The clever folks at Google have a nice reminder that today, Aug. 13 is the birthday of Alfred Hitchcock. Coincidentally I checked out the DVD of Psycho from our library the other day. I first saw it when I was around 10 so I didn't think much of it. Turns out it scared the living snot out of my poor kids. I honestly didn't think an "old" movie like this would freak them out but it did. My youngest daughter spent the first 10 minutes rolling her eyes about how booooring the movie was and it's in black and white and blah blah, but soon enough she was sucked in and couldn't get out. Needless to say they didn't sleep too well that night. Fortunately they still take showers. Dan C
I'm a little disappointed that TCM isn't showing any of his films to commemorate the occasion. Guess I'll have to dig out a DVD tonight... Speaking of DVD, there's another TV series I'd like to see out on disc. A complete original run of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"!
104 years young!!! Happy Birthday Hitch!!! Dan, I bet your kids won't look at "old boring black & white movies" the same way again!!!
My personal favorite Hitchcock films: Strangers on a Train The 39 Steps Shadow of a Doubt North by Northwest Notorious Rear Window Vertigo The Lady Vanishes Spellbound Foreign Correspondent The only one I have seen that I really thought was bad was "The Paradine Case" Most underrated: Young and Innocent and Torn Curtain
I saw this thread last night and thought, "Oh boy, this is going to morph into a top 10 favorite Hitchcocks thread—what a neat idea." Neat, because I don't know how many other directors I could get 10 out of without a reach (maybe Ford or Bunuel), but it still takes a little consideration. I come back a day later and nobody else is playing, but I compiled my list. Unfortunately, it's too similar to Ken's to prove very provocative. FWIW: Vertigo North by Northwest Rear Window Notorious Psycho Marnie The Lady Vanishes Shadow of a Doubt The 39 Steps Rebecca
Excellent choice! Very underrated, in my opinion. My list (very much in line with others): Rear Window Notorious North By Northwest The 39 Steps Shadow Of A Doubt Vertigo The Man Who Knew Too Much (remake) The Lady Vanishes Marnie Strangers On A Train
I've got some serious homework to do. I've only watched a handful of Hitchcock movies, and too many of them I saw years ago. Most recently, other than Psycho, I watched "North by Northwest" and "The Birds", and an old VHS of "The Trouble with Harry"...which BTW hasn't made it to any top 10 lists, so it's on mine! Dan C
FWIW, here's a filmography of Hitch's work. Is it complete? http://nextdch.mty.itesm.mx/mov/hfilm.html Dan C
Did someone say lists? Coooooooooool: 1. P S Y C H O 2. REAR WINDOW 3. VERTIGO 4. NORTH BY NORTHWEST 5. THE 39 STEPS 6. NOTORIOUS 7. SHADOW OF A DOUBT 8. STRANGERS ON A TRAIN 9. TO CATCH A THIEF 10. LIFEBOAT ED
Mmm, the crane shot with the twitchy eye...maybe not as elegant as the later one with the key in Notorious, but for sheer virtuosity, a real jaw-dropper!
Ken or anyone else, Any idea when Foreign Correspondant or Dial M will be out on DVD. I've always thought about my top Hitchcocks and its changed through time. Intially I didn't like NBNW very much, but after repeated viewings I think its a brilliantly composed film from the stanpoint of camera work. Talk about a movie that absolutely needs widescreen. Here are my tops in order: Rear Window North by Northwest Notorious The 39 Steps Vertigo Foreign Correspondant The Man Who Knew Too Much (remake) The Birds Strangers on a Train Marnie Rope Rebecca The run of films he did in the 50s is amazing. Honestly, I did not like Shadow of a Doubt. Other Hitchcock's I did not care for are The Trouble with Harry, The Paradine Case, and Topaz. Although I like Torn Curtain in some ways, being a scientist, its just too stupid and the scene where the two scientists are at the blackboard is laughable.
One I didn't care for was "Family Plot"...seemed lilke it was an awkward attempt to fit into the 70's. Otherwise my list is similar to everyone else's. VERTIGO has really grown on me though...it seemed like it was rather slow paced, but now it's more like a slow pressure cooker. REAR WINDOW is worth watching for Grace Kelly IMHO...especially that "out of a dream" close-up when she first walks into Jeffries' apartment. NORTH BY NORTHWEST...have never grown tired of that one.
I believe WB has the rights to all but one of the unreleased Hollywood era Hitchcock films. This includes: Dial M for Murder Foreign Correspondent I Confess The Wrong Man Stage Fright Suspicion Mr. and Mrs. Smith I don't think they have attached release dates to any of them, but they seem to be taking their catalog titles a bit more seriously, now, so hopefully we will see something soon. I have heard the most rumblings about "Dial M..." to date. The only other Hollywood-era title that is AWOL is "Lifeboat", which is owned by Fox. No announcements on that yet, but it would make a nice Studio Classics release. I would give "Shadow..." another chance. Liking "The Trouble with Harry" tends to be a matter of one's personal sense of humor, so it always gets a mixed reaction. I can't imagine "The Paradine Case" and "Topaz" improving with additional viewings, though.
Although nothing specific has yet been announced, in an April Home Theater Forum chat, Warner indicated that they have big plans for Hitchcock in 2004. To quote: " [kevin_lodge] Hello -- any plans for other Hitchcock films such as Suspicion, Wrong Man, Stage Fright and Foreign Correspondant [Warner] Yes, we plan a BIG Hitchcock collection for '04." Check out the following link: http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/042303htfchat.html
Hitch was the man. Coincidentally, I just received the following from Columbia House in the mail yesterday: Psycho Read Window The Birds Vertigo And I also own all of the Hitch films released by Criterion: Rebecca Notorious Spellbound 39 Steps The Lady Vanishes My favorite, I guess in no real order except the first two, off the top of my head: Notorious Vertigo Psycho Rope Rear Window North By Northwest The Man Who Knew Too Much (second one) Rebecca The Lady Vanishes Strangers on a Train Notorious is, for me, a perfect movie: tight script, snappy dialogue, envelope-pushing themes, superstar actors, and, of course, Ingrid Bergman.