This book examines 13 movies that deal with the protagonist and his projected "other." The cinematic Other is interpreted as an unconscious personality, a denied part of the protagonist that appears in his life as a shadowy menace who won't go away. Devoting a chapter to each movie, the book starts with Mamoulian's
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
and three cinematic pairs: two Hitchcock films,
Shadow of a Doubt
and
Strangers on a Train
; two versions of
Cape Fear
, J. Lee Thompson's 1962 original and Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake; and a pair of Clint Eastwood films,
In the Line of Fire
Blood Work
. The book then examines
Something Wild, Sea of Love, Fight Club, Desperately Seeking Susan, Apocalypse Now
The Lives of Others
. Overall the book aims to show how movies envision the unconscious Other we all too often project on other people.