Alfred Hitchcock: biography

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English director, producer and a script writer.

Beginnings and career

Early years Alfred Hitchcock was born on 13 August 1899 in London. He studied at London University as an engineer, and since 1920 had worked at the film studio. Initially, his job was to draw cards with the names of the actors for the title, and then he began to write scripts and assist directors. Debuts as a director - Hitchcock's directorial debut was in 1925 in England, with the film “Pleasure Garden’’. - In 1926, he made ​​the first thriller, "The Tenant". - In 1929, he created the first British sound film - "Blackmail". Suspense creator - The story of Alfred Hitchcock as the master of suspense began only with nineteenth Hitchcock film- "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934). - In 1939, Hitchcock was invited to Hollywood by producer David O. Selznick to shoot a movie about the sinking of the Titanic, but the project never took place.
Peak years Nevertheless, Hitchcock remained there. From here, the American period had begun in his career. During his life, Alfred Hitchcock created 55 films. Most of them have become the classics of world cinema. Contribution to Television In addition, Alfred Hitchcock shot 21 movies for TV series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and two documentaries (both in 1944). However, two film works remained unfinished. Hitchcock is famous by his cameos. He appeared briefly in almost all of his films as a passerby or a street gawker.

Awards and honours

Achievements - In 1940 the film "Rebecca", his first American movie created in 1939, won an Oscar in the category "Best Film". - After that Hitchcock got four nominations: for the films "Lifeboat" (1944), "Spellbound" (1945),"Rear Window" (1954), "Psycho" (1960), but he received no awards (in particular one of the most famous films "The Birds" (1963) was nominated only for special effects). - In 1968, Hitchcock received an honorary Oscar for his contribution to cinema. - In 1979 Hitchcock received the AFI Life Achievement Award from American Film Institute. - He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II soon after having received the Life Achievement Award . Death Alfred Hitchcock died in Los Angeles on 29 April 1980. He is still one of the most respected and popular filmmakers.