Favourite Hitchcock film?

[ailsagirl]

There are so many good ones-- I think his ultimate film
was "Vertigo."

Also excellent:

The Man Who Knew Too Much
North by Northwest
Psycho
Frenzy
The Lady Vanishes
Rear Window
Strangers on a Train
Notorious

Hitchcock was brilliant-- he could mix comedy with
tragedy effortlessly. IMO, no one is close to taking
over the title, "Master of Suspense."

[KitchenWitch]

1. Rear Window is my favorite!

[ailsagirl]

3. Yes-- what a concept!! Brilliant, really

[hibbing]

2. Rope

Rope was just too creepy for me, so it would be my first choice. I am glad to see you had Strangers on a Train, that one was creepy too.

Peace

[ailsagirl]

5. I didn't see "Rope" but I know the story...

Did you see "Notorious?" There's this fantastic overhead
shot that shows these people at a party, Ingrid Bergman
being one of them. In her hand is a key and the camera
does a slow downward movement (without cuts) to finally
zero in on the key she's holding. It's an amazing shot.

And the shower scene in Psycho was pretty amazing. At
no time do we see the knife make contact with her body--
it's all implied. The sound of the knife plunging into her
body (dubbed in by a knife stabbing a melon), coupled
with the "blood" (actually chocolate sauce-- it was B&W,
remember) going down the drain, made it seem as if we
were watching something horrific. WHich we were, only
we "saw" nothing gory. It was all implied. Nowadays,
we see entrails and blood spurting and so on and so
on. That's not scary-- that's just cheap and nauseating.

And I loved the classic scene in North by Northwest when
the crop duster is trying to kill Cary Grant. That was a
real scene-- no rear projection!!

[CanuckAmok]

18. One continuous shot, baby!

Occasionally there's a subtle cut to change mags, but apart from that, it's one long take.

[Kire]

46. brilliant

my favorite Hitchcock film

Jimmy Stewart rules

[Starbucks Anarchist]

4. Vertigo.

Though I also love Rope and Psycho, and I'm going to watch Strangers on a Train tonight, courtesy of Netflix.

[ailsagirl]

6. Oh, enjoy Strangers... It's a classic

Vertigo was a masterpiece.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

7. I will.

Thanks! :hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

41. Hey, I saw it last night.

VERY good movie. Although I was sad to hear that Robert Walker passed away shortly after it came out -- he did an excellent job.

[ailsagirl]

48. One of Hitch's biographers mentions the scene where Farley

Granger's wife is murdered (on that island in the amusement
park) and the "astonishing" shot of the strangling reflected
in the lenses of her glasses (which fell to the ground).

Gotta admit, it certainly was a creative shot!!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

55. It was, and so was the shot in the boat tunnel.

You know, the one where Walker's shadow creeps up on Granger's wife's shadow, and then you hear her scream -- until you realize she's still alive and was screaming at her friends on the boat.

BTW, did you know they're remaking this movie? It's coming out next year, according to IMDB. :mad:

[ailsagirl]

58. It's being remade?? Like the original was lacking somehow?

Surely the Hollywood bozos can come up with something original?
Or not.

Spielberg used two of Hitch's "tricks" in his movie "Jaws."
One was the forward-zoom / reverse tracking shot of Chief
Brody when he realizes someone has been attacked by a shark.
Hitch used that at the beginning of Vertigo when Jimmy Stewart
was hanging off the gutter of the building and he looks down
at the street (and we see his vertigo).

The other was the screaming bit-- when we knew there was a
shark out there and people were splashing in the water and
kids were screaming. Hitch, as you described, used that in
"Strangers..."

[Starbucks Anarchist]

62. Are you a Kurosawa fan?

Because they're also remaking Ikiru. Would it kill these people to come up with somehting original?

[ailsagirl]

71. Apparently so. I think it has to do with educational background

Schools don't bother much with Latin or the Classics
anymore-- the truly great directors are all from older
generations, when these things were mandatory education.

