Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Psycho
2. Rebecca
3. Rear Window
4. The Birds
5. Dial M for Murder

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Really hard task. Impossible for me at the moment!

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1) Vertigo
2) Psycho
3) Rear Window
4) Rope
5) Notorious
+
6) The Birds

A very difficult task, but I'm going to try:

1. Rear Window
2. Rebecca
3. Psycho
4. Vertigo (will probably rise to the top after another view)
5. Shadow of a Doubt

I've also seen:

The 39 Steps
The Lady Vanishes
Spellbound
Rope
Strangers on a Train
Dial M for Murder
To Catch a Thief
The Man Who Knew Too Much (James Stewart version)
The Wrong Man
North By Northwest
The Birds
Marnie

I liked them all very much and this list can change a little bit from time to time. Especially Vertigo can become number 1 or 2 after another view. It's just too long ago since I've seen it.

Psycho
North by Northwest
Rear Window
Rope
Marnie

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Psycho
Rear Window
Notorious
Vertigo

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I'll weigh in with:

1. Vertigo
2. Psycho
3. North by Northwest
4. Dial M for Murder
5. Rear Window

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Psycho
2. Vertigo
3. Rear Window
4. North by Northwest
5. Dial M for Murder

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Copying this from another post of mine:

1. North by Northwest
2. Vertigo (top two are very close, NBN pips on enjoyment)
3. Psycho
4. Dial M for Murder
=Strangers on a Train
=Rear Window

This is a tough one. I'd rather do 10, but here's my top 5:

1. Vertigo- Takes my breath away every time. The great sights in Northern California, Stewart's first sighting of Kim Novak in that red restaurant, the weird obsessiveness of it all.
2. Notorious- I guess I like Hitchcock's twisted relationships, with this one and Vertigo at the top. So many great shots, and Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are amazing together.
3. North by Northwest- Fantastic set piece after set piece, this is Hitchcock's most purely entertaining film.
4. Strangers on a Train- It's great how this film can make a tennis match, a rain grate, and a merry-go-round so suspenseful. Very interesting characters.
5. The Lady Vanishes- A great blend of humor and mystery, and I think Hitchcock's funniest film.

And just for fun:

6. The Birds
7. Rear Window
8. Shadow of a Doubt
9. Psycho
10. The 39 Steps

All great, and I'd probably count the first 9 as some of my favorites of all time.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Rear Window
2. North by Northwest
3. Dial M for Murder
4. Psycho
5. Vertigo

With Notorious, Strangers on a Train, and The Birds the next ones in line.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Psycho, Dial M for Murder and Rope.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Vertigo
2. Shadow of a Doubt
3. Rear Window
4. North by Northwest
5. Psycho

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Psycho
2. Rope
3. Rear Window
4. Strangers on a Train
5. Vertigo

You should do a Favorite film list already! You seem to have impeccable taste (in my opinion). I understand how hard it is to judge certain films your favorite, but you can do like me a put a tentative list up. My favorite films list changes a bit every other day.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Strangers On A Train was disappointing. Complete bowdlerisation of the novel. That's not necessarily Hitchcock's fault but it doesn't make for a good film.

I've only seen 4 Hitchcock films and Rebecca and Psycho are easily the best of those (the other two being Strangers and Stage Fright).

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Strangers was indeed a disappointment upon my first viewing, but has gotten better upon repeated viewings. I think I saw it at a bad time the first time because I had seen Rear Window and Dial M for Murder right before it, so my expectations were running quite high.

I agree with you on the point of Strangers on a Train, never liked that one (I know it has got a high rating everywhere, and people mostly seem to like it)...

I thought someone would have The Trouble with Harry in his or her top 5, but so far (including me) no one does...

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Rear Window
2. Psycho
3. The Birds
4. Notorious
5. Vertigo

It's the premise and Robert Walker's performance that people rate it for. Walker's performance is good but then the character's good so...

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Psycho
2. Dial M for Murder
3. The Birds
4. Vertigo
5. Rear Window

1) Vertigo
2) Rear Window
3) Rebecca
4) The Birds
5) Psycho

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Don't know about a top five but two i think everyone should watch

Lifeboat and Jamaica Inn

These were early ones and often overlooked.

