favorite hitchcock

[Guest godthedog]

it's about that time again. just list your favorite hitchcock movie(s) and why.

 

i flip-flip between 'rear window' and 'vertigo'. at the moment, it's 'rear window', cause grace kelly was a goddess.

 

'notorious' is another personal favorite of mine, for being more subtle and elegant than most of his later stuff. almost no superficial action, with all the tension under the surface that just unfolds beautifully.

[Guest Slapnuts00]

We're watching Hitchcock in our film studies class! We just watched Pscyo. That was really good (although weird), and we're watching The Birds now. That's kinda cheesy on modern viewing.

[Guest El Satanico]

North by Northwest

Vertigo

Rear Window

 

To me those three are perfect examples of a "Hitchcock movie". If someone says they want to see a Hitchcock movie to see what he's all about, one of those is what you should suggest to them.

 

 

Shadow of a Doubt is one of my personal favorites. It's just such a dark theme for the time it was made in. I feel that it was way ahead of it's time. Sure there were oter dark films at that time, but unlike Shadow of A Doubt most of them were film noir and mainly featured Detectives.

 

 

I also liked Rope, which is a Hitchcock movie that isn't mentioned very often. I liked it because it was inventive and was a good example of Hitchcock not being afraid to be experimental.

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

North by Northwest was my favorite film for a long time and it's still in my top five. As El Satanico mentioned, it's a pretty typical Hitchcock film that really speaks to what he was all about as a director. The acting is great, the story unfolds at a sharp pace and the ending at Mount Rushmore is very inventive.

 

Like Stairway to Heaven, Psycho and The Birds are overplayed and have pretty much lost their greatness due to it. They also come from Hitchcock's later period where he was experimenting with horror more than suspense. Of his later work, I find Marnie to be very underrated and actually find Family Plot to be a lot of fun and it stars some very unsung talent is different roles for them (Bruce Dern, William Devane, Karen Black and Barbara Harris).

 

Of other films: Rope is interesting, but I find it a little flat. Spellbound has a fascinating dream sequence designed by Salvador Dali, but it doesn't sit too well with me overall, Bergman and Peck are sleep walking through it. To Catch a Thief, Vertigo and Rear Window are must sees. Shadow of a Doubt features a brilliant performance by Joseph Cotton. Rebecca is a must see as it was Hitchcock's first Hollywood film and the only one to win best picture. And just let me name drop Notorious and Strangers on a Train.

[Guest Mole]

I've only seen Pshyco and Notorious.

 

So I'll go with Notorious.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

North by Northwest.

[Guest Marshall]

I haven't seen many. I'll go with The Birds. I could see that getting remade with more realistic CGI birds, but way less scary.

[Guest ArkhamGlobe]

Notorious is my personal favorite for pretty much the reasons godthedog listed, hardly any action but still builds tension and suspense so skillfully and beautifully (it reminds me alot of Claude Chabrol in that respect, though it should be the other way around).

 

Honorable mention goes to Vertigo, Psycho and North by Northwest, and while Rope may have some dramatic flaws, as a cinematic tour-de-force it still remains hugely impressive for me personally.

[Guest Harry Hood]

So far, I think it would be Strangers on a Train. Just an awesome movie with a great over the top villain. Seconds go to Rear Window.

 

Yet I still have to see North by Northwest and Vertigo

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

North by Northwest

[Guest Lethargic]

I've always liked Rope and Lifeboat more than his big thrillers.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

I've missed out on so many Hitchcocks that I'm going to have to take the easy way out and say North by Northwest rather than shamefully list all the Hitchcock I haven't seen.

 

And I never liked The Birds... it was always too cheesy to me. If it was done by somebody else it'd slide, but not by Hitchcock. I mean, come on, the scene with the gasoline where it cuts back and forth to Melanie's face and each time it's in a different position of "shock"? I can't help but laugh at that... and even though it's more light-hearted than his other fare, that's still something I don't like to do at Hitchcock films.

[Guest godthedog]

hitchcock was ALWAYS cheesy and artificial, & he never pretended that it was anything other than a movie. how can you not laugh out loud at the scene in 'north by northwest' where cary grant gets framed?

[Guest IDrinkRatsMilk]

Personally, I like Frenzy. It's darker and more gratuitous (which are qualities I look for in a movie) than a lot of his other work, but still rooted in the suspense and all that jazz.

[Guest crandamaniac]

I haven't seen many. I'll go with The Birds. I could see that getting remade with more realistic CGI birds, but way less scary.

They made a Birds 2 a few years ago, it wasn't that good.

 

I've always liked Vertigo myself, course that's manly cuz of Jimmy Stewart's great performance. Have Psycho, but haven't seen it yet

[Guest Ravenbomb]

yeah, Birds Two was directed by that Alan Smithee guy, so you know it wasn't any good.

 

Psycho is and will always be my fav. Hitchcock movie

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

there's a lot of good ones obviously, but Rear Window just ruthlessly dominates them all. That may be my favorite movie ever.

[Guest cabbageboy]

I will say the usual stuff: Psycho, North By Northwest. That said I wonder why no one has mentioned his older stuff that was cool like 39 Steps and Lady Vanishes? 39 Steps practically invented the "innocent man on the run" plotline.

[Guest Lethargic]

The problem is that almost all of them kick ass. Lady Vanishes did. But I can't think of many I didn't like besides Frenzy and Topaz. I don't remember if it was Sabotage or Saboteur but one of those I really liked. haha

[Guest godthedog]

'spellbound' was pretty bad. and 'the paradine case' was painfully mediocre.

 

'the man who knew too much' (the 50s one with jimmy stewart) was pretty good, but overall kind of vanilla.