It's the "Dumbing Down of America" thing. The audiences
seem OK with it. I haven't really seen a film in many
years because I've invariably been disappointed with
the quality. I'm not saying every movie is junk but it
would seem that good movies are the exception, not the
rule. And it didn't use to be that way. I don't think...

[Canuckistanian]

63. I love that Zoom/Reverse effect

So, Hitch invented that?

[ailsagirl]

61. Vertigo was a haunting kind of movie-- full of atmosphere

It really captured SF and its surroundings.

One thing that has always baffled me-- Scotty follows
Madelaine to that funky hotel (the McKittrick house?)
and he sees her in the window, yet the woman at the
desk says Madelaine was not there that day and when
he goes outside, Madelaine's car is gone.

Not sure what that was all about-- I guess the lady
at the desk was lying?? But why?

[Lex]

8. North By Northwest!

It's my favorite!

[ailsagirl]

10. Thanks for that pic!!

I liked the part when the guy standing by the side of
the road said, "That's funny. He's dustin' crops where
there ain't no crops..."

I read that scene was filmed in Bakersfield, California
by the way (and that Cary Grant insisted on doing his
own stunts)

[Kathryn STone]

67. Notorious rop

how can you go wrong with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman?

[Hokie]

73. Morth by Northwest is mine too

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Gotta go with 'Rear Window'

though I also like "North by Northwest."

Never did spot him in "Rear Window," though. Was he one of the people on the street between the apartments?

Haven't seen all of "Vertigo," though bits of it were filmed close by, at Mission San Juan Bautista.

[ailsagirl]

11. Hitchcock was in the composer's apartment, looking at some

book while the composer was pounding out something on the piano.

I didn't spot him in "The Man Who Knew Too Much," though.
(I loved the scene in Albert Hall-- pretty suspenseful!!)

[Oeditpus Rex]

12. Oh, yeah!

I forgot — I caught it the last time I watched it because it was on DVD and I could freeze and zoom in.

[timtom]

72. By the way,

The composer was played by one Ross Bagdasarian, who later skyrocketed to immortal fame as David Seville with the Chipmunks.

Yes, THOSE chipmunks!

[Flaxbee]

13. Notorious is wonderful! Also love Rear Window and

North by Northwest.

I love Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman together, which is why Notorious is my first choice (Claud Raines, too), but I'll stop whatever I'm doing and watch any of those three if they happen to be on.

[Ron Green]

14. Just watched "The 39 Steps" the other night

and that is one brilliant movie. It was absolutely riveting, doesn't seem dated, has wonderful humor throughout, and a clever revelation at the end.

[ailsagirl]

24. I think that's one criterion for a truly great movie (or book)-- that

you can see it dozens of years after it was released
and it still delivers. Some things are perennial.

[Robeson]

15. Rear Window.

[ailsagirl]

16. I'm glad so many appreciate him-- he was a bit odd but truly

brilliant. I'm slowly building up my own DVD library.

(I liked the slo-mo scene in "Rear Window" when Grace
Kelly leans down and kisses Jimmy Stewart (the first
time we see her, I believe). I don't know how Hitch
did that but there's a special kind of movement to that
gesture that's hard to describe.)

[bliss_eternal]

17. Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window and Stage Fright...

I know Shadow of a Doubt and Stage Fright are more obscure, but I love those. It's difficult (if not impossible) for me to not watch these movies when they are on.

LOVE them!

But I love most if not all Hitchcock films!

[ailsagirl]

20. I haven't seen those but will keep an eye out for them

I do love the early Hitchcock films as well.

[bliss_eternal]

57. I hope that you can find them--

they are really wonderful films!

Stage Fright features a very young Jane Wyman, prior to her 'relationship' with ron reagan. :puke: As well as Marlena Dietrich in all of her diva-dom.

Strangers on a Train is a great story.

Rear Window is also a great story--featuring the beautiful Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart. Universal actually constructed a set of an apt building where you can see inside everyone's windows--for the purpose of the story. Everytime I see the film, I'm amazed by the magnitude and detail of that set!

[ailsagirl]

59. Yes, I read that it was one of the most complex sets ever

constructed (at that time). Very well done.

Amazing-- fifty-one years later and it still captivates!!

