Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

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Just thought I would set up a thread for cinema's greatest genius, the man who sparked my interest in film, Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock. Some of his most notable works, for any new fans of the Master of Suspense that happen to stumble over here:

Psycho (1960)

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Vertigo (1958)

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Rear Window (1954)

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North By Northwest (1959)

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The Birds (1963)

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The 39 Steps (1935)

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Notorious (1946)

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Rebecca (1940)

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Hitchcock began his career in England, directing silent films in the 20's. Eventually, he left for Hollywood in 1940 after directing sound masterpieces in England such as The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes. Hitch worked for producer David O. Selznick until 1946, when he directed one of his most acclaimed motion pictures, Notorious. The 1950's proved to be Hitchcock's heyday, when he directed a string of classics including Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Dial M For Murder, To Catch a Thief, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, and North By Northwest. The 60's began with what would become the director's signature work, Psycho. Three years later Hitchcock filmed The Birds, now regarded as his last great masterpiece. Alfred Hitchcock's last film was Family Plot in 1976, and he passed away four years later in 1980. Feel free to share your own opinions about Hitchcock and his work, favorite movies of his, etc. :)

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

His legend is well-deserved.

Marnie (1964) constitutes a brave, haunting, daring character study that defies audience expectation and desire (and the film therefore fails to receive the acclaim that it deserves). The technical filmmaking isn't necessarily on the level of Hitchcock's best, but the unsentimental poignancy and ironic combination of austerity and sensitivity strike an unusual and thus memorable note. In effect, Hitchcock subverts the thriller genre that he made famous.

The director is renowned for his mastery of suspense, balletic set-pieces, dramatic montage, and stark yet refined compositions. But Hitchcock's greatest gift may have been his ability to seamlessly blend the glamour of Hollywood's Golden Age with transgressing themes and modernistic motifs. In that regard, he appears peerless.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

HitchFan, have you seen Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt?

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I have not, but it's in my watchlist. I've heard that Hitchcock called it his favorite of all his movies.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

My all time favourite Hitchcock film:

http://hitchcock.tv/mov/lady_vanishes/images/lady.jpg
The Lady Vanishes

Also, as Shampoo has already mentioned:

http://movies.maxupdates.tv/wp-conte.../01/Marnie.jpg
Marnie

And I really enjoyed:

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Family Plot


From what I can remember, Rear Window was the very first Hitchcock film I saw and still adore it. Brilliant.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Most important name in movie history...

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North By NorthWest is his best film for me. Man redefined cinema for a new generation.

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Call me crazy, but I think North By Northwest is slightly overrated. It's a great film, , but I expected a bit more from a film regarded as one of the 3 or 4 best that Hitchcock ever made. It just seemed to lack the depth of his other great masterpieces (Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window), and as a result I found it a bit less interesting. It is in definite need of a rewatch, however.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

well whenever your ready HitchFan97.

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I agree HitchFan97 with North by Northwest, same for Vertigo actually. Good films though.

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*Gasp* I LLLLOOOOVVVE Vertigo! But I can certainly see why someone might find it overrated. It does lack the entertainment value of Psycho or Rear Window, my other favorite Hitchcock movies.

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I still like it, enough to visit various places where they filmed around San Francisco. :D

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The Birds. Best "Nature vs. Humans" thriller.

You lucky bastard! :D

if I ever go to San Francisco, i'm making a beeline for all the locations.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

I haven't seen all Hitchcock movies yet, but I must say that the only one I didn't like so far (I have to watch it one more time then) is Vertigo. and Vertigo is considered his best work :(
I have to re-watch it!
I enjoy Rope 1000x more than Vertigo.
Still by saying Vertigo is the best, this guy is saying that Vertigo is better than Marnie, The Birds and Psycho ? wow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVj_VyZbADk

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Vertigo is the director's most personal work; it's a metaphor for Hitchcock's treatment of his actresses. His camera techniques are also at their most expressionistic there, and the acting is perhaps the best in any Hitchcock film. The cinematography is flawless and Herrmann's score rivals the one he wrote for Psycho. No, it's not as crowd-pleasingly entertaining as some of the other films Hitch made, but I certainly didn't find it boring the first time I watched it.