Saw both of them, they are good films, but won't be in my top 10 of Hitchcock...

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

The Lady Vanishes is my number one Alfred Hitchcock film but the rest below are not in any order.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ady_moviep.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ilm_poster.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ac/Marnie1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...For_Murder.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...%281960%29.jpg

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1 psycho
2 vertigo
3 rear window
4 shadow of a doubt
5 north by northwest

My faves:



5. Rear Window
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...079/rear-1.jpg

A psychological mystery thriller that stands out on it's own not just because of it's distinctive formula (particularly for it's time), but also because of Hitchcock's ability to make the most of it's "limited" theme. The story of a man who can't walk, is stuck in his apartment, but with good observational instincts, honed by his job, that all end up putting him in a situation where his immobility makes for a simple, yet in Hitch's hands, an excellent plot device that incrementally builds & builds on it's suspense towards it's finale.


4. The Birds
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...5811193997.jpg

The very first Hitchcock movie I ever saw.
During my early formative years on this planet, my dad used to pack our family into the panel-sided Buick station wagon & take us to the drive-in theatre where we were exposed to alot of those 70's cheesy "when animals attack" movies, like Food Of The Gods, Night Of The Leapus, Swarm, etc...
Goofy escapist fare of whose cheese I, as a child, ended up developing a taste for.
Therefore, one day, when the day came that I first viewed Hitchcock's The Birds on the ol' boobtube, my initial reaction was "Coo-hoooooollll.... Kinda like the movie 'Frogs!'! Except with birds!"


3. Notorious
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...7411193997.jpg

At first glance, this seems like a typical Hollywood picture of this era: the insanely attractive couple of Ingrid Bergman & Cary Grant, both looking at their most perfect, in a lush looking film with spy intigrued plot, with the added feature of a small cadre of Nazi's thrown in for good measure.
Yet, the characters' personalities and their dialogue towards each other as they try to embitterly mask the feelings of love & longing that they must fight thru in order to complete their respective missions, reveals that this is an atypical film (for it's time, at least) with a feeling of cinematic bite that can only be the signature of Alfred Hitchcock. Add to the fact, that Cary Grant, usually a more of a comedic lead with skills of perfect timing, pulls thru this serious, & uncharacteristicly bitter role with a result that leads the viewer to sincerely sympathize with his character just cuz we know that deep inside, there is some good within him.


2. North By Northwest
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...ock-cary-g.jpg

Cary Grant gets chased across America by villainous spies, government agents, & the most dastardly of 'em all, a crop-duster!
In the same manner that Psycho made me start taking baths in order to avoid the "someone-sneaking-up" factor that is the natural result of shower curtains,
this movie made me always choose dwellings within the city in order to avoid ever having to cross paths with any of these air-borne single engine bi-planal horrors.


1. Psycho
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...kJanetLe-1.jpg

Kinda an obvious choice, but still my favorite.
Due to the era that Psycho was released, Norman Bates may not have had the opportunity to cut through a swath of teenaged bodies (not that most teenagers back then didn't deserve it) in the manner that the Freddies, Michaels & Jasons do these days, but he definitely pioneered the crazed, almost supernaturally-empowered maniacs that the more recent masked comtemporaries of today have become famous for.
Though today's audiences may find that the datedness of this movie has seemed to lessen the shock & horror of this b/w classic, the energy of it still reverberates today. And for me, the ending shot of Norman Bates' visage is still one of the best creepy endings on film.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...kAnthony-1.jpg

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Anthony Perkins is so creepy in that movie. He carries it.

I wouldn't go as far as to say he "carries" the movie. He wouldn't be nearly as creepy without Bernard Herrmann's eerie score backing him up, which in my opinion is the best thing about the film.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Rear Window
2. Vertigo
3. The Birds
4. The 39 Steps
5. Frenzy

and then...