[pokerfan]

19. Psycho, but you can only really see it once

and then you know the big surprise, well two big surprises.

A fun movie to watch with someone who has never seen it.

[ailsagirl]

22. Psycho scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it

It still gives me the creeps. Have you noticed how many
films rip off Bernard Herrmann's weird violin "shrieks"
in the movie (whenever something scary occurred, like
during the infamous shower scene)? Forty years later,
I still hear pale imitations.

Herrmann wrote the music for a number of Hitch's films.
(In addition to Psycho, North by Northwest.)

Sadly, he's gone too.

:(

[begin_within]

42. I've watched it many times to enjoy the acting, dialog and musical score

[ailsagirl]

50. Psycho did set the stage for that genre of film...

Only it did it a thousand times better than any that
have come since.

I think Polanski came close in his film, "Repulsion."

IMO, there are very few, truly scary movies around. And
I don't mean bloody-- it takes a lot of creativity to get
the audience on the edge of their seats. Grossing people
out is NOT scary. It's just gross.

[djeseru]

21. The 39 Steps.

Robert Donat is so charming in this...not a very Hitchcock way to describe it, I know...

My other favorites are Spellbound, Notorious, Rear Window, Rope and Rebecca.

[ailsagirl]

23. I saw Rebecca a few weeks ago-- engaging

Oh, and Suspicion was pretty interesting too.
(Joan Fontaine and Cary Grant)

Though it was irritating after awhile to hear Grant
keep calling her "Monkeyface!"

:eyes:

[djeseru]

25. I love Rebecca for Mrs. Danvers.

Dame Judith Anderson pulled that one off so well - creepy! I also like George Sanders in it as well.

Very true: "Monkeyface" got a little difficult to deal with! That's the one Cary Grant role that still makes me so uncomfortable...

[ailsagirl]

33. Ah yes, the weird Mrs Danvers!!

Isn't trying to persuade your employer to jump out the
window grounds for... dismissal??

:)

[redqueen]

26. I can't choose.

I first thought Rear Window, but then North by Northwest is also fantastic, as is The 39 Steps, as is Rebecca.

Nope, can't choose.

[hobbywizard]

27. VERTIGO 4EVA.

Loved seeing the cleaned up re-print of Vertigo on a big screen in the mid-90s. Stunning flick visually.

I'm currently fond of Family Plot, his last film (1976), starring Barbara Harris and Bruce Dern. It's one of his lighter films, and on first blush it seems slight, but it really stays with you, and the docu about the making of the film that is a bonus on the DVD is well worth watching - it really makes you appreciate the film and Hitchcock as a director.

Rent it now!

[SeanOhio]

28. Two

I love North by Northwest and Frenzy.

[ailsagirl]

40. I thought the strangling scene was pretty lurid...

and unnecessarily explicit. The body-in-the-potato-sack scene
was good.

And I LOVED the very end. ("Mr Rusk. You're not wearing your
necktie...")

There was also a film Hitch did called "The Wrong Man" but
I've never seen it...

[ailsagirl]

35. I'll check out Family Plot... did you see Frenzy?

Loved it. Loved the inspector's wife (Harold Pinter's wife
in real life) who kept trying to make her husband eat her
unpalatable gourmet food!! Hysterical!!

[newyawker99]

29. North by Northwest and the Birds.

[ailsagirl]

36. The Birds was an eerie one... no music whatsoever

Nor was there any closure!! We never do find out why
all those birds started attacking. The farmer who had
his eyes pecked out... that was a pretty awful scene!
Mitch's mother, who finds the dead man, doesn't scream
out loud-- she screams silently. More effective, IMO.

[TheMightyFavog]

45. And as somone who has watched a fair number of zombie movies...

I always wondered why did they take the car instead of the beefier pickup truck?

[ailsagirl]

52. Beats me-- more room in the car?

Speaking of zombie movies, "Night of the Living Dead" was
a chiller-- an unexpected one. Really had me on the edge
of my seat!! (I'm glad it was in B & W!!)

