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Your Top 5 Hitchcock Films...

Sorry for exhuming this cadaver of a thread, but a couple of insomniac nights spent watching old Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes got me to check for a discussion here, already in progress. :)
MAC TED said:
Btw, CHARADE was directed by Stanley Donen.
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I'll see your Stanley Charade and raise you one. :D A similar film Donen made was Arabesque (Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren), similar because it riffs on that same "secret identity" vibe. It's a little more serious than Charade, but the only thing awkward I found was Gregory Peck attempting some forced humor. I still like it, though.

In a similar "thriller" vibe, I could also recommend Experiment in Terror, which was directed by Blake Edwards. I think it was his only thriller, and I found it well done. Features Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, and a teenaged Stephanie Powers.

BTW, there is a common theme tying all three films together.... ;)

And now, for a word from Hitchcock...
trhee said:
1. Vertigo
2. Psycho
3. Rear Window
4. North By Northwest
5. Shadow Of A Doubt
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Good picks! In my list, I can pick five, but not put them in a particular order: Vertigo, North by Northwest, Strangers On A Train, Rear Window and probably Psycho. And Psycho I might switch out for one or another of my favorites like The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Dial M For Murder, Rope (partly due to the convoluted way in which they filmed it), To Catch A Thief, or even Rebecca and Notorious, depending on mood.
 
Strangers On A Train
North by Northwest
Notorious
Shadow of a Doubt
Psycho

Psycho (and to a lesser extent, The Birds) suffers greatly from overexposure, but it's one heck of a gothic masterpiece, with very little that needs changing almost 60 years later. And very influential. Shadow of a Doubt was Hitch's own personal favorite. I like its unassuming, almost deceptively modest milieu--and especially its black humour. My next favorite would probably be Rebecca, and then The Birds. It's worthwhile reading up on how the effects were achieved in that film, long before the advent of CGI.

ETA: An oft-overlooked gem is The Wrong Man (1956) starring Henry Fonda as a jazz player caught in a case of mistaken identity. As he fights for his freedom, his wife loses her mind (literally). It's one of the most disturbing films Hitch ever made, and adapted from a true story. Includes a masterfully understated performance by Fonda in the lead as well as a compelling and frightening turn by Vera Miles as his wife. Downbeat though, you've been warned.
 
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Ouch, how could I forget The Wrong Man?? Not only is it based on a true story (and was even filmed in the neighborhood at some of the same locations)--even today, it still can happen and does happen. The text at the end of the movie was added by the studio against Hitchcock's objections--apparently in real life, Rose Balestrero (Vera Miles) never recovered from the incident:

The film’s final shot (of a family strolling in a tropical setting) and on-screen words (that Rose was released two years later completely cured and the family lived happily ever after) were added by the studio, over Hitchcock’s loud objections. In fact the Balestreros never recovered from the lived nightmare, but the truth was not permitted to interfere with Hollywood’s need for a traditional happy ending in 1956. (Donald Spoto, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock.)​
 
I own every film (that survived) that Hitch directed. Hard to pick favorites but I'll list some
of my most enjoyable.

The Manxman (Silent 1929)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Rope (1948)
The Birds (1963)

IMHO ... Hitch started out as a Silent Movie director and that is the key to understanding
his skill with using the camera to convey meaning.

Would highly recommend buying books on Hitch's films for "behind
the scenes" details.

The Criterion releases are my favorite physical media copies.
 
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Vertigo (I think one has to have gone to Catholic school to fully appreciate this movie.)
North by Northwest
Rear Window
The Man who Knew too Much (Day and Stewart)
Dial M for Murder

I’m obviously big on his 1950s movies.
 
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The 39 Steps
The Lady Vanishes
Rebecca
Rear Window -- my absolute favorite.
North By Northwest
 
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Condorsat said:
Would highly recommend buying books on Hitch's films for "behind
the scenes" details.
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The Donald Spoto book I quoted from above can get a little long-winded and be a bit of a dry read at times, but it really fills in a lot of how Hitch shot the films, little "devices" that would have gone right over my head. It definitely made them more enjoyable. The chapter on Vertigo is especially long, but the idea for this book came out of a long analysis he had done on Vertigo.
 
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English Hitchcock is one of my favorite books on Hitch. It covers the 23 films
he made in Britain.

Really like this period of his work and contrary to what Hitch once said ... they were more than
"the work of a talented amateur" IMHO.
 
Rear Window
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Dial M for Murder
Rope
Suspicion, if it had been made with Hitchcock's original ending.
 
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nailer said:
Suspicion, if it had been made with Hitchcock's original ending.
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Strangers On A Train had a US ending and a UK ending, and some other minor differences. The UK ending I like better. IIRC the DVD had both versions.

parman said:
Suprised no one liked Saboteur
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I've seen it. I also saw no mention of The Paradine Case, or Family Plot (which I never cared for). There are a couple past Psycho I have not yet seen either.
 
I enjoyed family plot ... not one of my favorites but I liked it. Actor Bruce Dern (stared in) has some great
stories about filming that movie and some insights on Hitch's way of looking at actors & filming.

 
Condorsat said:
IMHO ... Hitch started out as a Silent Movie director and that is the key to understanding
his skill with using the camera to convey meaning.
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Definitely agree. Much of his work can be viewed (and understood) with the dialogue removed.
Though you'd seldom want to, as the dialogue is often arch.

Tom Brennan said:
Vertigo (I think one has to have gone to Catholic school to fully appreciate this movie.)
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Well that would explain a lot! I didn't go to Catholic school.

parman said:
Suprised no one liked Saboteur
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I loved it! Been a long time since I saw it though.
 
parman said:
Suprised no one liked Saboteur
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Robert Cummings was not the most galvanizing leading man Hollywood ever produced. In fact, he reminds me a little bit of Mr. Rogers when I see him on screen. If Hitchcock had made a film called "Let's Stare At Priscilla Lane" instead, I probably would have watched the movie all the way through at least once.
 
1. Psycho (one of the most brilliant and original narrative structures ever conceived on film!)
2. Rear Window
3. Spellbound (have played the theremin solo in concert twice!)
4. North By Northwest
5. The Birds/Strangers On A Train/Shadow Of A Doubt/39 Steps/Saboteur/Stage Fright :biggrin:
 
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