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.
Lifeboat and Jamaica Inn
These were early ones and often overlooked.
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The Lady Vanishes is my number one Alfred Hitchcock film but the rest below are not in any order.
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My faves:
5. Rear Window
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
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
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
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
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.
5. Rear Window
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
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
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
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
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.
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Right now, all I'm wearing is a mustard-stained wife-beater T-shirt, no pants & a massive sombrero.
Right now, all I'm wearing is a mustard-stained wife-beater T-shirt, no pants & a massive sombrero.
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Anthony Perkins is so creepy in that movie. He carries it.
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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
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
Last edited by linespalsy; 02-16-13 at 06:48 PM.
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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.
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.
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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.
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lines, you "dislike" nine Hitchcock movies. How many DePalma films do you dislike?
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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 like. These are the ones I don't (some I think are okay):
North by Northwest
Family Plot
Strangers on a Train
Dial M for Murder
Foreign Correspondent
Rebecca
Spellbound
Stage Fright
Topaz
2. Vertigo
3. The Birds
4. The 39 Steps
5. Frenzy
and then...
Psycho
Rope
A Lady Vanishes
those are the ones I like. These are the ones I don't (some I think are okay):
North by Northwest
Family Plot
Strangers on a Train
Dial M for Murder
Foreign Correspondent
Rebecca
Spellbound
Stage Fright
Topaz
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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.
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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
1. Vertigo
2. Psycho
3. North by Northwest
4. Rear Window
5. Rope
Last edited by DocHoliday; 04-05-18 at 10:17 PM.
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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.
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.