Psycho
Rope
A Lady Vanishes

those are the ones I really like. These are the rest of what I've seen:

Dial M for Murder
Rebecca
North by Northwest
Family Plot
Strangers on a Train
Foreign Correspondent
Spellbound
Stage Fright
Topaz

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Mine has changed:

1.Rebecca
2.Rope
3.Strangers on a Train
4.Rear Window
5.Psycho

Vertigo, 39 Steps, North by Northwest all get honorable mention, though I doubt you could compare the ending of Vertigo to any other Hitchcock movie.

Yep, the score is good, as is the cinematography, but if we're talking from an acting POV, he definitely carries it.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

lines, you "dislike" nine Hitchcock movies. How many DePalma films do you dislike?

Rebecca is a classic. Why didn't you like it?

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Charade? :nope:

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

That means that Charade was directed by Stanley Donen, not Hitchcock. Although a few people here didn't like it, it's well worth being mentioned in the same breath with Hitch.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Indeed, Charade is a fantastic film.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Vertigo and Psycho are both among the best films ever made, and imo, a slight step ahead of his other films. Therefore I'd rank them:

1. Vertigo
2. Psycho

3. North by Northwest
4. Rear Window
5. Rope

I finally crossed off Rear Window, Vertigo and Rope off my list recently. I... didn’t much cared for any of them. At least two of them. I’m giving Vertigo another go soon, but it left me utterly cold.

Rear Window’s ending soured me on it. I get that it all sort of has to go down that way, otherwise you’d hate the film even more, but Jeffries is such a bastard that I was hoping he’d get some sort of comeuppance. I also didn’t like the final not played for Lisa. Maybe I’m being unfair.

Rope is cute but a trifle.

Sorry for that negativity. I’m also moving onto Shadow of Doubt soon.

01. North By Northwest
02. Notorious
03. Vertigo
04. Rebecca
05. Dial M For Murder

He's probably my favourite director, seen 24 and i'm watching Mr and Mrs. Smith and Lifeboat next week. The top three are all #1, think NBNW is the most fun which is why i have it at #1, Notorious really blew me away when i had no clue it was supposed to be one of his best, Vertigo is just unreal and was the first Hitch i saw along with my mum when i was 9 or something, it's probably her favourite film. Rebecca the novel is pretty bad but the film got to me in an intense way, Dial M is incredibly watchable possibly more than any of his others i've seen which is weird considering it's restricted locationally.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

The only one I've seen is North by Northwest, and it's fantastic. I'd honestly be surprised if it wasn't his absolute best.

Choosing only the top 5 is exceedingly difficult. The top 10 or 15 would be easier.:(

1. Vertigo
2. North By Northwest
3. Rear Window
4. Strangers on a Train
5. Shadow of a Doubt

If the first three were in a tie for first place, I'd add Psycho and Notorious.

~Doc

Vertigo has a good case for being the best film ever made, so I'd check that out next.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I dont know why! I have a soft spot for Rope. So few characters and virtually in a room, but still a gripping movie.

1. Rope
2. North by Northwest.
3. Rebecca
4. Psycho
5. Dial M for Murder

Then Rear Window and Vertigo.

EDIT: Frenzy is also one of my favorites. Although its a little slow, but it sets its own pace.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Will do

Haven't seen all of them, but it would go something like this:

5. Rope
4. Psycho
3. Rear Window
2. Dial M for Murder
1. Vertigo

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Since we're on the subject, I read that Shadow of a Doubt, was Hitchcock's personal favorite that he did. Why is that though? I thought it was one of hls lesser movies myself, and was surprised he thinks that's his best.

Suspicion
Psycho
Rope
North by Northwest
Dial M for Murder

1.Rope
2.Psycho
3/4.The Man Who Knew Too Much/North by Northwest
5.Rear Window

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

My top 5

1. Rear Window
2. North by Northwest
3. Psycho
4. Dial M for Murder
5. Foreign Correspondent perhaps, or Vertigo

I read that somewhere myself. But in actual fact Hitchcock said that "Doubt" wasn't his favorite film, but that he liked it for several reasons. One, he believed it was a story that the "plausibles", logicians and psychologists couldn't find anything to complain about. For example, in some of his films people might say, "Well why didn't he just go to the police?" Or, "Why didn't she just leave the room?"