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Best acting fron Kim Novack who was extremely inconsistent, sometimes good and sometimes very not.

Marnie sucks and Birds is uneven.

It is really a comedy and has to be viewed on those terms.

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Perhaps it is a bit unfair of me to criticize NbNW for lacking the depth of Hitchcock's other masterpieces when it is just supposed to be simple entertainment, but I don't think it has any more Hitchcock dark humor than some of his other films, such as Rear Window. But like I said, it is in need of a rewatch. When I first viewed NbNW I had already seen several Hitchcock films that had affected me on a deeper level; that said, it was probably a mistake to watch the film expecting the same.

As for Marnie: it's definitely not one of Hitchcock's best movies, but I wouldn't say it sucks. As I wrote in the Movie Tab, it's one of the director's most psychologically focused films, along with Vertigo. And I love The Birds, but it does get off to a somewhat slow start.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

North by Nortwest has more pure comedy than any other Hitchcock movie. The premise is basically a joke, a man is mistakenly identified for someone who doesn't exist. The auction scene is pure comedy, the early car chase scene is a mixture of thrills and comedy, and the dialogue is filled with one liners. No other Hitchcock movie comes close to being as funny, the closest is The Lady Vanishes.

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The Trouble With Harry is a hoot and a half.

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I have yet to see that one... it's on my Hitchcock boxset though, so I should check it out soon.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Marnie:
Changed my life!!!!!
It teach me to have mercy on people as somethings could be psychological, before I knew about psychology!
I wish there were more movies like this that teach society something!!!!
Only movie I ever learned something about life from lol.
Connery& Tippi acting awesome!
The birds is a masterpiece I dont know how somebody would be able to make a movie credible about birds attacking humans today, I dont know how Hitchcock did that seriously.
Marnie is the most psychologically film I ever seen it is like almost clinical.
It is like a college seminar or something lol.

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I just watched Vertigo again, pff one of the best movie ever made!!!
What was I thinking the first time ?

Wait, so you did or didn't like the movie?

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I didnt like it the first time I saw it as I had a high wrong expectations of it being like north by northwest(even though back then I havent even NbyN yet, I saw NbyN after Vertigo) instead of a crime love drama like Vertigo is.
But I do love Vertigo now!
The movie is perfect

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Indeed it is :yup:

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My favourite film by him are Strangers on the Train and Rear Window.

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North By Northwest & Dial M For Murder are my absolute favourites from Hitchcock.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Just re-watched Vertigo, as deliriously dark and tragic as I remember it. Still a masterpiece that gets better with each viewing.

HitchFan, not sure if you ever read the old Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigator books. Most everyone does not even know what the series is if you just go up and ask people, evidently there really big in Germany though, and they released 2 movies Terror Castle and Skeleton Island, took me forever to get a copy of one of them if your interested I put up a review or a bash, whatever you wanna call it.

http://www.movieforums.com/community...d.php?p=780912

I have only seen a few Hitchcock films but I recently saw Rope and out of the few I have seen I thought that Rope was the best. I really do need to watch more Hitchcock, but my watchlist is a mile long but someday soon I promise.

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^ The Hitchcock neon sign in Rope, plus the way Rope was made to look like it was filmed in one shot was also a genius thing to do.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

^Interesting review, I had never heard of the books or movies up until now. I love Rope too, one of Hitchcock's best films. The one shot trick was awesome :yup:

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why thumbs down? I know you guys are pretty much into those movies! But I don't really get to watch it especially in this era! I'm more like on the new stuff bout movies! and Resident Evil happens to be one of the new and cool ones... :)

and here is the appropriate thread for that. bye now.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Well didn't know where to post an official ratings list of Hitchcock so here it is:

39 Steps- 4/10
Rebecca- 6/10
Notorious- 6.5/10 (though I enjoy it probably higher than I rate it)
Rope 5/10
Strangers on a Train 6.5/10 (ditto with Notorious)
Dial M for Murder 8/10
Rear Window 10/10
To Catch a Thief 7/10
The Man who knew too much 5/10
Vertigo 8/10
North by Northwest 9.5/10
Psycho 8.5/10
The Birds 7/10

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Today is Hitchcock's birthday. Happy Birthday Hitch!

