Why am I passionate about this?

I have taught philosophy and film for almost 40 years, first at Ohio State and then at Notre Dame. My focus had been German cinema, but I was drawn to Hitchcock for three reasons: first, he received his origins in Weimar Germany and owes much to German expressionism; second, his films are so cinematically beautiful and effective that I began teaching them again and again, and the students loved them; finally, I thought it worthwhile and a fun project to address the extent to which his films raise deep and engaging philosophical questions.


I wrote

Alfred Hitchcock: Filmmaker and Philosopher

By Mark William Roche,

Book cover of Alfred Hitchcock: Filmmaker and Philosopher

What is my book about?

Hitchcock was a masterful director, popular with audiences of all ages and critically acclaimed both during and after his unusually…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Hitchcock Romance: Love and Irony in Hitchcock's Films

Mark William Roche Why did I love this book?

This is the first book I read that confirmed my own intuition—that Hitchcock’s works are as rich and complex as great literary works.

Brill’s book was a relatively early work of Hitchcock criticism, but an enduring one, a humanistic study with considerable attention paid to the films’ aesthetic and religious dimensions. The latter is fitting because Hitchcock was a deeply Catholic director.

The book offers excellent analyses, with good attention to cinematic and artistic features.

By Lesley Brill,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hitchcock Romance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Was Alfred Hitchcock a cynical trifler with his audience's emotions, as he liked to pretend? Or was he a profoundly humane artist? Most commentators leave Hitchcock's self-assessment unquestioned, but this book shows that his movies convey an affectionate, hopeful understanding of human nature and the redemptive possibilities of love. Lesley Brill discusses Hitchcock's work as a whole and examines in detail twenty-two films, from perennial favorites like North by Northwest to neglected masterpieces like Rich and Strange.


Book cover of Hitchcock's Films Revisited

Mark William Roche Why did I love this book?

With the exception of the prefatory material, which one can skip, this is one of the very best books on Hitchcock.

It is beautifully written and attentive to cinematic details and larger themes. It offers rich interpretations of several central films, with the first half focused on close interpretation and the second half, written later in Wood’s career, more orientated toward Marx, Freud, and gay studies.

Though the book is uneven, it contains some of the best analyses one will ever read of Hitchcock’s major films.

By Robin Wood,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Hitchcock's Films Revisited as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When "Hitchcock's Films" was first published, it quickly became known as a new kind of book on film - one that came to be considered a necessary text in the Hitchcock bibliography. When Robin Wood returned to his writings on Hitchcock's films and published "Hitchcock's Films Revisited" in 1989, the multi-dimensional essays took on a new shape - one that was tempered by Wood's own development as a critic. This new revised edition of "Hitchcock's Films Revisited" includes a substantial new preface in which Wood reveals his personal history as a film scholar - including his coming out as a…


Book cover of The Women Who Knew Too Much: Hitchcock and Feminist Theory

Mark William Roche Why did I love this book?

If one wants to learn about Hitchcock’s complex relation with women, one can turn to Donald Spoto’s The Dark Side of Genius or Laurence Leamer’s recent Hitchcock’s Blondes, but if one wants to contemplate the aesthetic question, how are women portrayed in Hitchcock, Modleski is far more rewarding.

I learned much from her weighing of Hitchcock’s ambivalence toward women. The book offers a strong feminist account of seven films, and I have consistently recommended it to my students as one of the best books on Hitchcock. 

By Tania Modleski,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Women Who Knew Too Much as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Originally published in 1988, The Women Who Knew Too Much remains a classic work in film theory and feminist criticism. The book consists of a theoretical introduction and analyses of seven important films by Alfred Hitchcock, each of which provides a basis for an analysis of the female spectator as well as of the male spectator. Modleski considers the emotional and psychic investments of men and women in female characters whose stories often undermine the mastery of the cinematic "master of suspense." The third edition features an interview with the author by David Greven, in which he and Modleski reflect…


Book cover of Hitchcock's Music

Mark William Roche Why did I love this book?

Music is essential to the meaning of film, and I couldn’t get enough of this book.

Despite its narrower focus, it is a superior work, on a level with the best Hitchcock volumes. If music and film interest you, you will benefit from it. Moreover, Sullivan covers almost half of Hitchcock’s more than 50 films.

By Jack Sullivan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hitchcock's Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For half a century, Alfred Hitchcock created films full of gripping and memorable music. Over his long career he presided over more musical styles than any director in history and ultimately changed how we think about film music. This book is the first to fully explore the essential role music played in the movies of Alfred Hitchcock. Based on extensive interviews with composers, writers, and actors, and research in rare archives, Jack Sullivan discusses how Hitchcock used music to influence the atmosphere, characterization, and even storylines of his films. Sullivan examines the director's important relationships with various composers, especially Bernard…


Book cover of Hitchcock: A Definitive Study of Alfred Hitchcock

Mark William Roche Why did I love this book?

If one wants to hear Hitchcock’s voice, this set of interviews provides the gold standard. The book, which was also important for Hitchcock’s reception, includes discussions of every major film.

Hitchcock talks informally about what his intentions were, how he created individual scenes, and what kinds of meanings lie hidden in the works. Most readers are drawn to Hitchcock criticism after being engaged by an individual film, and they will find welcome orientation here.

By Francois Truffaut,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Hitchcock as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One is ravished by the density of insights into cinematic questions...Truffaut performed a tour de force of tact in getting this ordinarily guarded man to open up as he had never done before (and never would again)...If the 1967 Hitchcock/Truffaut can now be seen as something of a classic, this revised version is even better. Phillip Lopate The New York Times Book Review


Explore my book 😀

Alfred Hitchcock: Filmmaker and Philosopher

By Mark William Roche,

Book cover of Alfred Hitchcock: Filmmaker and Philosopher

What is my book about?

Hitchcock was a masterful director, popular with audiences of all ages and critically acclaimed both during and after his unusually long career. His works are not only cinematically brilliant, they raise philosophical questions: What is evil, and how does it shield and reveal itself? Can we know what is inside the mind of another person? What is at stake when one knows the truth but cannot speak of it or cannot persuade others? Why are Hitchcock's works so often ambiguous? Roche unlocks Hitchcock's engagement with philosophical themes in a way that appeals to novices, seasoned philosophers, and enthusiastic admirers of Hitchcock's films.

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By Elizabeth Randall, William Randall,

Book cover of Secret St. Augustine: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

Elizabeth Randall Author Of Fire is the Test of Gold

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Why am I passionate about this?

Author Reader Baker Teacher Matriarch Adventurer

Elizabeth's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Tourists and local residents of St. Augustine will enjoy reading about the secret wonders of their ancient city that are right under their noses. Of course, that includes a few stray corpses and ghosts!

Secret St. Augustine: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

By Elizabeth Randall, William Randall,

What is this book about?

It is no wonder the ancient city of St. Augustine is steeped in secrets. St. Johns, the oldest continuously occupied county in America celebrated its 450th birthday on September 4, 2015. More like a European enclave than an urban landscape, it is a place of cannon fire, street parties, historical reenactments, concerts, and more. From admiring replicas of fine art at Ripley’s Believe or Not, to hunting haunts in restaurants and museums, to eating ice cream from a recipe originated by World War II bombardiers, St. Augustine has it all from beaches, gourmet dining, festivals, and attractions. A young and…


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Interested in Alfred Hitchcock, film, and humanism?

Alfred Hitchcock 29 books
Film 237 books
Humanism 32 books