The other reason was that he loved working with Thornton Wilder, who had written the famous play Our Town. In many of Hitch's initial American films he couldn't get the writers he wanted in order to make the best screenplays. Thornton really dug into the narrative with A.H., and the result was memorable. He also enjoyed working with Hume Cronyn, who later collaborated with A.H. on several screenplays or adaptions.

~Doc

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1) Vertigo
2) North By Northwest
3) Rear Window
4) Notorious
5) Rebecca

After seeing them again, I didn't even care for 3 of them.

My new 5-

Rebecca
Dial M for Murder
Psycho
Marnie
The Birds

In actual fact Hitchcock did state on several occasions that Shadow of a Doubt was his favorite of his films, and his daughter later confirmed that as well. But anyhow, Shadow of a Doubt is a fantastic film and if someone thinks it's just a minor work by Hitchcock, then I think they haven't really paid attention to it or what the film is doing.

My own top 5 favorites:

Rear Window
North by Northwest
Shadow of a Doubt
Notorious
Frenzy

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

These are my top 5 favorite Hitch films to watch

Spellbound (1945)
Notorious (1946)
Rear Window (1954)
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Which is different than what I consider to be the top 5 best films Hitch made.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I've actually only seen 5, planning on watching more throughout the year, but here are the five that I've seen ranked.

1) Vertigo
2) Psycho
3) The Birds
4) Dial M for Murder
5) Rebecca

I watched Rebecca a long time ago, I need to re-watch soon cause I really don't remember anything, I do remember thoroughly enjoying it though.

Well I don't think Shadow of a Doubt is a bad film at all, I just think it's a good hitchcock film as oppose to a great one. I mean I thought he would have picked a movie of his that has a story that pushes the suspense and drama more, where as Shadow of a Doubt is a really odd good, but not great choice.

It would be like Scorsese saying that his favorite movie he did was Cape Fear or The Color of Money, or Steven Spielberg saying that his favorite movie he did was Always or War Horse. As oppose to a bigger, more epic movie that they did, if that makes sense.

No, I think it'd be more like Scorsese saying The King of Comedy or Spielberg saying A.I. were their favorites. In other words a lesser known film that nonetheless has a lot of personal meaning to the director.

I see what you're saying, though, but I still say there's a lot more to Shadow of a Doubt than you're appreciating. A couple things about Shadow that should be noted: It was one of Hitchcock's few films that really makes great use of location, as opposed to the studio. It's the type of film where the audience gets to hang out with these characters and really get to know them, and isn't just concerned with plotting. It makes great use of dark humor. And of course, the writing is great, the cast is great, the pacing is great...it's just great. I also love a lot of the really wicked dialogue in it:

Man, I could quote the dialogue all day. It's so perfect.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Dial M for Murder
Psycho
Rear Window
Rope
The Trouble with Harry

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Yeah Shadow of a Doubt I think is Hitchcock's best looking film. I thought it was cause of the cinematographer, but perhaps the use of locations as oppose to studios did as well. Which I find strange cause a studio you can design to look however you want, compared to a real location, where you are forced to suffer with the non-cinematic looking shortcomings of the location.

But if Hitchock said that one of the reasons why he liked Shadow of a Doubt was cause no one complained that the movie had any implausibilities in the plot, perhaps this kind of makes the movie a lesser one though, because the plot is so logical and so realistic, that nothing crazier is allowed to happen, compared to his others.

1.Vertigo
2.Rebecca
3. North by Northwest
4.Strangers on a train.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I gotta see this Rebecca everyone keeps mentioning :).