[terrya]

30. I admire "Vertigo"...but my favorite is "North by Northwest"

"Vertigo" is probably Hitchcock's masterpiece...but it's a rather cold film, IMO.

My favorite is "North by Northwest", Cary Grant, at his best. Nice chemistry with Eva Marie Saint. James Mason very good as a villian. "North by Northwest" mixes suspense and humor nicely. And one of Bernard Herrmann's best scores.

[ailsagirl]

38. Yes, Herrmann did a wonderful job of scoring it

I finally broke down and bought the DVD-- I guess I'd
never seen the movie uncut!! There were scenes I don't
remember seeing when I watched it on TV.

Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart are the perfect Hitchcock
leading men, IMO.

[Lannes]

31. North by Northwest

My favorite not necessarily the best.

[jus_the_facts]

32. Rebecca.....

[bridgit]

34. North by Northwest...

B-)

[pinniped]

37. North by Northwest

North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest

[ailsagirl]

39. I should have made this a poll!! :=)

[begin_within]

43. "Psycho" is unique and unforgettable, and started an entire genre of films

[TheMightyFavog]

44. North By Northwest.

My favorite Movie.

[6000eliot]

47. Vertigo

But Rear Window and The Birds run a close second.

[swag]

49. The Birds

[ailsagirl]

53. I liked the part when Tippi Hedren was impatiently waiting outside

the school house for the kids to finish their song and,
unknown to her, this huge flock of birds was gathering
behind her on the jungle gym. Then she turns to look...

[NJCher]

65. oh yeah!

That has to go down as one of the most nerve jangling moments in movie history.

I've always been fascinated with The Birds. Did you know some classify it as a horror movie? I can see why, what with some of the gruesome scenes.

The psychological interplay between the mother, Tippi Hedrin and Suzanne Pleshette is notable.

Ever since that movie came out, I have always had the feeling it was one of those prescient movies: that someday, we would discover that Hitchcock was seeing into the future. One has to wonder, with the avian bird flu, if that is not what he might have been seeing.

For me, this movie is very symbolic of nature turning on humans. If you read criticism, it has to do with the unseeing, uncaring forces of nature causing destruction. To me, however, it has always had an air of nature's retaliation about it.




Cher

[ailsagirl]

74. Good points, NJCher. Also the part in the restaurant after Tippi

was attacked by a gull-- and there was another bird attack
and there was a gas station nearby and that man was lighting
a match-- and they all started to yell at once for him to
watch out because of the gas that was pouring out of one of
the nozzles, and the guy couldn't understand them because
they were all shouting at once!! That was a moment!!

Once he realized what was going on, it was too late.

[swag]

77. Yeah, that is an amazing scene. Here's what I found about that song:

http://www.pophistorynow.com/popculturefiles/askmrpophistory_q250.htm

From Scott C - Can you give me any information about the song that the children are singing in the schoolhouse scene in the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds"?

Mr. Pop History - Scott - The name of the song is "Wee Cooper O' Fife," a Scottish folk song. The school children sang this song as birds gathered in their school playground. The song appears to be about a man beating his wife because she refuses to do housework. Burl Ives did a version on one of his 1950's folk albums.

Some pre-school-music-book lyrics for "Wee Cooper O' Fife":

There was a wee Cooper wha leeved in Fife
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
And he had gotten a gentle wife,
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

She wadna bake, nor she wadna brew,
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
For the spoiling o' her comely hue,
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

She wadna card, nor she wadna spin,
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
For the shamin' o' her gentle kin,
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

She wadna wash, nor she wadna wring,
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
For the spoiling o' her gowden ring,
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

The Cooper has gane to his woo' pack,
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
And he's laid a sheep's skin on his wife's back,
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

"It's I'll no thrash ye for your gentle kin",
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
"But I will skelp my ain sheep's skin",
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

"Oh I will bake and I will brew",
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
"And nae mair think o' my comely hue",
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

"Oh I will card, and I will spin",
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
"And nae mair think o' my gentle kin",
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

"Oh I will wash, and I will wring",
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
"And nae mair think o' my gowden ring",
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

A' ye wha ha'e gotten a gentle wife,
Nickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,
Just main' ye the wee Cooper o' Fife,
Hey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,
Alane, quo' Rushity, roue, roue, roue.

