobook
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