Do eeeet! :D

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I have only watched a few of Hitchcock's films, but I would like to see them all.
I've seen
Rear Window
Rebecca
Psycho
and
Stranger's on a train.
He is probably one of the best (if not the best) when it comes to mixing technique and plot.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

To Catch A Thief
NOrth by Northwest
the Lady Vanishes
THe Thirty-Nine Steps
Foreign Correspondent

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I haven't seen a lot of his films, but out of the ones I have:

1. Rope (adore it, not just because it's homoerotic either :lol: the dark humour, visual puns, brilliant acting by people who rarely appeared on film. It's experimental and unconvential style paid off massively for me)
2. Psycho
3. Strangers on a Train (I loved Farley Granger after seeing him in Senso with Alida Valli, but he's far from the only thing I like about this one)
4. Rear Window (Thelma Ritter steals everything I've seen her in :lol: )
5. The Birds (probably as the making of it was just as fascinating as the film itself. Tippi Hedren vs Hitchcock is a Feud season waiting to happen)

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1. Vertigo
2. Rear Window.
3. Rope
4. Psycho
5. The man who knew too much

Also these are the only ones ive seen.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

PSYCHO
VERTIGO
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
ROPE
REAR WINDOW

Dial M for Murder
Rope
Vertigo
Strangers on a Train
Rebecca

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I'm surprised how many people are picking Rope, and I thought I would be the only one to put it in my top 5.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

It'd be on mine, too.

Some of your pictures don't work.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

The two images not working are The Lady Vanishes, and Dial M For Murder.

Well Rope is now off the top 5 I think now, cause I just saw Lifeboat, and have to put that one in my top 5 now, thereby bumping down Rope perhaps. Or perhaps Rear Window, but how do you choose between Rope and Rear Window, for your #5 spot?

5.North by Northwest
4.Rear Window
3.Vertigo
2.Les Diaboliques
1.The Wages of Fear

Heh, heh. You've thrown in a "ringer" here..:D The director of these two, Henri-Georges Clouzot, was nicknamed "the French Alfred Hitchcock". And rightfully so, since he was also a master of suspense. It's too bad that he was plagued with so many health problems. It would have been wonderful to see additional pictures from him.

I've seen Diaboliques, which is a splendid film. But I'll have to look for The Wages of Fear, with English subtitles.

~Doc

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

1) Dial M for Murder
2) Vertigo
3) Psycho
4) North by Northwest
5) Rear Window

Special mention to Shadow of a Doubt. The first Hitchcock movie I watched.

I'm always a little surprised when Rope, or for that matter, Rebecca appear at the top of "best" Hitchcock films.

Hitchcock considered Rope as something of an experiment. He stated in his lengthy Truffaut interviews: "I undertook Rope as a stunt; that's the only way I can describe it. I really don't know how I came to indulge in it."

To be sure, the film was interesting (inspired by the Leopold and Loeb murder of 1924), and technically it was a major milestone in terms of exceedingly long takes, which he notably increased in his subsequent Under Capricorn. But to my taste the film felt awkwardly self conscious, almost spoof-like. James Stewart was miscast as the detective, and even a gifted actor such as he could not bring off the incongruity.

The picture held one's interest because of Hitchcock's clever suspenseful tack of putting the body in the trunk, around which the story developed, and that, by itself, was memorable. But the picture had too much the feel of a second rate stage drama.

Rebecca was a fine film, but just not good Hitchcock. David O. Selznick severely restricted Hitchcock's input, although Hitchcock was able to insert some of the best parts of the film while Selznick was busy with Gone With the Wind. For example Selznick had stupidly wanted to spell out in smoke the letter "R" over the burning mansion. But Hitch came back and replaced it with a burning monogrammed "R" negligee box laying on top of a pillow. He shot only the film that was necessary, which limited Selznick's ability to come back and edit.

Anyway the choice between Rope and Rear Window would be very easy for me. In my view, Rope was a curio, whereas Rear Window is a masterpiece.

~Doc

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Yep I can see that. Rope does have some plot limitations in the second act perhaps. I just get sucked into it, cause I love the villain in te movie, and he might be Hitchcock's best villain. I also love the set they shot on, and it's probably the best of his one setting sets. But maybe I let that drive too much of it for me, when the second act might not have as much going on.

I came to the same conclusion.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

James Mason would have been awesome as Rupert! But I guess I just accepted Steward in the role, and didn't really think much of his persona on it. I guess one reason I feel I might like Rope possibly better than Rear Window is that Rope, has a real morality play in it, on the Rupert character having to decide if he is going to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak... Where as in Rear Window, the good guy is 100 percent good, and there is no moral conflict there, which is fine, but possibly a little less compelling in some ways, compared to Rope?