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

I'm sure I've posted my ratings plenty of times elsewhere, but:

North by Northwest

Vertigo

Psycho

Shadow of a Doubt

Rear Window

Dial M For Murder

Strangers on a Train

The Birds

To Catch a Thief

Rope

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Actually it was shot in 12 takes, but it's got a very nice editing. Most shots end and start from the zoom in or out from actor's back. It's probably in my 3 fav Hitchcock films along with Psycho and Vertigo.

'Made to look like' ;) but yeh Rope is a good film, but I watched it again recently and whilst its got a good concept and I liked the idea, I don't think it's one of Hitchcock's best.

Have you seen Shadow of a Doubt? I'm not sure how much you like film noirs, because I would say it's pretty close to being one, but I think it's up there with Hitchcock's best and has a great atmosphere plus a top performance from Cotton.

What an useless hack:

The Manxman (1929) -
Number 17 (1932) -
The 39 steps (1935) -
The lady vanishes (1938) -
Rebecca (1940) -
Shadow of a doubt (1943) -
Lifeboat (1944) -
Notorious (1946) -
Rope (1948) -
Strangers on a train (1951) -
Rear window (1954) -
Vertigo (1958) -
North by Northwest (1959) -
Psycho (1960) -
The birds (1963) -
Frenzy (1972) -

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

He's no Brian De Palma.

Rebecca (1940) -
Shadow of a doubt (1943) -
Lifeboat (1944) -
Notorious (1946) -
Rope (1948) -
Rear window (1954) -
To Catch a Thief (1955) -
The Man Who Knew To Much (1956) -
Vertigo (1958) -
North by Northwest (1959) -
Psycho (1960) -
The Birds (1963) -
Marnie (1964) -
Frenzy (1972) -

No other director made that much quality movies.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

I've seen more films from him than any other director, and he is by far the most consistently awesome filmmaker I know of. I have him to thank for my interest in movies to begin with. Happy birthday!!

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Oh yes. He's one of the best and probably my favorite as well.

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Only seen 3 films from Hitchcock but they're all great. Will see more of his work soon.

That may be the nicest comment you've ever made! :cool:

Out of four:

ROPE (1948) - ***1/4
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) - ***1/4
DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954) - ***1/2
REAR WINDOW (1954) - ****
TO CATCH A THIEF (1955) - ***1/4
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956) - ***
VERTIGO (1958) - ****
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) - ***1/2
PSYCHO (1960) - ***1/2
THE BIRDS (1963) - ***1/4
MARNIE (1964) - ***
FRENZY (1972) - ***1/4

I haven't watched much:

Notorious
Dial M for Murder
Rear Window
Vertigo +
North by Northeast
Psycho
The Birds

Most of his films were good except Notorious which I found rather boring. I also didn't like the whole "Nazis in Brazil" plot for obvious reasons. Vertigo is the one that scared me the most and that I found the most impressive, I only didn't like the ending that much though.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Good timing. I saw Notorious tonight and really enjoyed it, as I usually do with Hitch's work.

And since I haven't posted here yet:

Vertigo +
Psycho
North by Northwest +
Notorious
Dial M for Murder
Rear Window -, due a rewatch
Rope
To Catch a Thief

I feel a Hitch binge coming on.

:facepalm:

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

A local theater screened Rope last night, and it was awesome. I'd seen it 2-3 times before but it'd been years, and I'd forgotten how many brilliant little details and touches are in that film.

http://andrewsidea.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/rope.jpg

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Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

^ Rope is awesome. Way ahead of it's time imo.

Vertigo is my personal favorite, simply one of the most stunning movies of all time.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Wow didn't know there was a thread for Hitchcock! (On second thought, obviously hehe)

I love his films and he's hands down my favourite director of all time! Vertigo being my fav of his, probably, closely followed by Rear Window.

