Sometimes a Bird Is Just a Bird
In
the world of film criticism, few directors present target-rich environments
like Alfred Hitchcock. You can delve into the stories behind his movies;
the often-disturbing if genial persona he crafted both in front of and behind
the lens; the evolution of his craft; the signature devices that established a
film as distinctly his own.
Or
you can do what Donald Spoto does here and point out all the symbolism until
you’ve turned some of cinema’s greatest touchstones into amoebas in a microscope.