I like both Rope and Rear Window...James Stewart's character in Rear Window isn't 100 percent good, he's a peeping tom and Thelma Ritter warns him of the dangers of that action. That's what drives the story forward his lust to spy on his neighbors.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

That's true actually good point!

I hadn't realized that Clift had been considered for Rope. He would have been great in either criminal role. There was always an underlying neurosis in Clift's on screen persona, so he'd have been ideal for Phillip.

I agree that Granger was not perfectly suitable for this role. OTOH he was fine in Strangers on a Train, because he didn't have to seem unusually bright.

~Doc

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I thought Granger was good in the role, and I think Rope is better than Strangers on a Train anyway.

I watched Rear Window again and perhaps I do give slight edge to it over Rope on this viewing. So I guess my Hitchcock top 5 are now:

1. Vertigo
2. Lifeboat
3. Psycho
4. Dial M for Murder
5. Rear Window

I wrote this a year ago, and this list hasn't changed. There's still a few Hitch films I need to see and even more that I'd like to revisit.

That's a good point, CR. For example to my taste Lifeboat was a very well made picture, but it's not one of my favorite Hitchcock's.

Foreign Correspondent is one of his great films that's often overlooked. It was a superb production-- his next after Rebecca. And it was one of my personal most enjoyable films of his. It was up for best picture in 1940, along with Rebecca, receiving 6 category Oscar nominations.

He stated that he wanted big stars for the leads, but he didn't have the reputation yet to attract the biggest of the big. But Joel McCrea and Laraine Day were first rate in their roles, and there were wonderful supporting performances by Herbart Marshall, George Sanders, and Robert Benchley.

~Doc

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

I still have to finish Foreign Correspondent. I tried watching the first half a couple of years ago, but I felt it was too popcorn-ish, and bit corny, and maybe a bit too escapist, but maybe I need to finish it to the end.

How come Frenzy never took off as big as other Hitchcock movies? I feel that as far as serial killer thrillers go, than in some ways Frenzy was more suspenseful than Psycho, yet it never took off the same way. Why is that, out of curiosity?

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

These are my top 5 Hitchcock films so far, there are a fair few of his films that I haven't seen though.

1. Notorious
2. North by Northwest
3. The Lady Vanishes
4. Vertigo
5. The Birds

This is tough, but I'll try!

North by Northwest
Lifeboat
Rear Window
Strangers on a Train
Psycho

You make a good point. I think by 1972 Hitchcock's appeal had faded somewhat, following several comparatively lackluster films (Marnie, Topaz, Torn curtain). I distinctly recall feeling that way myself at the time, but hoping for another Hitch masterpiece.

Yet Frenzy is a very fine film, which I'd certainly put in the middle of his finer productions. It had all of his famous tenets: suspense, humor, and revealing the perpetrator right at the beginning. But it didn't have a big star.

In fact it's time for a re-watch....... tonight.

~Doc

I haven't seen enough of Hitch's work to come up with a legit top five, but I will say that Psycho is probably his masterpiece, The Birds has enormous re-watch appeal, and I was impressed with Vertigo and Rear Window. I would also mention that Notorious features my favorite Ingrid Bergman performance.

Have you seen The Trouble With Harry (1955)? You'd like it and that's my Hitch recommendation for you.

I think mine would look something like this...

1. Vertigo
2. Psycho
3. Dial M for Murder
4. Rear Window
5. Strangers on a Train

This is true of me too. Even though I made my top five, I've only seen about a third of his movies.

I've seen most of his movies, and he didn't make any bad ones.

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

The only movie I saw of his so far, where I found it to be quite disappointing, and I thought he was off his fame, was The Wrong Man.

I liked that one, but it was quite different than his usually movies, more like a docu-drama I'd say. What didn't you like about it?

Re: Top 5 of Hitchcock
 

Well I didn't like how the main character's problem was solved so easily mainly. He has all the cards stacked against him and then the real guy gets caught so easily, and then the main character is free as a bird, so it felt very anti-climatic to me. It's not a bad movie per say, and the first half was actually quite solid, it's just so far beneath Hitchcock's other efforts it seems for me.