There is no denying the genius of Hitchcock and I will admit that there is a large portion of his work that I haven't seen, but what I have seen I have definitely learned to appreciate. I know it's not a popular opinion on these boards, but The Birds is my favorite Hitchcock film. The film is a master class in the art of building cinematic suspense...I love that scene where Tippi Hedren is sitting on a bench smoking a cigarette while birds start gathering on a jungle gym behind her. I saw an interview with Hitch once where he was talking about how to build suspense in a movie. He said if you put a bomb in a room and it goes off, you have a three second scare and it's over. Instead, put a bomb under a table and show it ticking and show people sitting at the table having a discussion unaware that there is a bomb under the table, you start yelling at the screen, "Stop talking, there's a bomb under the table!"

I love North by Northwest and Psycho...I don't know which is the bigger masterpiece. The performance that Hitch pulled out of Tony Perkins for Psycho is a revelation and I still can't believe he was not nominated for an Oscar. I absolutely love Notorious, the film that contains my favorite Ingrid Bergman performance. Again, North by Northwest is another master class in building suspense...the first time I watched the crop duster scene, I was literally holding my breath. I have to confess that I have never seen Vertigo, but it is on my 2015 watchlist.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

I've never seen Marnie, but reading what you wrote made me want to add it to my watchlist.

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Despite the circle-jerking on Vertigo, it will forever be his masterpiece, it's great and personal film. Psycho is a great prank, but not much more. He's a technical master and an innovator, but many of his films lacks emotion and soul. They're fun to watch though, I mean its popcorn movies, which is okay.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

Can Alfred Hitchcock's entire filmography be apart of this site's user checklists? Apologizes if someone asked this question before.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

39 Steps
Sabotage
The Lady Vanishes
Rebecca
Suspicion
Saboteur
Shadow of a Doubt
Lifeboat
Spellbound
Notorious
Rope
Strangers on a Train
I Confess
Rear Window
Dial M for Murder
The Trouble with Harry
To Catch a Thief
The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956
Vertigo
North by Northwest
Psycho
The Birds
Marnie
Topaz
Frenzy

Pretty sure this is every film I have seen of Mr. H.

Re: Official Alfred Hitchcock Thread
 

He reminds me of Stanley Kubrick
WHO'S BETTER ?
hahaha

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Respect to mr. Hitchcock from Latvia. Movies like Psycho and Vertigo can i always make my day.

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Thoughts on Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945)? Just saw it today and like any other Hitch film, it's instantly absorbing. I loved it. Interested to hear what you guys have to say about it. It often goes under the radar over his various masterpieces but I think it deserves more appreciation.

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My favourite Hitchcock film is The Birds which I've enjoyed since childhood and while objectively it's not his best story, the bird attacks are pure thrilling entertainment, I think the slow buildup of the action to present the characters also works out really well.

In terms of story, direction and characters, Lifeboat might be my favourite, it's incredible what he could do with only one scenario and a handful of actors. Tallulah Bankhead obviously had the showier role and made marvels with it, but the rest of the cast was very consistent too. It also presented a very interesting conflict, considering WWII had not yet reached its end.

Respect to mr. Hitchcock from Latvia.

Hitchcock for the Holidays Teaser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9363L_UbxKA

VERY nice collection. I wonder how much it costs?

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I think that's just on the Criterion Collection

It's on the 'Criterion channel' for $10,- a month; https://www.criterionchannel.com/dir...fred-hitchcock

$10/month is reasonable. Does one have to have a cable subscription package to access it? Presumably it can be subscribed to via Roku or other. And can films be selected for streaming, or do they simply offer continuous programming similar to TCM?

Thanks,
~Doc

The Lady Vanishes, Jamaica Inn, Dial M for Murder, Notorious and Sabatoge are on Tubi. Saw Jamaica Inn last night. It was OK.

Selected/click for streaming at any time you want, not sure but I don't think you'll need a cable subscription for it.
~Conner

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Two of his most underrated movies I have seen are Lifeboat and Frenzy. I might put these both in his top 3 next to Vertigo, but people do not hold these ones as high.

I would never think to rank either of them as Top 3, but both would definitely be in a top 10 for me

I agree. Lifeboat and Frenzy would definitely be in Hitchcock's top 40 or so..;)

Without tallying them, the two would not likely be higher than the low 20s to my taste. Lifeboat did have an ingenious method of having Hitchcock appear..:cool: