"Nobody ever invented a polite word for a killin' yet." - The Alfred Hitchcock Discussion Thread

Here is a place to discuss and debate the work of the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. My personal favorite of his films is Rear Window followed closely by Vertigo.

 

My personal fav is Psycho. I think that Tony Perkins even added (if that's possible) to the greatness of a Hitch film. You feel so sorry for Norman...

I also love Rope.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

North By Northwest
Rope
And The 39 Steps

Three great films. Can't belive that 39 was given away as a free gift by a magazine.

Vertigo is my least favourite. Too much a critics film I feel.

 

...have to go with "Vertigo", followed by "Dial M for Murder", "Frenzy" and "The Trouble with Harry"...

Nice title for this thread

 

Vertigo was his best. After that, Notorious, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Rope, Suspicion and Shadow of a Doubt all bunch up so I can't tell for sure what's my favorite.

Trouble With Harry is not nearly as funny as North by Northwest or Shadow of a Doubt . . .

And avoid Mr. and Mrs. Smith at all cost. I'd rather kill my firstborn than watch that one again.

 

Any movie with Carol Lombard I can watch no matter how bad. REAR WINDOW is my absolute favorite Hitchcock movie. Hitchcock said it himself:"It was an exercise in pure cinema."

 

Just don't expect it to be Hitch. It's not.

I loved some of the little touches of Rear Window: all the sound is natural, all the shots originate from Stewart's apartment, etc. Such brilliant little touches like that show why Hitch is such a genius.

 

What about him not winning an Oscar for Director?

His one award (as a producer), made him give possibly the short speech ever.

`Thank you. Very Much.'

 

And of course his films were never nominated for half the Oscars they deserved. Vertigo didn't even get a nod for Best Picture, being not well received at the time.

It's totally incomprehensible to me, looking back, how anyone could miss the sheer genius of his films . . .

 

Nobody ever invented a polite word for a killin' yet

UGH! I watched that movie recently, and now I'm going nuts trying to remember which film it was. Help?


His one award (as a producer), made him give possibly the short speech ever.

Which movie? Didn't he get best director for Rebecca?

Anyway, my favorite Hitchcocks:
North By Northwest
Pyscho
Rope
Vertigo
Rear Window
Birds
39 Steps
Rebecca
Noterious
Stranger on a Train

Worst Hitchcock movie: Under Capricorn. Even with Joseph Cotton in it, it was still bad.

I just bought Spellbound, a movie I haven't seen in years. I hope it's good.

EDIT -- Oh, hey, I just watched the Europian release of Stranger on a Train about a month ago, and I cannot figure out what the extra two minutes of footage is. In fact, I noticed a little footage that the American version had that the Europian version didn't. Anyone know anything about this?

 

The quote is from Rear Window, spoken by Thelma Ritter.

I just noticed that Pozzi commented that Vertigo was too much of a 'critic's film.' Interesting considering that Vertigo was by and large critically panned for years . . .

 

`Which movie? Didn't he get best director for Rebecca?'

You're thinking of Best Picture, which it did get.

`In fact, I noticed a little footage that the American version had that the Europian version didn't. Anyone know anything about this?'

I thought it was the europian version that had homosexuality alluded to? I could be wrong. But I'm sure that's the added footage.

`Interesting considering that Vertigo was by and large critically panned for years . . .'

Good point, but now the critics love it, but it's not something that's has broad appeal.

 

I thought it was the europian version that had homosexuality alluded to? I could be wrong. But I'm sure that's the added footage.

That's what it says on the box, but I've watched both versions and can't see a difference. I was wondering which specific scenes were cut. Two minutes is enough time for one or two short scenes.

Good point, but now the critics love it, but it's not something that's has broad appeal.

I hated Vertigo when I first saw it, but now I love it. It is very haunting, the only problem is it's too darn slow.

 

Has anyone here ever seen Charade staring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant? It was written by what could be called "Hitchcock's understudy," and in my opinion is better than anything the maestro ever put out. Almost too much fun for a single movie! .

~PAd

 

Charade is a classic. I heard some film critic, I forget who, call it the best Hitchcock film not made by Hitchcock. I agree.

You've got Cary Grant, you've got sophisticated humour, you've got a twist at the end, you've got an incredibly tense climax. It's near perfection, all right.

 

I've actually studied Hitchcock and after watching all of his movies(except for the silent movies) my favorite is Strangers on A Train. Psycho or Vertigo would come in 2nd. He never made a movie I didn't like. Even his last movie, Family Plot, was good.

 

Even Frenzy? I haven't watched it yet, but it looks like crap.

 

Oh, Frenzy's good. If there was one Hitchcock movie I wouldn't reccomend it would be Waltzes from Vienna. Not a very Hitchcockian movie.

 

Some of my favorites are Notorious, Suspicion, Vertigo and North by Northwest. Rear Window is a true classic that everyone should see. It was an almost perfect mix of suspense, Grace Kelly glamour and humor.

I think you will like Spellbound Darth_Stryphe. Look for an interesting Dream scene designed by Salvatore Dali.

For its ability to scare you have to go with Psyco, For glamour, and Style, To Catch a Thief, For humor, The Trouble with Harry.

I like the Birds for making such a benign thing so very menacing. I believe the ending of that one was supposed to be a shot of the Golden Gate bridge covered in Birds, but it was deemed to intense at the time.

 

I believe you're correct about the Golden Gate bridge shot. It was originally planned, but scrapped.

So, am I the only one who finds North by Northwest funnier than The Trouble With Harry? Everyone else seemed to like The Trouble With Harry, but I didn't really.

 

I don't know if I'd say funnier, but I liked NBNW more than TTWH.

 

Personally, I laughed more at Grant's interaction with his mother than at anything that happened in The Trouble With Harry. Same with the murder planning neighbours of Shadow of a Doubt.

 

Spellbound was good. Pretty easy to figure out who the murderer was, though.

It struck me, as I watched it, that Marnie is just a remake of Spellbound.

Also, I noticed on the back of the box, it said Spellbound was up for six Oscars and won for best score. Anyone know what the other six Oscars were?

So, what is Mr. and Mrs. Smith about? I can't find that anywhere to rent. It was a Hollywood production, yes? Not one of his British releases?

 

Hmmmmm, Marnie and Spellbound? I'm curious what you feel the similarities are?

 

Marnie and Dr. Ballentine. Both have pyschotic problems, both have things in their past they cannot remember, and both have a love interest who is trying to "cure" them.