[ailsagirl]

79. Interesting!! I never knew what that song was-- I remember the

tune but never the words. Now I know why!

Thanks for posting that.

:)

[NNadir]

51. The Trouble With Harry.

North by Northwest is probably my second favorite.

[ailsagirl]

54. I never saw "The Trouble with Harry" but I do know that Jerry

Mathers was in it!!
:)

[Canuckistanian]

64. The Trouble With Harry was fantastic

Not just the movie, but the cinematography. The absolutely brilliant new England fall colors and the sharp, detailed crispness of every scene.

I think it was the only comedy film he did, wasn't it?

[ailsagirl]

80. I think he did "Mr and Mrs Smith" but don't know if that was

considered comedy. Probably not. He had a fiendish sense
of humour, though!!

Just looked it up-- apparently it is considered a comedy:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033922/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

56. My favorite Hitchcock? The Family Plot......

Remember, this is my fav.....NOT necessarily his BEST......

Another poster here said it better than I can about why it's so good...

Definitely worth a look, if you haven't seen it.......

[ashling]

60. North by Northwest

Charade

[leftofthedial]

66. Rear Window

North By Northwest
Psycho

and I always really liked the 39 Steps too.

[SaveElmer]

68. Frenzy...(shudder)...

When the guy who had murdered a woman realized later she had grabbed a pin that could identify him. He had to go to the truck and into the potato sack he had buried her in to retrieve it. Well Rigor Mortis had set in, and he broke all her fingers to get the pin still clenched in her hand..

Oh man...that sound...still give me the shivers today!!!

[ailsagirl]

78. That was creepy-- but there was the funny side.

The inspector was telling his wife about it and he said
something to effect, "The corpse was deep in rigor mortis."
She chose that moment to break the breadstick she was holding.
SNAP!! He made a wry face then he said dryly, "It will be nice
to get back to plain bread and butter in this house..."

I loved the way Hitch could juxtapose humour and horror.
And unlikely combination but he could do it.

And his humour was definitely black!!

[Doctor_J]

85. That inspector and his

cooking-student wife were pretty funny. Scary, scary movie though.

[ailsagirl]

87. It was good Hitch leavened the horror with humour!!

[Callalily]

69. Lifeboat . . .

Although I too am partial to Rebeca and Marne and of course Vertigo and Rear Window and The Birds, and oh hell, I guess I just LOVE Alfred Hitchcock movies, period. Haven't seen Rope so thanks for the synopsis. My goal it to see them all.

[readermostly]

82. Yes, I enjoyed Lifeboat, too. It's not shown much on TV like some

of the others. All the cast just in a lifeboat. Hitchcock's cameo was a picture in a newspaper that was on the boat. I enjoy all of his pictures. I hope you get a chance to see Rope. It's the Hitchcock take on the Leopold and Loeb Case from the 1920's.

[Kazak]

70. Perhaps Lynch...

but that's about it.

[benny05]

75. The Birds and Marnie n/t

[Left Is Write]

76. Rear Window.

[hyphenate]

81. My favorite will always

be The Birds. But that's because I've been in love with Rod Taylor for a very long time. :)

However, North by Northwest, Rear Window and several others also rank high with me.

[vajraroshana]

83. The Birds

a perennial classic in creepy psychosexual undercurrents

[Doctor_J]

84. Frenzy

His thrillers in the 40's and 50's were outstanding, but the ones he made in the 60's and early 70's were REALLY fucking scary (Frenzy, The Birds, Psycho). Frenzy does the usual Hitchcock "wrong man"/mystery thing with some terrifying stuff.

[Wetzelbill]

86. Three stand out to me... Rear Window, Vertigo and North by Northwest...

Maybe my favorite is North By Northwest.

Psycho was sickeningly brilliant though. Not my style so much as the others, but you can't deny how great a film it is.

[GrumpyGreg]

88. The Birds

[Ivan Sputnik]

89. Vertigo